A public welfare study tour allows sustainability to move from imagination to reality

If you ask a young person, what is sustainable life? He may give many answers: low-carbon travel, garbage sorting, old things utilization... But what does sustainable life look like in reality? How did sustainability move from concept to reality and operate in the business world? What is the difference between sustainable lifestyles in cities and rural areas? Many people have no concept.

Recently, the youth environmental protection sustainable innovation project launched by Mars Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars Company, and the China Rural Development Foundation through "Gifts to Asia"-the winner of the 2024 "Sustainable, Go Ma" project and the organizer of the university community were awarded a charity study tour. The main line is to feel the scene of sustainable life and touch the pulse of the concept of sustainable development in real scenes in cities and villages.

From Shanghai to Suzhou, from Anji to Hangzhou, the seven lucky people not only had in-depth exchanges and first-hand experiences with sustainable business innovators in the bustling metropolis, but also met with front-line practitioners, entrepreneurs, and practitioners among the green waters and green mountains. In-depth dialogue, what perceptions have they established about sustainable development? How will we view the connection between sustainability concepts and self-action? What possibilities will this study tour bring to a sustainable future?

Feel business innovation and experience how sustainability can be integrated into daily life

If we are looking for the most dynamic sustainable innovation field in China, Shanghai is a well-deserved place.

In order to allow students to have a comprehensive understanding of sustainable business, sustainable consumption, sustainable lifestyles, etc., the organizers carefully selected ESG-Sustainable Innovation Exhibition, HAI550, Shanghai Hongqiao Hub Center and other sites. They are the most vital existence in practicing the concept of sustainability.

Imitation animal leather bags supported by peels, gauze clothes made of yak wool, environmentally friendly bricks made of waste materials... During the study tour, the students coincided with the ESG-Sustainable Innovation Theme Exhibition being grandly held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. This theme exhibition brings together the world's top experts, business leaders and industry pioneers, and sets up multiple thematic forums. It can be called a comprehensive venue and community in the field of sustainability.

The science popularization, art, excellent cases, business opportunities, public welfare, immersive experiences and other content displayed at the theme exhibition "eye-opening" for students. Tian Liwen said that the Innovation and Change Exhibition gave her a deeper understanding of green environmental protection. Ni Xinyi saw the diversity of sustainable development for the first time.

Exhibitors 'measures with advanced concepts and practices such as reducing carbon emissions and optimizing supply chain management have made students deeply realize that sustainable development is not only a slogan, but also requires tangible actions.

Li Xuyao said with emotion: "The vigorous development of these sustainable products is inseparable from the efforts of every business day and night and people's increasing environmental awareness."

The "impact" of the theme exhibition is still echoing. Coming to HAI550 located at No. 550 Huaihai Middle Road, students have a deeper understanding of cutting-edge cultural consumption and lifestyle. In order to allow students to have a deeper experience, the organizer also negotiated with a number of sustainable brands and arranged for students to serve as "half-day shop assistants" to understand how sustainable business operates from a new identity and perspective.

From being at a loss at first to being able to communicate and promote customers in the end, the half-day shop assistant experience allowed Lin Haoran to break through himself and also made him think about what operating concepts are behind the price of sustainable products, which gave him a new perspective on corporate and environmental protection, Interest and public welfare, gain and giving up.

Teach them fish, and teach them fish. In order to allow students to view sustainable business from a more in-depth perspective, the organizer also taught students to make sustainable business canvases, and took them to Douyu Fishing, Lvxun and other stores in Shanghai Hongqiao Hub for research. By comparing the two companies 'business models and operating methods, Ni Xinyi understood how two stores with "same concepts and different characteristics" contribute to sustainable environmental protection at different levels.

Enter green waters and green mountains and feel the transformation of ecological resources industries

If sustainable practice in the business field gives students a metaphysical and diverse understanding of sustainability, then going deep into Suzhou, Anji and other places will give them a down-to-earth experience of how the local landscape empowers sustainability.

Suzhou, on the bank of Taihu Lake, has a typical Jiangnan style: densely covered with swamps, vamps, and swamps, crisscrossed fields, swamps, and villages, and abundant water systems. What kind of lifestyle and cultural traditions will such natural features breed? The students walked into Suzhou Zhenze Chaimido Farm, which was built based on local natural and cultural diversity. There are farms (including orchards), nature education centers, and sericulture colleges (including restaurants and B & Bs) on the farm. Students experience the operation method of the farm integrating primary, secondary and tertiary industries, and personally participate in the production of enzymes, and personally water seedlings in the fields. Fertilization not only allows them to experience the natural beauty of farming, but also allows them to have a deeper understanding of the connection between ingredient production, nature education and the construction of a living home.

As the birthplace of the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", Anji County, Zhejiang Province is the top priority of this study tour. Walk into the "Bamboo for Plastic" exhibition center and immersively experience the Anji bamboo industry and the replicable and generalizable Anji experience of "Bamboo for Plastic"; go deep into the ecological tea garden, communicate with the founder, and understand the ecological industrialization and industrial ecologization centered on "tea"; visit the beautiful Yucun and read the Yucun youth questionnaire represented by "digital vagrants"; stay in the ecological camp and witness the reality of the green recyclable camp...

In particular, the "Bamboo for Sculpture" exhibition center and the ecological tea garden have brought rich feelings and experiences to students, which not only increased their knowledge, but also stimulated their thinking.

The "Bamboo for Sculpture" exhibition center has eight immersive experience scenes-fan art display area, tea space, take-out dining area, bamboo-based new materials and bamboo building materials area, outdoor camping experience area, study and reception area, cultural residence area, In the bamboo construction area, under the eloquence of the commentators, the growth cycle and unique characteristics of bamboo are spread out in front of the students one by one. The diversity and practicality of bamboo are eye-opening for the students.

Emphasizing the sense of experience is a major feature of this study tour. In order to allow students to feel the unique charm of bamboo more deeply, the organizer also arranged for hand-made bamboo paintings and artistic creation using bamboo shoots skins.

Through these rare experiences, students not only felt the diversity and artistic beauty of bamboo, but also understood the huge potential of bamboo products in the field of environmental protection, and also planted a seed of green ecology and future-oriented.

As a project focusing on the topic of "Packaging Sustainability in Rural Scenarios","Sustainable Go" focuses on how to improve problems such as product packaging waste and plastic waste in rural communities and rural industries, and proposes feasible solutions. plan.

"This experience made me more aware of the practical application value of 'replacing plastic with bamboo' in reducing plastic pollution." Yang Tao said. Lin Haoran also felt the infinite potential of bamboo in plastic substitution, giving him a deeper understanding of sustainability and reuse.

Front-line exchanges and dialogues stimulate in-depth thinking on innovation integration

Along the way, along the way, there is communication and dialogue all the way.

As participants in the "Sustainable Go" competition, the students of the public welfare study tour team have gone through the exploration process of discovering problems, thinking about problems, and proposing innovative solutions. These explorations, whether deep or shallow, have encouraged and inspired students. Ability to think independently, implement, promote and promote.

Because of this, when students have the opportunity to communicate and dialogue with front-line practitioners, entrepreneurs, and practitioners, the insights and inspiration they gain are more profound.

Zhu Renyuan, founder of Anji Yingyuan Tea Estate, is not only a master of tea culture, but also the first villager in Lujia Village to return to his hometown to start a business. He started the first family farm in Anji County focusing on white tea cultivation, using technology to empower products.

Zhu Renyuan shared his way of doing business, why he established a tertiary industry model, how to accurately locate customer sources, how to choose a platform to determine drainage strategies, etc., which made the students "greatly gained" and "inspired". After listening to the explanation, Chen Wenjing felt that her previous thoughts and opinions were "simple and crude". Lin Haoran added a lot of practical experience, which gave him a great understanding of entrepreneurial competitions, macro management and even life. inspiration.

One detail that impressed the students was that during the study tour in Yucun, entrepreneur YAYA shared the "Picking Back Used Recycling Laboratory" project with the students. A few days later, the project roadshow was supported by Yucun.

"Wow, so fast!" It turns out that Dayu Village has actively explored the construction of youth talent communities in recent years, launched the Yucun Global Partner Project, launched the Youth Co-Creation Action, built a Digital Traveller Base, and launched the Cloud Villagers Plan, attracting 50 "partners" rooted in the village., 300 "youth co-creation partners" who came to the village, more than 500 "digital Travellers" who stayed for a short period of time and nearly 30,000 "cloud villagers", making Yucun a veritable practice site for "youth entering the countryside".

Similar measures have also been staged in Qingshan Village, Yuhang, Hangzhou. In recent years, Qingshan Village, under the guidance of the "Ten Million Project", has actively carried out diversified project development, attracting designers, cultural volunteers, architects, photographers, craftsmen and other artistic rural construction talents, especially young people who return to their hometowns. It not only injects new vitality into the village, but also achieves multiple goals of ecological environment improvement and rural green development, demonstrating a new model of rural development in the new era.

"Zhejiang is the real money to attract young people to participate in rural revitalization!" Engaging in sustainability issues, what kind of stage can youth power and youth creativity have and how much space can they play, giving students a different experience from competitions.

This seems to give the students participating in this study tour the ultimate inspiration, that is, how to go in the future.

The answer lies in the heart of every student.

Mars said that the future begins in the present and believes that after the wonderful and rich sustainable study tour journey, we hope that students will continue to practice sustainability, further influence people around them, and jointly build a sustainable and better tomorrow.