Blue Bond: How Environmental Action Drives Social Inclusion at a UN Online Side Event
Xing Tang, Founder of Grouphorse Group.
Dr. Margaret Harris, former WHO spokesperson
Yuqi Zhao, Deputy Director of the ESG Service Center at the Guangdong General Chamber of Commerce
Co-hosted by the Tianjin Eco-city Friend of Green Eco-Culture Promotion Association and Grouphorse Group, the event highlighted how youth-led ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives can strengthen both environmental protection and social inclusion, aligning with the Summit’s call to accelerate the 2030 Agenda.
Within this high-level context—bringing together more than 30 heads of state and over 100 ministerial representatives—the side event examined how community-based environmental actions such as beach cleanups can catalyze poverty alleviation, employment, and inclusive development.
Opening Remarks: ESG as Integrated Governance
Xing Tang, Founder of Grouphorse Group, described ESG as “a coherent and interdependent system of governance,” noting that environmental action can generate social cohesion and trust—“activating S through E.” Supported by standardized data and community co-governance, such actions can grow into durable governance capacity. He called for integrating blue-economy employment, public health and value distribution into a unified SDG 14 framework.
Keynotes: AI Literacy, Real-World Presence, and ESG Education
Dr. Margaret Harris, former WHO spokesperson, warned that misinformation in the AI era has become “a true signal-10 typhoon.”
“The only way to take power out of a misinformation storm,” she said, “is continual fact-checking and real-time publicising of accurate statements. Be first, be fast, be frequent.”
She urged “healthy skepticism toward AI,” stressing that only high-quality information can improve the credibility of AI-generated content.
Yuqi Zhao, Deputy Director of the ESG Service Center at the Guangdong General Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the irreplaceable value of real-world presence in building trust:
“Tools cannot replace presence. Information cannot replace experience. Virtual cannot replace real.”
Yanqing Guo, Chief Sustainability Officer of Grouphorse Group, showed how beach cleanups serve as a “hands-on classroom,” connecting students with marine ecology, circular economy and public policy.
Youth Innovation: De-othering Narratives and Governance Multipliers
Young speakers brought interdisciplinary perspectives to ESG practice:
• Weiwei Chen, Deputy Director of the Kuilong Institute of Chinese Classics in Guizhou, outlined integrated approaches to “Water Culture × Education × ESG,” including sponge campuses and clean-energy training.
• Lingxin Guo (Columbia University, SIPA) critiqued structural inequities in global sustainability narratives, stressing that it is not only about bridging gaps or technology transfer, but also about who holds the power to define what sustainability means. She called for co-governance grounded in dialogue and shared agency.
• Yujie Chen, Director of the Grouphorse Media & Information Literacy Center and former UNITAR official, introduced a “governance multiplier effect,” showing how grassroots actions ripple upward into policy, blue finance, and circular-economy reform.
Youth in Action: From Empathy to Impact
Young delegates from Sichuan International Studies University (SISU) and Shanghai Normal University presented practical ESG initiatives:
• Yi Zhang (SISU Grouphorse ESG Industrial College for Global Governance Talent) outlined a three-pillar model for youth global-governance capacity: data governance, area studies, and interdisciplinary ESG literacy.
• Hang Dong (Foreign Languages College, Shanghai Normal University) described the “Blue Bond” as a thread connecting people, knowledge and shared futures.
• Canguo Qiu (SISU Grouphorse ESG Industrial College for Global Governance Talent) presented bilingual mangrove monitoring projects linking local ecosystems with global data chains.
• Jingyi Wu (SISU Grouphorse ESG Industrial College for Global Governance Talent) showcased the “Youth × ESG” portfolio—volunteer translation for marine NGOs, AI-based misinformation tracking, microplastic monitoring, and blockchain-based plastic tracing.
• Sirong Chen (SISU Grouphorse ESG Industrial College for Global Governance Talent) called on youth to become “data drivers, blue-bond weavers and bridge-builders,” enabling inland regions like Chongqing to participate in global sustainability efforts.
The session was moderated by Qianqian Qi.
Consensus and Alignment
Participants reached three shared conclusions:
1.Harness E→S momentum — Use environmental action to build trust, belonging and access to employment and education.
2.Prioritize real-world capacity — Develop global-governance talent through presence, cross-cultural understanding and complexity literacy.
3.Turn data into policy — Use standardized sampling and open data to inform regulation, blue finance and governance transformations.
A Shared Vision
Echoing Secretary-General António Guterres’ call that “true development isn’t about prosperity for the few — it’s about opportunities for the many,” the event showed how environmental action can drive social inclusion, trust-building and systemic change.
Through youth leadership and community participation, the “Blue Bond” has become a global movement weaving together a shared responsibility for a sustainable and inclusive future where no one is left behind.
Bill Tang
Grouphorse Group
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