FGI 2021 on Global Production Networks for Sustainability on Dec. 6, 2021: Open for Registration

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted global production networks. It has brought to the forefront a sense of urgency for governments and internationally operating enterprises to re-evaluate their approaches towards ensuring resilience and sustainability in their supply chains. At the same time it offers a unique opportunity to re-think established approaches, to embrace sustainability as a core value creator, and to link long-term recovery strategies to the guiding principles and objectives of the UN Agenda 2030.

Against this background, the 2021 Forum on Globalization and Industrialization (FGI) “Rewiring Global Production Networks for Sustainability” will be held online on Dec. 6, 2021. It seeks to convene stakeholders from government, academia, private sector, and civil society to discuss paths towards advancing sustainability practices in global supply chains. The forum aims to discuss the challenges and opportunities of sustainable production in global supply chains. Particularly, it will explore policies, governance modes as well as novel business models that can foster inclusiveness and sustainability in global production networks, thus, supporting the joint global efforts to build back better.

The FGI will start with welcome remarks by Hiroshi Kuniyoshi, Ph.D (Deputy to the Director General, United Nations Industrial Development Organization) and Dr. Götz Schmidt-Bremme (Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Office of the United Nations in Vienna), followed by three discussion sessions:

• Linking supply chain sustainability to the global sustainability agenda
• Sustainable supply chain governance systems and the role of (national) governments
• Innovative approaches to achieving sustainability in global supply chains

Prof. Holger Görg, Ph.D. (KCG Managing Director) will moderate the Session 2 and explore jointly with Prof. Fiona Tregenna, Ph.D. (University of Johannesburg), Santiago Lorenzo, Ph.D. (UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), True Schedvin (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and Francisco Betti (World Economic Forum) the complexities of governing global supply chains, related challenges and opportunities.

The FGI is organized by the Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG). The newly created research network is a joint initiative by the German Development Institute (DIE-GDI), the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA Hamburg), and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). The network is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Dr. Adnan Seric (UNIDO & KCG External Research Fellow) and Frauke Steglich (KCG researcher) are involved in the FGI content and event organisation.

FGI is open for registration. More information can be found here.