When we organized Sustainable Brands for the first time in Japan in 2016, when the word sustainability still sounded novel, about 300 people, including experts and researchers, came together. Four years later, the participants have grown significantly diverse to include people from businesses, nongovernmental organizations, national and local government and educational institutions, as well as students in their teens, for a total of over 3,000 people.
The world faced a totally unexpected crisis last year. But we have the bond that has been forged between people and brands. As the phrase “green recovery” symbolizes, people can create new value, work together and step forward even amid hardship because we are driven by the power of hope and determination.
The increased interest in sustainability no doubt represents the expression of positive enthusiasm from society and each of us who seeks to create a better world by taking advantage of our positions, learning from available information and using whatever influence we have.
At the venue for Sustainable Brands 2021 Yokohama, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia will simultaneously cohost SB’21 Asia-Pacific. It is the first undertaking in which people in Asia who seek to realize a sustainable, renewable world will directly meet and exchange views. Even if we cannot physically hold each other’s hands, I am convinced we can overcome discrimination or prejudice and make the year 2021 a momentous one in which solidarity will have grown. It is going to be a year in which the bond between the Earth and society will be repaired and regenerate.