The Fourth Annual Conference on Sustainable Operation and Management in China, sponsored by Sustainable Operation and Management Systems Branch of the Systems Engineering Association in China, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics, was held on July 2-4, 2021, at the College of Business (COB) of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, the School of Business Administration of Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics and the Xinjiang Enterprise Development Research Center. The conference attracted more than 200 students and faculty members from more than 80 universities including Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Tianjin University, Nankai University and Xi'an Jiaotong University, etc.

The election meeting of the board of directors and the working meeting of the Fourth Annual Conference were held at the College of Business (COB) of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics on the evening of July 2. At the meeting, Director Zhu Qinghua gave an overview of the committee's history, development and goals in the past, present and future, as well as a review of the first committee's key activity during the last four years. At the meeting, members for the second term of the committee were elected, with Professor Zhu Qinghua as the chairman, Professor Che Ada, Professor Huo Baofeng, Professor Li Yongjian, Professor Wang Zhaohua and Professor Xie Jiaping as the vice-chairmen, and Professor Wang Nengmin as the secretary-general, Professor Rong Ying and Professor Wang Wenbin are deputy secretaries-general.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony took place on the morning of July 3 at the lecture hall on the second floor of the College of Business of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Professor Xu Fei, Executive Vice President of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Professor Kou Gang, Vice President of the Systems Engineering Association in China, Professor Zhu Qinghua, President of the Systems Engineering branch of Systems Engineering Association in China, Professor Wei Hang, Executive Associate Dean of COB, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and Professor Chen Yuping, Dean from the School of Business Administration of Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics delivered opening speeches respectively. Professor Xie Jiaping of the College of Business of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics hosted the opening ceremony.

Professor Xu Fei, the Executive Vice President of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, gave a welcome speech on behalf of the school. He welcomed the academics and scholars in attendance with a warm greeting and heartfelt appreciation, and briefed them on the progress of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Professor Kou Gang, Vice Chairman of the Systems Engineering Association, acknowledged the organizers' significant support for the meeting and wished it a success online. Professor Kou discussed the development of the Systems Engineering Association, and introduced the development direction of sustainable operation research in China from the aspects of new external environment, new theme and new research methods.

Professor Zhu Qinghua, Chairwoman of the Sustainable Operations and Management Systems Branch of the Systems Engineering Association, said that sustainable operations research faced new challenges and development opportunities. It is important to consider how to combine enterprise operation with environmental development and social responsibility. At this time, our country's essential demand is to figure out how to achieve sustainable development of enterprises.

Professor Wei Hang, Executive Associate Dean of COB, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, introduced the centennial history and achievements of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. The school aspires to become a first-class business school with distinctive characteristics of finance and economics with the mission of cultivating business talents, innovating business research, transforming business practice and promoting business civilization.

Professor Chen Yuping, Dean of the School of Management, expressed her gratitude to  for inviting her to co-host the conference to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, as well as the Sustainable Operations and Management Association in China, and the scholars who participated in the conference. She hoped that the exchanges and cooperation in the academic field of sustainable operation and management will play an important role in promoting the high-quality development of enterprises and the country’s economy.

Professor Xie Jiaping from College of Business of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics hosting the conference

Keynote reports

After the opening ceremony, Professor Wenbin Wang from the College of Business of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics hosted the first half of the meeting, and Professor Atalay Atasu, Associate Editor of INSEAD, MSOM and Editor-in-chief of the Sustainable Department of Poms, Professor Tim Kraft, Associate Editor in chief of Decision Science at North Carolina State University, delivered keynote presentations online on the topics “Research Trends in Sustainable Operations” and “Sustainable Triple-A Supply Chains”, respectively, and interacted actively with participating scholars.

Professor Huo Baofeng and Professor Li Yongjian fromTianjin University and Professor Che Ada from Northwestern Industrial University hosted the second half of the meeting. Professor Wang Zhaohua from the School of Management and Economics of Beijing Institute of Technology, Professor Rong Ying from Antai School of Economics and Management of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Professor Xie Jiaping of the School of Business Administration of Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics and Professor Xie Jiaping from the College of Business of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, presented the their reports entitled “Exploration of the behavior characteristics of sustainable use of waste resources under double carbon targets and the potential for emission reduction”, “Faster Deliveries and Smarter Order Assignments for an On-Demand Meal Delivery Platform”, and “Research on the construction of China’s market-oriented green technology innovation system”, respectively. The participants actively interacted and had in-depth exchanges with the professors who gave the presentations, that included five fascinating presentations on the cutting edge of sustainable business research.

Report Presentations at branch meetings

More than 40 participants made presentations on ten different topics on the afternoon of the 3rd July, including: platform supply chain, closed-loop supply chain, green supply chain, green energy, green innovation, green cooperation, remanufacturing decision-making, supply chain services, supply chain efficiency, and innovation cooperation. The branch meetings were hosted respectively by members of the sub-committee, namely Professor Liu Weihua, Professor Hong Xianpei, Professor Shou Yongyi, Professor Sun Hui, Professor Xia De, Professor He Yong, Professor Wang Yuyan, Professor Wu Chong, Professor Zhang Shengyi and Associate Professor Jin Yannan.

The fourth annual conference on sustainable operation and management in China is a successful implementation of President Xi Jinping’s green and sustainable development strategy. It will play an active role in promoting the further development of sustainable operation and management in China.

In 2022, Hunan University will host the fifth China Conference on Sustainable Operation and Management. Professor Cao Jian, Vice Dean of the Management School of Zhejiang University of Technology, the organizer of the 6th China Conference on sustainable operation and management, gave a brief introduction of their school and invited all scholars to join the 2023 conference.