50th Davos Meeting: A New Meaning for Stakeholders

This content has been automatically translated using AI

Muzi Li, Public Engagement Department; Tel.: +8613910466369; Email: muli@weforum.org

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting will take place in Davos, Switzerland, from 21 to 24 January 2020, marking the 50th anniversary of the international organization’s founding.
This year’s Annual Meeting will focus on the Forum’s founding principle, the “stakeholder concept,” and provide guidance on how companies in a new era can define a new purpose and establish key performance indicators.
The Annual Meeting will also promote a set of metrics for governments and international organizations to use in tracking and accelerating progress by the international community in addressing climate change and fostering meaningful economic growth.
For more information, visit www.weforum.org

Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 22 October 2019—The World Economic Forum recently announced the theme of its 50th Annual Meeting: “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.” The meeting will take place in Davos, Switzerland, from 21 to 24 January. Some 3,000 participants from around the world will attend to give specific meaning to the stakeholder concept and, with reference to the Paris climate agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, help governments and international organizations track progress and advance discussions on technology and trade governance.

Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, said: “People resent what they see as a betrayal by certain economic ‘elites’. We are falling far short of what is needed to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C, and the outlook is not encouraging. The world is at a critical juncture. This year, we must establish the Davos Manifesto 2020 to help businesses and governments define a new purpose and develop new performance metrics. That was the reason the World Economic Forum was founded 50 years ago, and it is what we will strive for over the next 50 years.”

The Annual Meeting agenda will focus on six areas:

Ecology: How to mobilize businesses to address climate risks and ensure that the expansion of biodiversity protection measures extends from forest floors to the ocean depths.
Economy: How to eliminate the burden of long-term debt and foster stable economic growth while enhancing social inclusion.
Technology: How to build global consensus on deploying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and avoiding a “technology war.”
Society: How to provide skills retraining and upskilling for one billion people over the next decade.
Geopolitics: How to uphold the “Davos spirit” to build bridges and resolve conflicts in global hotspots, and how to initiate reconciliation processes through informal meetings.
Industry: How to help businesses build models that drive their development in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. How to guide and facilitate business development amid tense political conditions, exponential technological change and rising expectations from all stakeholders.

The World Economic Forum and the stakeholder concept

The Forum held its first meeting in 1971, advancing the concept proposed by Professor Klaus Schwab that companies should serve all stakeholders, including customers, employees, communities and shareholders. The 1973 Davos Manifesto reaffirmed this concept and has since defined the Forum’s direction. During this year’s Annual Meeting, the Forum’s International Business Council will publish a common “Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Scorecard,” giving new meaning to the concept. The Council is currently chaired by Brian Moynihan, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of America.

A more sustainable Annual Meeting

The 2020 Annual Meeting will be one of the most sustainable international summits ever held. In 2018, the Davos Annual Meeting received ISO 20121 certification for sustainable event management, achieving full carbon neutrality by reducing, calculating and offsetting event-related emissions. To meet this goal, the Forum is taking a range of measures, including choosing locally sourced food suppliers, using alternative protein sources to reduce meat consumption, relying on 100% renewable electricity, reducing or eliminating materials that are difficult to recycle or reuse (such as carpets), and using more electric vehicles.

Editor's note:

Learn about the Forum’s impact: http://wef.ch/impact

Watch the meeting livestream and find out more about the Annual Meeting: http://wef.ch/am20

Learn how to follow the meeting and embed it on your website: http://wef.ch/howtofollow

50th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos: Giving New Meaning to the Stakeholder Concept