Pernod Ricard China backs youth-led sustainability drive

With sustainability and innovation becoming defining features of China's next growth chapter, Pernod Ricard China — the local branch of French wine and spirits group Pernod Ricard — will step up efforts to empower youth to engage in global governance and nurture industry talent within the country.

One of its latest initiatives was to support the 2025 Tsinghua International Case Analysis Competition of Public Policy on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a competition designed to inspire young people to analyze sustainability solutions.

The final round of the competition, concluded in Beijing at the weekend, showcased the creativity and commitment of students worldwide to the cause of sustainable development.

The competition was jointly organized by the China Case Center for Public Policy and Management at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University and the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University (TUSDG), and sponsored by Pernod Ricard China and other partners.

A jury of academics and industry experts, including professionals from Tsinghua University and Pernod Ricard China, evaluated 12 finalist teams, with six winning first, second and third prizes, and the others receiving excellence awards.

Kathie Wang, vice-president of communications, sustainability and responsibility at Pernod Ricard China, said that the finalists tackled diverse, concrete challenges spanning occupational injury protection, urban solid waste management, and youth participation in sustainability discourse.

Wang said these topics resonate directly with the work of Pernod Ricard China, from improving glass recycling rates to promoting energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction in distillery and winery.

"We are willing to support the engagement of young people in global governance. Their innovative perspectives provide vital inspiration, fueling our continuous progress on the sustainability journey," she added.

The competition, which was open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students from universities worldwide, encouraged participants to analyze sustainable development cases from the perspective of public policy around the 17 SDGs. It also cultivated keen problem awareness and innovative thinking, and enhanced students' ability to apply theoretical knowledge to analyze and solve practical problems.

Attracting a record-high 288 students from home and abroad, the competition received case analysis reports from 90 teams representing 75 universities across seven countries, namely China, the United States, Australia, Vietnam, Canada, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

To empower sustainability talent, Pernod Ricard China has supported TUSDG in establishing the sustainability scholarship and exclusively sponsored the Universities for Goal 13 Award — an international competition on climate action initiated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network — for four years running, encouraging students to apply their knowledge to real-world sustainability challenges.

Pernod Ricard, the parent group of brands such as Martell Cognac, Chivas Regal and Perrier-Jouet, currently runs one distillery in Emeishan, Sichuan province and one winery in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.