Wang Shi
Wang Shi is a leading business entrepreneur, public opinion leader, philanthropist, environmentalist, avid mountaineer, rower, and outdoor enthusiast. He built China Vanke Group, the organization he founded in 1984, into China’s largest residential real estate company, now worth $34 billion. As a mountaineer, Wang has climbed Mount Everest twice and, at age 66, became the oldest person ever to scale the tallest mountains on all seven continents and to visit the North and South Poles. As the first Chinese non-official elected as the President of Asian Rowing Federation, he helped community rowing in China gain unprecedented growth from almost zero to 300 rowing clubs within four years. But Wang’s great and lasting accomplishment will likely be his commitment to environmental causes. During his expeditions to Everest, he led cleanup efforts to clear refuse left behind by other climbers and he participated in an expedition to Antarctica to highlight the effect of climate change on polar ice caps. He has led China’s Private Sector Delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference for ten years and has served as UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador, campaigning for climate change issues. And from his position on the board of the World Wildlife Foundation US and China, Wang has advocated for endangered species around the world through education, habitat preservation, and environmental awareness. Wang’s environmental consciousness has gained fullest expression through a public awareness campaign called Global Canal Row. It rallied together amateur rowers around the world to advocate conservation of canals around the world and promote healthy lifestyle in canal cities. He spearheaded China Vanke’s sustainable building initiatives by requiring all of its structures to achieve China’s Green Building Evaluation certification, which requires residential buildings to conserve water, energy, materials, and other resources. His mandate has already made a difference: China Vanke has built more than half of the “green buildings” constructed in China, and in 2018 alone, the company is projected to have reduced its cumulative carbon dioxide emissions by 5.3 million tons.
