Recently, the 2025 Lighthouse Awards Ceremony, an annual flagship event for China’s sustainable business ecosystem, was held grandly in Beijing. The venue was filled with a solemn yet vibrant atmosphere, gathering sustainable business pioneers from across the country. Since its inaugural edition in 2017, the Lighthouse Awards have accompanied the growth of China’s business-for-good ecosystem for eight years. Anchored firmly in sustainable development, the awards aim to identify pioneers of social value innovation. This year’s edition placed a special focus on the theme of “Tech for Good”, encouraging enterprises to leverage innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced new materials, combined with business approaches, to address pressing social and environmental challenges effectively.

The 2025 Lighthouse Awards attracted nearly 400 submissions from various applicants. A panel of 80 experts hailing from diverse industries was assembled to oversee the selection process. After rigorous evaluations—including public opinion and background checks, expert document reviews, online due diligence and roadshow assessments, as well as a final review by the awards’ steering committee—87 winners were ultimately selected. These winners span social value enterprises, corporate ESG sustainable development practice cases, impact investment institutions and their investment cases, academic works, and more. They represent the diverse approaches to materializing social value and ESG sustainability across different sectors, collectively painting a blueprint for a sustainable future.

Launched in 2023, the Ocean Partner project has adhered to the core philosophy of “Empowerment through Technology, Collaborative Ecological Governance”, establishing a full-chain innovative ecosystem covering marine plastic pollution monitoring, collection and recycling, community co-governance, and industrial collaboration. As of the third quarter of 2025, the project has expanded its reach to Ningbo and Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province, setting up 11 collection points. It has cleaned up and recycled over 2,000 metric tons of marine plastic waste, directly empowering more than 1,000 residents in coastal fishing villages.

From its inception, the Ocean Partner project has never been a standalone environmental initiative; instead, it serves as a strategic cornerstone deeply integrated into Topcentral’s sustainable development blueprint. The monitoring, traceability, and recycling technologies developed to tackle marine plastic pollution have fed back into the company’s core technology pool, spawning new green product lines and solutions. The circular collection and recycling network established by the project has strengthened Topcentral’s control over critical recycled materials and enhanced its supply chain security. It has also shaped Topcentral’s unique “blue brand” identity, endowing the company with strong appeal and a solid foundation of trust among clients and partners who share its commitment to sustainability.

Global regulatory trends and consumer preferences are increasingly tilting toward green development. The investments we make today are laying the groundwork for tomorrow’s “green access barriers” and “ecological cooperation networks”. The Ocean Partner project and the ESG philosophy behind it act as a powerful magnet for attracting, motivating, and retaining top-tier talents who share our vision. Every colleague involved in the project has gained growth and a sense of mission that extend beyond their day-to-day job responsibilities.

The Ocean Partner project demonstrates how Topcentral systematically addresses complex marine environmental challenges through technological innovation and ecosystem building. Its three-dimensional “Technology + Community + Industry” model holds significant demonstration value and replicable potential. Going beyond the scope of a mere “charity” or “environmental protection” effort, it signifies that Topcentral’s sustainable development practices have evolved from the stage of “fulfilling responsibilities” to a new phase of “creating value” and “shaping the future”. This achievement also reminds us that the journey of marine conservation is a long and arduous one. According to data from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), approximately 20 million metric tons of plastic still enter the oceans globally each year, exerting continuous pressure on ecosystems. Our work has only just begun.

As Li Zengxin noted in his speech, 2025 marks a crucial milestone—the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—with only five years left until the 2030 target date. The global advancement of sustainable development has reached a critical juncture. Challenges such as climate change, sluggish economic growth, and social imbalances remain severe. Whether we can truly establish a sustainable development model is not only vital for the continuation of economic growth but also bears on our shared aspiration for a better life.

The selection process for the 2025 Lighthouse Awards has officially concluded, but the flame of business for good ignited by the awards burns ever brighter. The dialogue between capital and social good continues to unfold. From the recycling and circular utilization of plastic waste, to inclusive innovation in financial technology, and diverse practices in impact investment, the winners of the 2025 Lighthouse Awards are translating the concept of business for good into concrete actions in their own unique ways.