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A Brussels-based trade association is helping ease the way for mainland factories to comply with sweeping new environmental laws taking effect in China today. Photo: AFP

Chinese firms receive help from Foreign Trade Association in complying with new pollution law

A Brussels-based trade association is helping ease the way for mainland factories to comply with sweeping new environmental laws taking effect in China today.

A Brussels-based trade association is helping ease the way for mainland factories to comply with sweeping new environmental laws taking effect in China today.

The Foreign Trade Association says firms must move away from the mindset that obtaining a certificate will be enough to make a difference in green living, and this doesn't have to be costly.

To better protect the environment, firms can adopt a framework based on continuous improvement, instead of conducting conventional green audits, says the association, which promotes the trade interests of 1,400 European and international manufacturers and retailers.

The group's China representative in charge of social compliance, Joyce Chau, said: "In the past, many people were focused on audits, audits, audits. This one is focused on continuous improvement."

Dozens of Chinese makers are set to try out the new approach, which may involve tasks as simple as installing water meters and plugging electricity leaks.

The idea comes against the backdrop of mounting pressure for mainland factories to get their production practices in line with the amended Environmental Protection Law, which allows the authorities to slap continuous daily fines on offenders.

The law requires greater public disclosure and makes polluters, government bodies and officials more accountable. Violators could be blacklisted and shamed, the State Council General Office said in a recent circular.

The association is helping mainland manufacturers to use its industry-specific Business Environmental Performance Initiative (BEPI) to make their supply chains more environmentally friendly and avoid damage to their surroundings.

"You can see two different types of factories - there are ones that want a certificate in order to satisfy the expectations of a particular buyer and then there are factory managers or factory owners that really see the value [of environmental compliance]," said association director general Christian Ewert.

"[BEPI] will be a helpful tool for them to say to themselves, 'I don't have to worry about fines; I'd much rather see investment and doing the right thing in the first place'."

More than 120 firms involved in textiles, food, home products, toys and other businesses were introduced to the initiative in November. Their top environmental concerns were energy use, emissions and water.

Ewert said the "low-hanging fruits" of green compliance did not have to be costly.

"Some factories recycle water, but if you ask them how much water they need, they don't even know," he said, adding that small and medium enterprises often lacked this knowledge.

"But reducing consumption in the first place has the immediate effect on the amount of water you need to recycle, and this generates significant savings."

Ewert said he was confident the system could spur behavioural changes in many mainland factories.

"We are not grading the factory on how it can supply or how not to supply. It's more engaging them in a journey with a long-term goal," he said.

"We're not talking about rocket science or something evil from the West.

"This is very much in the interest of the country itself."

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Mainland firms receive foreign help complying with new pollution law
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