Cleaner Greener China

February 22, 2010

Cigar Smoking in Shanghai’s Restaurants

Filed under: Policies and Issues — Tags: , , — Rich @ 11:16 pm

A bit of a rant here, but why is it that within many of Shanghai’s restaurants it is still considered acceptable to smoke a cigar?  Over the weekend, while enjoying my lunch with a friend in a cafe where the entire menu is “healthy” a patron came in a lite up a cigar, which naturally polluted the entire 40 person space that was the main area of the cafe

And it was not the first time that this has happened.  In fact, it is something and while the city’s planners are debating a city wide ban on smoking cigarettes, I find it sad that its restaurant owners and managers lack the sense to ban the smoking of cigars in their main dining rooms.   Well documented health issues (PDF here) and impact to indoor CO2 levels aside, any restaurant that is willing to accept cigar smokers in its establishment simply do not care about the quality of their food or the experience the taste of their food is supposed to be providing.

Green Supply Chain China Survey Results

Last year when preparing for my presentation at the 2009 CHaINA summit, I was given access to preliminary data from a survey that the China Supply Chain council had sent out on green practices.  The council, lead by MAx Henry, has always been (in relation to other industry groups) forward leaning on the issues and he was trying to get a feel for what his members were seeing, experiencing, and wanting to learn more about.

At the time, what I found most interesting is that there were some really clear divisions that one could pick right out, and would have expected.  that while (as supply chain managers) the focus was at the end of the day economic, there was a huge gap in knowledge on (1) what the environmental issues they “faced” were or (2) what to do.

It was a survey that showed some firms were very pragmatic about their actions in focusing on packaging (65% already/ 11% within the year), packaging materials (50% already/ 22% within the year), and moving to recyclable packaging containers (51% already/ 29% within the year), while others were looking strategically by talking with their carriers (transportation providers) about their own green initiatives (23% already/ 13% within the year) and were shifting to more efficient modes of transport (29% already/ 13% within the year).

Initiatives that really exposed things like switching to aerodynamic trucks (6% this year/ 6% within the year) as areas that needed to be focused on.

Motivations, both moral and economic, were across the board , but what interested me more was what firms saw as the barriers (emphasis mine): cost prohibitive (38% – not surprising), Too complicated/ don’t have the expertise (38% – SHOCKING), Not a priority (30% – NOT YET), and there are no financial incentives to support (34% – MARKET CAN CHANGE THAT FAST)

It is a report that I encourage you to take the time to download and read. Download here

February 8, 2010

A Trip to the Farm. Tony’s Farm

Filed under: Greener Companies, Greener People, Greener Products — Tags: , , , — Rich @ 3:37 am

Tony’s Farm is located in Nanhui district and by car is just over an hour from downtown Puxi . It’s a large scale commercial operation with 280 acres of organic vegetables surrounded by other farm and agricultural land. Unlike some of the other organic farms this is a huge project and they are currently building their own moats, or what are best described as moats around the farm to create islands of vegetable plots. Tony’s Farm also has their own fertilization and manure mixing area, water filtration and holding tanks, ponds and a very impressive clubhouse with full kitchen and dining rooms. I believe I also spotted a wind mill in front of the glass house exhibition areas- in future they will hold tours and classes in organic farming.

The water distribution system at Tony’s Farm is a combination of either hanging pipes and a drip system or an imbedded water pipe in the rows of soil mounds,  depending on the type of vegetable growing in the tent. The surrounding gutters and drains were very clean and actually dry- no water run off or excess that we saw, and overall it appears to be a very clean and well organized operation. The fertilizers used are their own mixture which consists of mushroom and soy by-product which they get from Shanghai suppliers and manure from animals….there weren’t many animals observed though, except for about 20-30 healthy looking lambs in one pen area. During our tour of the farm and the fertilizer area, we also saw large tanks of bacteria, which they grow/ferment themselves and mix into the fertilizer mixture. No pesticides are allowed of course and they use the same yellow boards to attract and catch the bugs inside the tents.

This farm has 400 of its own staff and have their own staff living quarters, and Tony himself and his family are often there and live there for short periods of time. Tony’s Farm do weekly vegetable delivery to customers and members and have a good mixture of vegetables (and only vegetables at this stage) which you can chose from for the “Chinese” or “Western” box sets.

If you want to learn about organic farming, drive around in a golf buggy and take a healthy day trip out with the family this is a great option. From a commercial point of view this has to be one of the largest if not the largest organic farm in Shanghai, and its run as a business to grow vegetables for individual and commercial customers. They work with a number of the 5 star hotels and chefs.

I have come to realize that eating organic is very much a concept of relativity. The wet market vegetables in Shanghai are better quality than the individual carts selling produce, the supermarket vegetables are more expensive but appear to be “cleaner” than the wet market vegetables, and the organic vegetables that you can buy at a Farmers market or get home delivered are safest, taste freshest and make you feel healthy and clean. Now, the organic vegetables in Shanghai may not be 100% totally organic in terms of the soil, water, seed or air pollution BUT they are cleaner and definitely greener relatively speaking than the mass produce available on the market. Its your choice whether you want to pay more for organic vegetables, and realistically unless I’m on the raw food diet I will continue to purchase a mix of organic produce, supermarket and occasionally wet market vegetables.

Next week we are staying in Puxi and visiting Tongchu Organic farm.

February 4, 2010

A Visit to Shanghai’s First Organic Farm. Biofarm

Filed under: Greener People, Greener Products — Tags: , , , — Rich @ 3:34 am

Hi everyone, my name is Kimberly and I have recently been asked to contribute to this website in the area of health, food, nutrition & well-being. I’ve been in China for almost 8 and a half years and have always been conscious of our surroundings in terms or air, water, food but have never really taken the time to explore certain areas for myself. Until now that is. Over the past 10 months I have moved on from just being well through exercise and fitness to seriously trying to be well through what I eat. A  TCM course, food therapy and now Integrative Nutrition has played a huge part in my shift from some packaged foods, eating out and convenience to whole foods, grains and incorporating organic produce as much as possible.

With the aim of trying to understand what the term “organic” means in Shanghai and of course being able to answer confidently that organic farms are relatively healthy and the produce better than the local wet markets, I embarked on a few weekend adventures to the organic vegetable farms to find out if and how their farms are clean, chemical free and healthy.

Some key issues that a wise friend told me before going out to the farms to look for and ask about include; soil, water supply, nearby water sources and rivers, surrounding infrastructure and manufacturing or industry, vegetable produce handling and refrigeration/ transportation.

BIOFARM

Biofarm is located a lot closer than I thought, a short 40 minute ride from downtown Puxi, Shanghai. It is in the Pudong area and not far from light industry and what I could call on the fringe /beginning of small agricultural fields. Off the highway you drive past sparse factory buildings, and a small river and then suddenly its roadside farm land.

The farm is bigger than it appears at first, with many rows of partitioned “indoor” greenhouses. It was a cold winter day when we went however inside the various tents it’s cozy and the smells of fresh soil and vegetables were evident. We stepped into the lettuce and herbs section first and the colour and fragrance hit us first. I’m a city girl who loves her vegetables but this overwhelming greenness was inspiring with bright green, dark green, a large selection of leaves, stalks and stems surrounding us. We inquired about the soil and were told that it is clean and some of it imported from Japan originally, we were impressed. Then the water- supply comes from nearby natural sources, very interesting I thought as unfortunately the small river nearby didn’t look totally clean. I’m also not one hundred percent sure about the drainage and surround water catchments either to be very honest.

Biofarm does not use any pesticide or herbicides , instead they have a number of big yellow cards hanging in well spaced out fashion over the vegetable rows and this is covered in hormones we were told. The male bugs are attracted to this and end up stuck to it and caught. This helps the farm manage pests however they do have overnight problems from time to time and if the bugs get in a whole crop can be eaten in a few hours as a midnight snack.

Despite some mixed thoughts the best part of the morning was picking fresh green vegetables and taking them home. They definitely taste better and have amazing texture compared to supermarket “plastic” looking and plastic wrapped vegetables. It’s all relative folks…….it may be hard to find 100% organic in Shanghai (Biofarm is IFOAM certified) but this stuff was better than what I’ve had so far and you can’t get much fresher than this and eating purple carrots, celery and broccoli right out of the ground. Delicious!

Biofarm is open to the public every weekend and I encourage you to get out there on a sunny day and do some grocery shopping. They also have a barn style area with dry goods such as nuts, beans, grains, brown rice, organic juice concentrate (the passionfruit and apple one is a favourite ingredient in my smoothies), dried fruit,  and if in season- organic apples. They also have organic eggs from Yunnan if you ask the team. Biofarm has a great spirit, a positive and welcoming onsite staff who will show you around and it was a worthwhile and enjoyable excursion for us.

Biofarm will deliver produce to your home in Puxi or Pudong on a weekly basis, however encourage you to come to a collective pick up point if possible to get your vegetables and reduce transportation and ensure quality freshness.

Next week, we’re heading to Tony’s Farm in Nanhui district.

February 3, 2010

China’s 3000USD Electric Car Movement

Filed under: Uncategorized — Rich @ 11:53 pm

A very interesting 5 minute clip on a niche electronic car market that is looking for growth. Born from a of mix entrepreneurial spirit and grey zones, these electronic vehicles are finding a market in Chinese 2nd and 3rd tier cities (with some exports), but are at risk of being wiped off the map as new regulations from Beijing hit the market.

Little more than a suped up golf cart, what impresses me about these new “cars” is the fact that the market for them has proven itself. that, while there has been a lot of talk about how the market here is looking to supersize itself like other Western markets, there are examples (anecdotes at times) to the contrary, and that if “we” focused on those that perhaps we could move the niche into the center.

Something a few government incentives and preferred parking spots would surely assist.

CBRE Asia Launches Sustainability Asia Newsletter

Filed under: Greener Companies, Greener Products, Greener Tech — Tags: , , — Rich @ 10:08 pm

For those of you who are in the real estate/ building sector, CBRE has recently launched their first edition of Sustainability Asia (right click for PDF download), a publication dedicated to all things green about our built environment.

Recent Green Building News, City profiles, Interviews with NGO leaders, and special features, and given this is the first edition, they have jam packed it with content.. although, I would really like to see a “tips” section for various real estate professionals that would provide an immediate knowledge transfer.

February 2, 2010

Video: Yunnan’s Karst Water Systems

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — Rich @ 5:48 pm

While many maintain their eyes on the growing cleantech war that is “being waged” between the US and China, Christina Larson has kept her eye on the prize in her latest work for Circle of Blue, Hidden Waters, Dragons in the Deep: The Freshwater Crisis in China’s Karst Regions.

Based in Yunnan province, the 9 minutes of this piece focuses on the human impact on China’s water systems of the 80-100 million people are having on this water system, a system that is seeing significant threat from various pollutants and over use… and much like their land, it is growing exhausted.

Chengdu Environmental News for January 2009

1) Chengdu eventually achieved 315 days of fine air quality in 2009
On December 16th, 2009, the number of days with fair air quality in the downtown Chengdu achieved 15 days earlier the livelihood project goal put forward by the Municipal Government at the beginning of last year to “reach 311 days of fine air quality in the downtown area”. According to the statistics, in 2009 Chengdu has eventually achieved 315 days with fine air quality.

2) Western China’s largest LED production base operates in Pixian
On January 16th, the first phase of the “Sichuan Yuanli Photoelectric”, the biggest LED production base in West China, was officially put into operation in the Pixian Modern Industrial Port of Chengdu.

It is learnt that Sichuan Yuanli Photoelectric’s LED production base invested with 540 million yuan, was started construction in May, 2009, which is the first LED project put into production in the industrial zone, and is also currently the biggest LED production base in the western region.

3) Chengdu being worthy inland investment environment benchmarking city
Chengdu has become the inland investment environment benchmarking city in China – the National Information Center recently-published “Urbanization Road during the Course of Western China Development – Case Study in Chengdu’s Urbanization Model”, which was under the charge of Nobel Prize for economics winner Mundell and renowned Chinese economist Li Yining, commented Chengdu in this way.

4) Chengdu won 2009 “Contributing City to Low Carbon China”
On January 21st, the first annual meeting of the Low Carbon China Forum was held in Beijing. 16 city representatives from including Shenzhen and Chengdu, low-carbon economic experts from home and abroad and hundreds of business representatives have participated in the meeting, during which Chengdu has won the honorable titles of the “Contributing City to Low Carbon China” and the “Most Competitive Low-carbon Industrial Base City” of the year 2009.

5) Within 5 years, a modern eco-cycle farming system to be initially established
“Within 5 years, water saving irrigation area accounts for 60% of the effective irrigation area, the rate of disposal and utilization of livestock and poultry waste is to reach 90%…” This is what the journalist learnt from the Municipal Agricultural Commission on January 18th. It is reported that in considering the target set up by the city of Chengdu to build a “world modern garden city”, the Municipal Commission of Agriculture has put forward the working scheme for the sustainable development of circular agriculture, which, around the city’s industrial development plan for agricultural functional zones, will strengthen the construction of agricultural eco-system of Chengdu; within 5 years, a batch of demonstration companies and production bases for circular agriculture will be formed, and a modern circular agricultural system be initially established.

January 19, 2010

Taking Sustainability to the Core of Business Education

Filed under: Greener People — Tags: — Rich @ 8:25 pm

Following up on some earlier posts about driving sustainability through education, McKinsey has loaded an interview with the Blair Sheppard, dean of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Encouraging to see these shifts, although I personally would like to see more schools really integrate sustainability into their core curriculum.  That, rather than just capture those that are interested, really training on a braod base the concepts of sustainability as they relate to how decisions can have an environmental impact for the better or worse.

That, there are externalities that need to considered going forward

January 18, 2010

Get to GIGA Event on Saturday

For anyone looking to come down from 30,000 feet to get their hands dirty with Green Buildings, then I recommend checking out this Saturday’s GIGA event (1:00 – 5:30pm).

Full details are at their website (click here), but here is the basics:

Schedule:

13:00 – 13:30: registration and networking
13:30 – 13:45: event introduction and welcome
13:45 – 14:20: case study: building positive impact
14:20 – 14:30: RCC: China’s premiere project information network
14:30 – 14:40: WoiGreen: making green fashionable
14:40 – 15:10: Manufacturer 1 GuLi: quality window and door hardware
15:10 – 15:30: break
15:30 – 16:00: Manufacturer 2 JinJing: ultra clear glass
16:00 – 16:30: Manufacturer 3 Haworth: positive furniture
16:30 – 17:00: GIGA: incremental improvements
17:00 – 17:30: GIGAbase LIVE: reviews of Manufacturers 1, 2, and 3

Where:
Haworth Organic Workspace
16F Shanghai World Financial Center
100 Century Avenue Pudong New Area
Shanghai
When:
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010.
13:00-17:00

The event is free, but you must register here before joining.

Also, a word of warning, when going to the site you will need to bring some ID.  The World Financial Center will not let you in otherwise.

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