China鈥檚 leading the way in green manufacturing
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FOREIGN VIEWS
In northern China, air pollution is responsible for shortening people鈥檚 lives by five and a half years. Nine percent of China鈥檚 gross national income is lost to environmental problems.
None of this is surprising to a Westerner, because perhaps no aspect of China is more notable to those of us in the West than its environmental issues.
Here鈥檚 what is surprising: China is the world leader in green manufacturing. It鈥檚 true, and I am not alone in believing that China will continue to lengthen its lead in green manufacturing over the next quarter century.
In a report for the World Wildlife Fund, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants write that 鈥淐hina is the largest clean-tech country in absolute terms,鈥 with 30 percent year-on-year sales growth.
China鈥檚 industrial firms have earned almost 105,000 ISO 14001 certificates, which map out effective environmental management systems. The country whose businesses have the next closest number of certificates (Italy) has only 24,662. The US and Germany have fewer than 8,000 each.
For China, green manufacturing is also viewed as a way to catapult its manufacturing sector ahead of global rivals, such as the US and Germany, in both sophistication and profitability. This will help China continue to grow and create new jobs for years into the future.
Going green is not only a solution to environmental degradation, it can also extend China鈥檚 spectacular run of economic growth.
Climate change, for example, is not just a source of worry. It鈥檚 also a source of opportunity, as one official document puts it, 鈥渢o speed up economic restructuring as well as the transformation of China鈥檚 mode of development and hasten forth a new industrial revolution.鈥
I, for one, am confident that China will manage the full-fledged transition to green development. On QualityTrade.com, a global wholesale e-commerce website that ranks companies by quality standards 鈥 including environmental ones, we already see many of these green manufacturing companies successfully marketing themselves to customers worldwide.
China鈥檚 12th Five-year Plan doubles down on seven important green industries: environmental protection and energy efficiency, new energy, next generation information technology, biotechnology, high-end manufacturing, clean-energy vehicles and high-tech materials.
But here鈥檚 the critical point: These aren鈥檛 just green industries. They are high-growth and high-value, too. And they have huge export potential.
The Middle Kingdom is already seeing the fruits of its green industry focus. Already six of the world鈥檚 top 10 solar panel producers are Chinese, led by Trina Solar, which has more than 14,000 employees in 14 countries around the world.
Green manufacturing also includes less sophisticated moves, such as improving the energy efficiency of factories in more traditional sectors.
Concord Ceramics has factories in Shanghai, Dongguan and Shenzhen. Facing higher labor costs and thinner margins, General Manager Kevin Chang turned to energy efficiency to improve his bottom line.
Chang鈥檚 production line requires intensive air conditioning. The electricity to run those ACs ate up 15 percent of his operating costs.
To reduce expenses, Chang installed a higher volume AC system. Now, he says, his electricity bills are 40 percent smaller. And he鈥檚 on the hunt for more 鈥 and greener 鈥 savings.
Nigel Johnston is the founder and CEO of QualityTrade.com, a global wholesale e-commerce platform that ranks companies by quality standards 鈥 including environmental ones.
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