When writing the post The Difficulty of Evaluating CSR Reports, I had not begun reading Sinopec’s 2007 Sustainability Report.

Had I, I would have had another example of just how wide the spectrum can be.

Using the image below as a start, for Sinopec, sustainability for them is about 3 things :improving the financial value of the firm, improving human capital,and improving the environment.  There are none of the pictures of executives helping children read or plant trees, and what “kids and babies” angles they did through into this went into the back

What they did cover, often, was corruption and how they had programs to deal with that, and they had programs that supported the development of their employees and their families.  It was like reading a state owned enterprise guidebook at time as I began to see that Sinopec’s angle on this document was not only honest.. it was holistic in many regards.

As an assessment under traditional means  Sinopec’s report as a pure environmental report was not complete.  they failed to mention many of the key programs I would have hope to see from an oil firm, and what programs they have are pretty thin at best.  I thought that there would have been more mention on R&D related to clean technologies - like a BP - or that there would be some discussion around their process to clean up their supply chain.  However, neither happened

However, by taking their view of sustainability out to a position of where a traditional CSR report is positioned it did force me to think about how different parties view sustainability in different ways. Surely everyone can admit that the system is not a perfect one, but what I found almost amusing in my second read was that Sinopec had some of the best statistics (and presentation of their statistics), unlike many firms that bury or hide numbers with in reports.

Where I would recommend this report for readers is to spend some time thinking about how China and the West see sustainability from a cultural perspective and how this highlights that gap.  It is not necessarily a bad thing that Sinopec took this route in their report, and I do appreciate seeing their view, but if they need to really work on their supporting information for next year so that we can see just what it is they are doing.

CD News has posted a very interesting interview of Dr. Simon Zadek, Chief Executive of AccountAbility discussing the role of corporate responsibility in today’s world.

For me the most interesting part of the interview comes in the first three questions as Dr Zadek really hammers away at the idea that the Western CSR model is “the” model and puts forward that it is actually lesser developed and developing nations like China, Cambodia, South Africa, and Brazil that will really start to define how companies develop CSR practices.

over the past 10 or 15 years at the international level come primarily from a western liberal mind set. I think that there is an assumption on the part of many businesses or CR activists that it’s just a question of other cultures and countries catching up. That seems to me the furthest possible place from the truth.

for myself, I would agree with this statement in at about the 75-85% level as I think that given the size of “CSR” there is going to be a large chunk of this business philisophy that will be driven by the ideals of Western firms moreso that the conditions on the ground in the afor mentioned countries.  Corporate HQ will set the strategic directions for global programs, HQ based staff will manage country Foundations will still hire and develop teams, and while programs will localize (something we are seeing in China already in the largest programs) we are not seeing where local policies are breaking through in many of the CSR strongholds.

Were I to model it out:

Community investment (philanthropy and volunteerism) - global directed programs will begin to localize as local staff continues to develop, and business units on the ground will take on much of this role.  however, large global partnerships will continue to receive the largest grants.

Environment - this is certainly an area where western based managers need to begin listening to their BRIC/ developing nation partners as it is their partners who are exposed to the problems of environmental degredation on a very intimate level.

Labor relations (incl. health & safety). - This is an area that will have an interesting dynamic long term.  The in-house lawyers (and PR firms) of the west will look to drive strong policies to address issues on the ground as a matter of defense.  No one wants to be Nike in ‘97 again, and with consumer activisim in the west growing, the issues of child labor and exploiting labor are sensitive issues,  Some of the most proactive firms (Nike) are working with governments and NGOs around the world to develop systems, policies, and capacity to reduce these issues, and so in that manner the loop will close.

Governance and Codes of Conduct - These will become global.  firms like Philips, Wal-Mart, and others are all working feverishly to abondon the local + concept and more to a global standard that is really driven by the western home office.  Partly a defensive mechanism, partly arising from a need to work with a single code of conduct, there are entire industry clusters (particularly textile and footwear) that have worked to take it a step further and coordinate as an industry at a global level.

To read more of his interview, and it is a very interesting interview, I highly suggest it.  for those looking to learn how to break into the CSR field, you will get some excellent advice in is last response as well:

The key decision that someone coming into this field has to make is, “Am I comfortable becoming another manager in the field, responsible for reporting or responsible for compliance, or responsible for philanthropy?”;

Recently there was a U.S. Clean Energy and Environment Trade Mission to China where 19 U.S. companies came to China in search of clean energy investment opportunities U.S. Commerce Secretary David Bohigian.

This trip is seen as a part of the U.S.-China 10-year agreement on cooperation in energy and environmental protection at the strategic economic dialogue (SED) that took place in June. At first glance, citing U.S. companies looking to partner with large oil companies seems a bit contradictory to the idea behind clean energy, but it is important to remember “baby steps.” Cleaner fuel burning is better than no NOx reduction technology.
The U.S. is of course not alone when it comes to tapping into the market of “green” technology and environmentally friendly investments.

The European Union has a EU-China Climate Change Partnership which is on display at Lu Jiazui’s Superbrand Mall on the second floor above Element Fresh. It’s worth checking out, but most of it is in Chinese and it is only up until September 15.

If you don’t have a chance to see it before it’s taken down, the following is a quick run through of each of the display panels (in no particular order):
•    What is climate change
•    International cooperation on climate change
•    EU mitigation and adaptation to climate change
•    Clean development mechanism (CDM)
•    What drives climate change
•    Green technologies and green habits (nice section on what companies can do)
•    EU-China cooperation on natural resource management
•    EU-China climate change partnership

I must say, I was really happy to see many Chinese shoppers taking 10 minutes to look at the panels and, of course, take pictures of it.

The Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress just recently approved new regulations that are designed to green the country and combat the image as the world’s polluter. The laws promote a circular economy where:

…the government will step up environmental monitoring of carbon-intensive industries such as steel, power generation, oil refinery, construction and printing. Industries will also be required to introduce water-saving technologies and encouraged to switch to cleaner forms of energy, such as natural gas and renewables.

Businesses and government departments will be required to install renewable energy technologies in new buildings, while industrial and rural sectors will be encouraged to make wider use of waste material, ranging from coal mine waste to livestock slurry.

(Xinhua News Agency)

This will have a huge impact on Western firms who have outsourced their carbon intensive manufacturing to China. The new green laws go into effect at the start of next year. I wonder what will happen during this time: Will we just see the same capitalist treadmill of production where there will be even more outsourcing to other areas like Vietnam? Of course before we can make predictions, the larger question that must be answered is what will the process be like in terms of acquiring these new technologies? Who will shoulder these costs? If it’s all going to be put on businesses, what will be offered to stop them from fleeing?

In this interview, Environmental Defense China’s Director Zhang Jianyu gives us an introduction to the organization’s work, EDF’s experience as a foreign organization and discusses some environmental hurdles China faces. Segments I found very interesting relate to how actions have to be adpated in the China setting due to different political and legislative structures.

For example, since many bureaucracies regulate once single industry in China, EDF China is working with industries instead of the government because industry is more consistent than the bureaucracies that control them. Another interesting segment relates to how Mr. Zhang feels that China is already environmental consciousness but finds it very hard to get people to act sustainably.

The reason he gives is because of the traditional reliance on the government to act first and the population to follow. He comments that China does not have a history of people’s involvement with decision-making and, therefore, people do not take the initiative to make long-term concrete change. This is why Mr. Zhang feels that it is even more important to find the economic incentives here in China to bring about this change.

Part 1

Part 2

I have been to plenty of cities in China that when you get off a plane, you can literally be able to taste the products that a city produces. The grey / yellow sky acts as a backlight in a way as you can raraely see blue, yet it is often so bright that you need sunglasses. Coughing, burning, wheezing… and that is on a decent day for Lifen. Shot on scene over a week, this series form VPT will give you a clear representation of what challenges China’s growth has brought with it.35 minutes in total, this film presents an unfortunate picture of just how serious the air pollution for some is, and how it impacts everything in the society and economy.

In my mind, I am still scratching my head as to why Lifen and the other 15 cities on the most polluted list do not have programs in place to ensure that all the entities who play a role are being given assistance in paying for technologies, and are then being monitored to make sure they are using the technologies.

It is a problem that can be solved, and it is one that if left to continue will only get worse.With that being said, and with the finger pointed, I would like to also point out that there are solutions and that things are beginning to change, and western consumers themselves have a role in this as well.

when thinking about the process by which solutions are developed, it is important to understand the role of personal conditions, the desire to change one’s conditions, and how that will motivate a persons creativity.

A the recent China Daily story Environment-friendly old man greens the mountain, while short, is a simple example  of how one person can be motivated to change their surroundings.

I think it is important to remember that it is little anecdotes like this that will motivate others as well.

Liu Shuiyan, 77, a farmer in Xishan village, Pucheng, Shaanxi province, has spent the past 19 years greening the mountain next to his village.

His efforts to plant trees, thereby controlling soil erosion, and green the barren mountain were prompted by a mudslide in the summer of 1989 that damaged his farmland and destroyed the wheat harvest.

Liu has since sunk 10 wells, built more than 2,000 m of road and dug five irrigation channels for the 10,000 trees he has planted, which cover a 33-hectare area of the mountain.

Now imagine if his neighbors took it upon themselves to do the same.

After 2 weeks of walking past and admiring a new WWF campaign, I finally remembered to bring my camera.

What I like about it is that it takes three of the biggest energy wasting habits and has developed a simple campaign around this issues (air conditioning, lighting, and water).

Charlie McElwee, of the famed China Environmental LAw blog, is a lawyer with Squire, Sanders, and Dempsy and a professor at Shanghai’s Jiaotong University.

Last week he sat down with me to discuss the condition of China’s environmental law and policy, and it did not take us long to expand that to include a number of other issues. With so much happening so fast, what I enjoyed through this conversation was that Charlie was able to tie together his 20+ experience of experience in the US as an environmental lawyer to his 3 years in China.

It was an entertaining and educational half hour, and I hope you will enjoy the clips.

Part 1: Policy, the rule of law, and enforcement

Part 2: The role of China’s new ministry, NGOs, and education

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of the Dell CSR report, and the subsequent announcement of its “carbon neutrality”, that resulted in a few emails/ comments expressing I had set a bar too high.

Well, fortunately for my defense HP has recently released a new Eco Solutions program that exceeds a number of the things I was hoping to see from Dell through their sustainability programs.  to be fair, the products do not match apple against apples, however I think that through HP’s programs there are lessons for others that should be followed:

the core pf the program consists of 4 points, as per the announcement:

• an enterprise printing assessment service and a carbon calculator that together comprehensively address energy and paper use, related carbon emissions and projected cost savings for optimized printing environments;
• a global paper policy governing the sustainable manufacture and use of paper HP sells to customers and uses for packaging, collateral and its own office printing;
• a new HP inkjet printer made almost entirely from recycled materials; and,
• an HP Eco Highlights label that will help customers identify environmental attributes of a given HP product or service.

For me, #3 is something that I was hoping of Dell. Particularly in its towers and laptop casings.  Both firms highlight their strong recycling programs, but where HP goes one step further is that they point out the following about their new product:

Finding new uses for recycled materials, HP introduced the HP Deskjet D2545 Printer, the company’s first printer made almost entirely from recycled plastic material. Eighty-three percent of the printer’s total plastic weight is made from recycled plastics and it uses HP 60 ink cartridges, which are molded from recycled plastic resins. Additionally, the overall packaging for this printer is 100 percent recyclable.

One of a few new products, my hope is that this becomes a standard for HP, Dell, and others.  that when designing the products for next year, they are not just looking at how to use recycled parts from previous models.. but that they are developing designs that can be leveraged in futher generations as well.

It is a system that is win - win - win for the company as it reduces waste, it reduces materials spend, and it reduces energy consumption