Please see my 30 Boxes Calendar for this listing.

Enter the Green Dragon
China’s Built Environment Value Chain Goes Green
AmCham Shanghai’s Sustainability Conference

Thursday, September 11, 2008
Grand Hyatt Shanghai

Tickets Now on Sale at the AmCham Office!
Shanghai Centre, Suite 568 1376 Nanjing Road West Shanghai, China 200040
Phone: (8621) 6279-7119 Fax: (8621) 6279-7643
E-mail:amcham@amcham-shanghai.org Website: www.amcham-shanghai.org

How does building “green” in China move from marketing hype to reality?

Energy efficiency is a global priority for businesses, individuals and policymakers. It not only offers real cost savings, but it also significantly limits the impact of climate change and enhances energy security. As China continues to focus on reducing the energy intensity of its economy, it also increasingly focuses on promoting sustainability and green technology.

The second annual AmCham Shanghai Sustainability Conference will cover the entire value chain to explore the issue from a practical, business-oriented perspective.

The engaging and thought-provoking program will examine:

• Why should businesses care? Ultimately, how are both the top- and bottom-line impacted?
• The Chinese government can move mountains when it wants. What is it doing to stimulate a focus on sustainability and green technology?
• How can we plan and design for the future so that our built environment becomes a net positive contributor to the human ecosystem?
• Does building ‘green’ cost more? How do you design a building and prioritize all the various technologies to reduce demand on natural resources and create lifecycle savings?
• What are developers not only saying, but doing, about building ‘green’?

It provides a forum to present, explore and discuss new technologies, processes and designs that inject real energy efficiencies into the development value chain. Join business executives and thought leaders as we explore this important and timely topic.

We are pleased to present our keynote speakers:

Rob Watson, Chairman, Ecotech International, Founder of the LEED? Green-Building Rating System and the only foreign recipient of the PRC Ministry of Construction’s Green Building Innovation Award

Jonathan Woetzel, Director, McKinsey Shanghai, and co-author of McKinsey’s recent and forthcoming report’s on China’s Urbanization, Energy Productivity and Carbon Productivity, in addition being the co-author of the HBS Press book, Operation China

They will be joined by an exciting panel of business leaders, urban planners, government officials and academics who will explore the many facets of this important topic.

This conference will be of great value to:

• Real estate investors and developers
• Providers of green technology and energy efficient technology used in the built environment
• Private equity and venture capital investors seeking to understand the China market for the technologies of their portfolio companies
• Corporate users of the built environment looking to reduce their energy usage and consumption

Please don’t miss out on this chance to learn and network with thought leaders and leading business professionals at this dynamic annual event.

Ticket sales start on Thursday, August 21, 2008. Make sure you take advantage of the early bird ticket prices and get your tickets before Friday, September 5, 2008.

Date: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Time: 08:30 – 18:30
Venue: Grand Hyatt Shanghai (???????)
Address: 88 Century Boulevard, Pudong (?????? 88 ?)
Price:
RMB 1,200 (Member ticket purchased before Friday, September 5)
RMB 1,500 (Member ticket purchased after Friday, September 5)
RMB 1,800 (Non Member ticket purchased before Friday, September 5)
RMB 2,100 (Non Member ticket purchased after Friday, September 5)
Price includes conference fee, coffee breaks and cocktail

Definition of AmCham Shanghai Member: You are personally registered as a member for your
company and you have been issued a membership card.

Definition of Non AmCham Shanghai Member: You are not personally registered with AmCham
Shanghai and do not have a membership card, even though someone else in your company may be
registered.

Tickets: All tickets must be prepaid. Tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis. To secure
your ticket, submit your RSVP form with payment to the AmCham Shanghai office.

Payment: All tickets must be paid for at the AmCham Shanghai office (Shanghai Centre, Suite 568,
1376 Nanjing West Road) in RMB cash, USD cash. Sorry, we are not able to accept Credit Card
payments.

Cancellation Policy: Cancellations made before 5:00PM Wednesday, September 3 will receive a
100% refund. Cancellations made after 5:00PM Wednesday, September 3 will not be eligible for
any refund

(Image via TaylorFrancis.org)

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai welcomes Taylor Francis, the youngest presenter trained by Al Gore for The Climate Project, a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading awareness about the climate crisis.

Francis, who has been featured in the New York Times and TIME magazine, will be discussing climate change and global warming at an upcoming AmCham event as a guest of China’s newly created Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Environmental Committee
Date:     Tuesday, June 10, 2008 17:00 to 19:00
Venue:     The Regent Shanghai 1116 Yan An West Road (near cnr Fan Yu Road)
?????????? ????1116? (????)
Cost:     Members (RMB): 150.00
Non Members (RMB): 250.00

All students will be admitted free of charge.

The aftermath of the earthquake will continue to cause suffering for millions of people, and the full scale of environmental damage remains to be seen, so I know this won’t be the last time I report about this terrible disaster.

But while help is on the way and China maintains the recovery process, I thought I’d highlight some coverage by fellow bloggers and journalists, who have done their duty to spread awareness about relief efforts and other news:

China: Environmental Fallout After Sichuan Earthquake
By Kelly Proctor
Global Voices Online
May 26, 2008

A week after China’s deadly earthquake killed nearly 56,000 people, environmental and other costs of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake are becoming clearer. On this post we examine posts related to the environmental fallout of the earthquake, and also the plight of animals in the earthquake area.

Where is the China Earthquake Donation Money Going?
By Robert Vance
The China Teaching Web
May 29, 2008

“I don’t think that the donations are getting to the earthquake victims,” a friend of mine somberly told me recently. “A few of my friends came back from Mianyang recently,” he explained, “and they told me that the earthquake survivors were not being given enough food and water.” It was feared, he said, that the much of the money was being pocketed by local officials or being used to fund activities that were unrelated to the tragedy in Sichuan.

Citizens’ Groups Step Up In China - Wary Rulers Allow Role in Quake Aid
By Maureen Fan
The Washington Post
May 29, 2008

Grass-roots organizations and informal networks of private citizens are playing a vital role in getting supplies to rescue workers and survivors of this month’s devastating earthquake in China. The government, in a notable shift, appears content to let them do so.

Rebuilding Wenchuan -an opportunity?
May 29, 2008
China Crossroads

Although the disaster in Sichuan has affected so many, the flip side of this is that the rebuilding efforts could also affect so many. What an opportunity exists to rebuild sustainable, community-centred, successful communities. However, will this be the case? Though it is not a direct trade off, to build such communities is likely to take longer and be more expensive than the alternative options. But how do you tell IDP (internally displaced persons) that they need to live in a tent for longer, in order to have a ‘better community’ -if that can even be defined?

New Earthquake Situation Map
China Bystander
May 28, 2008

ReliefWeb has posted an updated situation map (pdf), a snapshot of which is below. This one concentrates on the barrier lakes, which threaten a “slurry tsunami” if they burst, and on dams at risk….

An estimated 700,000 people are threatened by the possible bursting of earthquake/landslide-caused lakes, according to the authorities.

Three R’s for surviving environmental change
By C Paskal
China Dialogue
May 12, 2008

No country is ready for natural disasters. In fact, some of the world’s richest nations are the worst prepared. C Paskal presents a guide to mitigating the huge human and security cost of our changing climate.

Thanks to John P. Romankiewicz of China’s Green Beat for alerting me to this update on the aftermath of China’s quake

• “Fears over China dam sparks more panic“
  May 17, 2008
  CNN.com

Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims and rescuers are fleeing areas near the epicenter over fears of floods from a river blocked by landslides.

The stampede of thousands of people on Saturday afternoon came as Chinese officials said the official death toll from the earthquake had risen to 28,881 people with 198,347 injured.

Landslides caused by Monday’s quake had blocked the Qingzhu River in Qingchuan county, creating two lakes with fast-rising water levels, an official at the Guangyuan disaster relief center said.

Officials, worried that one or both of the lakes could burst, forced the evacuation of 10 villages and townships downriver, he said.

(Image via CNN.com)

• “China Earthquakes More Peril: Dam and Reservoir Collapse“
  May 17, 2008
  ChinaStakes.com

The 7.8 earthquake that shook Sichuan Province in the afternoon of May 12, killing an estimated 50,000, is posing a continuing threat as the untold damage to hydropower stations and reservoir dams upstream on the Min River (the Minjiang) becomes apparent. The Minjiang is a tributary of the Yangtze River….

The National Development and Reform Commission has revealed the destruction caused to water facilities by the earthquake. By 5pm, May 13, safety problems had been discovered at 391 reservoirs, including two big ones, 28 medium ones and 361 small ones, in Sichuan and other four provinces….

Sichuan has about 7,000 dams in its system, 70% of which were built in 1950s or 1960s, which now needs to be consolidated….

With its plentiful rivers, Sichuan (which in Mandarin means “four rivers) has a slew of hydropower stations. The drainage basins of the Jinsha, Yalong and Dadu Rivers are all important hydropower bases. At the end of 2007, the capacity of Sichuan hydropower stations amounted to 18.8 million kw, about 62% of Sichuan total electricity production capacity, and 13% of China’s hydropower capacity. In 2007 hydropower stations generated about 63% of Sichuan’s total generated power, a highest such percentage in China.

First of all, I hope you and all your loved ones are OK.

If you’re reading this to find out how to help with relief efforts, I suggest the following websites:

• Red Cross Society of China: www.redcross.org.cn
• Mercy Corps - China: http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/china/2155
• Tzu Chi: http://www.tzuchi.org/
• China Charity Foundation: http://cszh.mca.gov.cn/article/english/
• China Foundation For Poverty Alleviation: http://www.fupin.org.cn/en/index.asp
• The Library Project - Earthquake Relief:
  http://www.library-project.org/china_earthquake.html
• Give blood in Shanghai: http://shanghaiist.com/2008/05/14/give_blood_and_help_the_earthquake_victims.php

Please leave more suggestions in the comments below. Thank you.

The BBC says an estimated 60,000 people are still missing in the wake of the devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 12,000 people in Sichuan province on Monday afternoon.

=====

We all know the human toll of this catastrophe is overwhelming. Does anyone know what the environmental damage has been? I heard about about an ammonia leak from a chemical plant in Shifang. The good news is, at least…

• China’s giant pandas survive earthquake
  May 13, 2008
  CNN

China’s giant pandas are believed to be safe after Monday’s earthquake, but concern is growing over how they will get their next meals.

Authorities confirmed Tuesday that captive animals in two of China’s major panda reserves were alive, according to Xinhua, China’s official news agency.

The Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center in southwest Sichuan province is home to about 86 giant pandas, who were reported safe Tuesday.

Staff and critters at neighboring Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center were also reported safe, according to a spokesperson for the Atlanta Zoo, which has two pandas on loan from the wildlife reserve.

Concern arose in the international wildlife community over damage to the animals’ habitat, as authorities continued assessing the scope of damage in the Sichuan province.

Got this email from Peter Bosshard, who I interviewed about China’s relationship with Africa (read my previous post here):

Dear Supporter,

My name is Peter Bosshard and I’m the Policy Director at International Rivers. I wanted to invite you to a presentation that I will be giving at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 13.

China has rapidly become a global economic superpower. Chinese companies are currently drilling for oil, cutting down forests and building dams around the world. At the same time, China has become the world leader in renewable energy.

In my presentation I will deal with the environmental footprint of China’s global expansion. Does China’s quest for resources spell doom for the world’s rivers, forests and climate? How has the country responded to pressures to respect human rights and the environment? What is the responsibility of the West, and what can concerned citizens, consumers and NGOs do?

The event will begin with a reception at 5:30 pm. My presentation will begin at 6 pm, and there will be ample time for discussion. Tickets are $8 for Commonwealth Club members and $15 for non-members.

For tickets please visit the Commonwealth Club website at www.commonwealthclub.org and click on the events calendar.

I hope that you’ll be able to attend this timely event.

Best regards,

Peter Bosshard
Policy Director
International Rivers

I will also post this listing on the ResponsibleChina 30 Boxes Calendar.

Companies Honored For Sustainability In China At Annual CSR Awards
ChinaCSR.com
October 30, 2007

General Electric has been honored in Shanghai for their commitment to corporate social responsibility in China.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai held its Third Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Conference and Awards at the Portman Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where GE and other companies were recognized for their CSR commitments. With representatives from Hands-On Shanghai, Peking University’s CSR Center, UNICEF China, Intel, and Corning, expert speakers from a wide range of industries shared their perspectives on effectively designing and implementing a CSR strategy in China.

Other finalists for the top award included Coca-Cola, Corning, Deloitte, Goodyear, Intel, Mary Kay, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Galanz and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank both won a top CSR Award for Non-Foreign Invested Enterprise. Ignition marketing earned the CSR Award for Small and Medium Enterprise.

“The evaluation process for the awards focuses on recognizing companies that have created the most effective structures to manage their CSR programs, rather than simply focusing on the achievements of these programs,” says Oliver Yang, CSR and government relations manager for Amcham Shanghai. “An ideal application will describe the systems that the company has established in order to carry out its CSR strategies through concrete actions. Such as the leadership arrangements that support such programs, as well as the methodology that has shaped them. Another important consideration is the company’s degree of commitment to CSR in different aspects, such as employee involvement, community response, executive support, and corporate culture.”

To see how this year’s winner General Electric has been acting as a responsible player in China’s business landscape, check out these articles:

• G.M. to Build Hybrid Research Center in China
  By Keith Bradsher
  New York Times
  October 29, 2007

General Motors announced on Monday that it would build an advanced research center in Shanghai to develop hybrid technology and other advanced designs, in the latest research investment in China by a foreign automaker despite chronic problems with purloined car designs.

• GM to raise fuel cell awareness in China
  Fuel Cell Today
  October 29, 2007

Five alternatively-fuelled vehicles - including the Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell electric car - will be displayed in Beijing this week as part of a plan by General Motors (GM) to emphasise its green credentials to the Chinese market.

• China buys GE’s ‘green’ push
  By Marc Gunther
  Fortune
  October 25 2007

In the two years since Stefano (Steve) Bertamini moved to Shanghai to become CEO of GE China, he has a sense that the days are less smoggy and more sunny.

This is more anecdotal than scientific, but it’s among the reasons that Bertamini believes that, with GE’s help, China will eventually go green - clean up its air and water, become more efficient and develop less-polluting sources of energy.

GE says it will deliver 300 fuel-efficient, low-emissions locomotives for use on China’s mainline rail system beginning in 2008.

“The Chinese will lead the way in these technologies,” Bertamini says, “just because they will have to.”

• 8 Reasons to Work for General Electric in China
  By Bill Belew
  September 22, 2006

1. Voluntary turnover for execs in China is around 14% - GE is less than half of that.

2. GE dishes out foreign assignments to its workers - to Japan, the US and so on. This, GE, says builds loyalty.

3. GE offers a mentoring/training program to its up and coming managers.

• General Electric Opens Wind Turbine Plant in China
  by Michael Graham Richard
  TreeHugger.com
  July 3, 2006

General Electric (GE) Energy announced on June 28 the official opening of their first wind turbine assembly plant in China. It is located in Shenyang and will produce 1.5 megawatt turbines.

[tags]General Electric, China, AmCham, CSR[/tags]

THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON GLOBALIZATION,
THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES &
THE PROGRESSIVE STUDENT UNION AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

present a TEACH-IN:

CONFRONTING THE GLOBAL TRIPLE CRISIS:
CLIMATE CHANGE, SPECIES EXTINCTION, PEAK OIL

DATE:
September 14-16, 2007
60 Speakers :: 25 Workshops

ADDRESS:
The GW Lisner Auditorium
730 21st Street, NW
Washington D.C.

For a full press release: http://www.ifg.org/…%20Release%201_2_21Aug07.pdf

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR ALL THREE DAYS!
(email: janet@ips-dc.org)

FEATURED SPEAKER BIO:
Dale Wen (China) - International Forum on Globalization
Dale Wen is a research fellow with IFG and has produced the report China Copes with Globalization: A Mixed Review. Coming from China in 1993, Dale got her Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology and previously worked in the high-tech industry. Starting with voluntary work in rural China, she witnessed the plight of the rural community and began to question the top-down globalization model. Several of her papers regarding sustainable development and rural education have been presented in international conferences in China. Her primary interests are in environment, education and women’s issues. She also serves as an advisor for Rural China Education Foundation.

More Info: www.ifg.org

TICKETS: www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/17923
1.800.838.3006 or GW Lisner Box Office

***See this event listing on the ResponsibleChina Job Board***

I received an email from Ludovic Bodin, co-founder of the Social Venture Forum and managing director of Kalibrio Ventures about an upcoming CSR event in Beijing:

The Social Venture Forum ( www.socialventureforum.com ) - started as the socialventureforum.com with the objective to inform, inspire and encourage acting in favor of harmonious development through Social Ventures in China - is organizing an event on ” Environment” called “Green Social Venture” - How China can lead the way.

The event will take place in Ogilvy building - Beijing on September 24th . We are looking for speakers who could participate to discuss about ” China-based Green Social Venture Project “ and the potential for investors and entrepreneurs.

Download the full press release: green-social-venture_september07.pdf

I encourage you to check out my new ResponsibleChina Job Board, powered by JobThread, where you can post events similar to the Green Social Venture forum for FREE. Check out Social Venture Forum’s posting here.

[tags]Green Social Venture, Beijing, Social Venture Forum, social responsibility, China[/tags]

New Energy (Hydrogen + Fuel Cells) Asia 2007 and 2nd China International Hydrogen Energy Conference, co-organized by China Industrial Gases Industry Association (CIGIA) and China Urban Public Transport Association (CUPTA) will be held at Shanghai Mart Expo Center on September 5th-7th, 2007.

To appreciate the purpose of this conference, it might help to know a little bit more about hydrogen and the fuel cell economy.

Here’s what I learned from some factsheets published by the Washington D.C.-based International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE):

Where does hydrogen come from?

Hydrogen is the most abundant gas in the universe and the simplest element, consisting of one proton and one electron. As a gas, hydrogen does not exist in a natural state on earth. It is always mixed with other elements. Combined with oxygen, it creates water. Combined with carbon, it makes different compounds such as methane, coal, and petroleum – today’s major fuels.

Hydrogen can also be produced by using electricity to separate it from oxygen in water through a process known as electrolysis. The electricity for the electrolysis process can be produced from a variety of energy sources such as oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, and renewable energy sources such as wind power, hydroelectricity, biomass,
geothermal, and solar energy. Other less developed and applied methods include thermo and biochemical processes.

How can we use hydrogen as an energy source?

As an energy carrier, hydrogen holds the potential to dramatically transform the ways in which we use energy. It may be utilized to fuel hydrogen-powered vehicles, eventually allowing us to replace traditional automobiles with a clean hydrogen alternative. And, because hydrogen can be stored and transported to where it is needed, it may be used in combination with fuel cells to provide energy in locations not served by the electric power grid and, for stationary applications that require very reliable sources of electricity, such as the information technology industry and medical applications.

What is a fuel cell?

Fuel cells are one of the key enabling technologies for a future hydrogen economy. They have the potential to replace the internal combustion engine in vehicles and to provide power in stationary and portable power applications.

A fuel cell is a device that generally uses hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity by an electrochemical process. A single fuel cell consists of an electrolyte and two catalyst-coated electrodes. Hydrogen is fed into the anode and oxygen is fed into the cathode. In the case of a PEM Fuel Cell, a catalyst strips electrons from the hydrogen atom. Freed of the electrons, the protons pass through the electrolyte. The electrons take a different path to the cathode creating an electric current that can be utilized. At the cathode, another catalyst rejoins the hydrogen atom, which then combines with oxygen to create a molecule of water.

What’s the status of fuel cell cars in China?

(Image via the Wall Street Journal)

The Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) unveiled its first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle at the 2007 Shanghai Auto Show. The SAIC plans to put the fuel-cell sedan, marketed under a Shanghai brand name, into commercial production by 2010, according to the China Daily.

The image above is the latest fuel cell concept car from Chinese automaker Chery, which “expects it will take five to ten years to develop the technology to a stage where it can be used commercially,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

For more information on the HY+FC conference, visit http://www.hy-fcexpo.com/yqh.php

Contact:

AIT Events Co., Ltd
Room 1601, Block3, Zhubang 2000 Office Tower, No.98 Balizhuangxili,
Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 100025
Karen Wang, Doris Lu
Tel: 86-10-8586 8930
Fax: 86-10-8586 8931
E-mail: hy-fc@ait-events.com

Related articles and resources about hydrogen energy in China:

• Event Report from the 2007 China International Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Investment and Trade Expo
  

• “China produces its first fuel cell car with completely independent IPR”
  from Fuel Cell Today
  16 October 2006

• Hydrogen Energy Vision and Technology Roadmap Report for China
  from the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE) Implementation Liaison Committee Meeting, held in Brazil on March 22-23, 2005

• “HYDROGEN POWER IN CHINA: Will Fuel Cells Ever Be Clean, Cheap, Efficient?”
  from EcoWorld
  By Gordon Feller
  October 15, 2004

[tags]hydrogen fuel cells, Shanghai Auto Show, alternative energy, sustainability, China, business, environment[/tags]