Christine Lu of The China Business Network brings us another great podcast about URBN Hotels & Resorts, an eco-friendly boutique hotel and resort company based in Shanghai. The company’s first luxury hotel, a 28-room property catered to design-focused “urban world travelers,” bills itself as being China’s first carbon neutral hotel.

URBN Hotels’ vision is to expand its concept to other cities in China so that people can have unique experiences reflecting the diversity of the destinations to which they travel. There are plans to develop 20 URBN boutique Hotels & resorts in tourist and business cities throughout the country in next 3 years. The company is negotiating on sites in Beijing, Hangzhou, Dalian, and Suzhou in the immediate future. Continuing to rehabilitate existing structures and growing green will be essential to URBN’s strategy even as the size of the hotels increase to 50 to 70 rooms.

The entrepreneurs behind the concept, Scott Barrack and Jules Kwan, are primarily dedicated to luxury real estate investment and development (they co-founded spacedevelopment, responsible for the fancy serviced apartments of innshanghai, as well as the high-end showroom, Torana House), but recently, both businessmen have become increasingly attracted to green construction and social entrepreneurship.

For example, the hotel in Shanghai uses recycled wood and brick reclaimed from old Shanghai houses that are currently being destroyed in light of the country’s rapid development. “One of the key problems in construction in China is that it’s always built as fast as possible and as cheap as possible,” according to Kwan. He says that green construction may require more money up front, but eventually, the overall running costs are much lower. “Economically, it’s a better decision.”

There’s also the issue of labor rights and regulations. Often times, Kwan says, constructions sites in China are filled by thousands of migrant workers who are not held to the same protection and safety standards that many employees enjoy in Western countries.

“When we look at green and sustainable developments, we look to how to make a project work economically,” Kwan says. “Also, it’s very important, that as the world moves into the future, we have to start finding better ways to build. It’s definitely possible. The beauty of it is, if it’s done int he right way, it’s actually a better business decision, so everyone wins.”

Thanks again to Christine, for continuing to cover China’s business scene, as well as for inspiring me to develop ResponsibleChina.com

Download her full podcast here.

One factory’s downfall is another business’ success

In a subtle twist of irony, Chicago’s Frederick Cooper Lamp factory was shut down in 2005 because of increased competition from China’s booming manufacturing economy, only to be reborn into the Chicago Green Exchange, “an epicenter for green businesses and organizations in the Midwest.” So while China is still trying hard to strike a balance of public interest, profits and sustainability, it appears that Chicago has already found a successful solution.

Dimming lights lead to a bright idea
At the time it was struggling, Cooper Lamp, which specialized in highly stylized, handcrafted lamps, couldn’t compete with cheaper products sold at local mega-markets and chain stores.

Fred Gershanov, vice president and one of the owners at Cooper, talked to the Chicago Sun-Times about his company’s final days:

Frederick Cooper Lamp factory to be shut down
Chicago Sun-Times
Feb 9, 2005
By David Roeder

..the Cooper plant is suffering the same fate of many other domestic manufacturers, something [Gershanov] summarized in one word etched with frustration, “China.”

He said the company had its best year in 2000, with sales of about $20 million, but has declined steadily since then as consumers increasingly have gone for cheap lamps produced in China. Cooper sales were only $8 million last year, Gershanov said. . . .

“Lamps have become a throwaway item. You use it for a year and if you don’t like it anymore, you get a new one,” Gershanov said.

He said he’s already had to source his parts from China because components such as sockets, wiring and weights for the bottoms of vases are no longer made in the United States.

But the factory’s demise spelled out a unique opportunity for socially and environmentally conscious Chicago business leaders to revive the community by introducing new jobs, incubating green businesses, and promoting sustainable practices. (Read “Green Exchange,” by Arnold Collins, in the Chicago Sun-Times, July 20, 2007.)

Responsible development

After its green renaissance, the four-story, quarter-million-square-foot LEED-certified building will host as many as 100 companies in the sustainable-products sector, such as environmental printing services, bicycles, and solar-powered electronics.

If only China could redirect its energy from selling cheap products to developing more green ventures. Of course, it’s not like China is totally ignoring greenification. Just in this last week, Premier Wen Jiabao has publicly called for energy-efficient, frugal construction for the Beijing Olympics; the Chinese government is working on regulations for clean energy; and officials are toying with the idea of giving China’s State Environmental Protection Administration ministry status.

Cities like Chicago are trying to make green development the norm, not the exception.

Ald. Manuel Flores, representing Chicago’s 1st Ward, summed up the advantages of green development like this, as quoted in the Sun-Times:

“Take a look at the needs: more jobs, stronger economy, global competition and doing it in a way where we’re not harming our environment. That’s a winning formula,” Flores said.