Beijing, China - October 16, 2007
Results in 2006 for the three-year national pilot project on Cleaner Production (CP) between the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) of China and The Dow Chemical Company have exceeded the impressive accomplishments achieved during its inaugural year in 2005.
According to the audit results for 2006, over 700 CP options have been implemented, generating RMB 36 million in economic benefits which is equivalent to RMB 145 million annually. In addition to the impressive economic benefits, there were further benefits achieved in environmental protection. Waste water was reduced by 1,676,000 tons; gaseous emissions by 24 million cubic meters; SO2 discharges by 667.2 tons; 2,767,000 kW of electricity and 3,728,000 tons of water was saved as well as 108,000 tons of coal. The project currently has 427 CP options to be implemented in the future which aim to deliver over RMB 200 million in annual economic returns.
Zhang Lijun, Vice Minister of SEPA, said: "Pollution reduction is a key priority of China's current 11th Five-Year Plan. Cleaner Production methods are proven to be energy efficient, and are highly effective in reducing pollution. Over the past two years, the Cleaner Production project between Dow and SEPA has progressed smoothly and achieved notable results. This project has helped the participating enterprises enhance their Cleaner Production standards, while also providing an outstanding model for others to follow. I would like to express sincere thanks to Dow for its efforts in making this project a success."
Jim McIlvenny, President of Dow Asia Pacific & Greater China said, "The impressive results for the project in its second year speak for themselves - that Cleaner Production is driving business results and reducing environmental impact more so than ever before. This project is a good example of Dow's commitment to achieving its 2015 Sustainability Goals which have been created specifically to strengthen our relationships with the communities where we operate, continue to improve our product stewardship and innovation, and reduce our global footprint. We are truly honored to be a part of this successful partnership with SEPA which aims to make real, lasting changes in China."
A total of 21 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from seven provinces participated in 2006. SMEs from Beijing and Inner Mongolia were added to the group of participants for the second year of the project. These two regions yielded excellent results, which include:
- 60 enterprises nominated by the environmental protection bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region participated in training courses, promoting the Cleaner Production even further in this area
- The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau invited chief executive officers from 18 districts/counties in Beijing to attend training courses, positively promoting Cleaner Production to a wider range of enterprises in Beijing
- Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform invited key instructors from the management committee of the SEPA-Dow project for “Audit Training Course for Beijing Hundred Enterprises on Cleaner Production”
- The National Standards Institute expressed strong interest in the program and its achievements, and aims to obtain technical support for their Cleaner Production auditing, ultimately leading to reference cases for their future work
The focus of the 2006 Cleaner Production project included audit training courses on cleaner production, development of training materials, participation of 10 third party audit organizations to ensure proper use of the auditing process and further development of more sophisticated analysis reports for specific industries.
The three-year Cleaner Production pilot project jointly launched by SEPA and Dow in 2005 aims at promoting Cleaner Production practice among SMEs from the chemical and related industries, including pharmaceutical, dyeing, electroplating, paper and breweries. In addition to the RMB 6 million funding support, Dow has also formed a working team with SEPA to contribute its global skills and expertise for the success of the project.
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Kay Yau
Dow Greater China Media Relations
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