"Improvements in China’s air quality will not only come through national government action. It is a challenge that will require the engagement and enforcement of regulations at both provincial and local levels of government. Recent pledges coming from the national level to reduce pollution, through the 13th five year plan, and measurable improvements in AQI during 2015, show progressive steps ar…
PM2.5 are fine particles of air pollution smaller than 2.5 micrometers — small enough that they can pass through our body’s filters and enter our lungs and cells. In fact, PM2.5 pollutants can be touched, tasted, and obviously seen whenever you look out the window at a Shanghai skyline or a Beijing avenue. Smog and urbanization go hand-in-hand around the world, and China is certainly no exception.…
Water is our most important natural resource, it has no replacements or substitutes and all human activity in some way relies on it to function – from the basic biochemistry of the body to large-scale thermal electricity production. Once abundant in many areas, as the planet’s population has grown and poorly managed industrial processes have polluted water sources all over the world, scarci…
The world’s most populous country continues to develop at a breakneck pace, and even the recent economic slowdown hasn’t hampered the expansion of its extensive transportation infrastructure. Transportation, like much of China, has been completely changed over the past century, especially as China's urban population has exploded. With China's 1st and 2nd tier cities already congested, plagued by e…
While COP21 delegates are still on their way home from Paris, the work to develop China's practice of sustainable urbanization continues. In this interview we speak with LendLease China's Managing Director David Nieh to learn more about the need for sustainable cities in China, the challenges they face, and the lessons they can teach others. We hope you enjoy his insights, and feel free…
For many living in China’s major cities, the start of the COP21 talks was a day of severe air pollution. Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang reached 611, 237 and 274 AQI respectively, prompting the issuing of the highest air quality alert of the year so far in the capital. In light of the climate talks, activists and deniers alike have voiced their opinions on the subject and fierce debate will…
In continuation of our consumer waste series, we examine the challenges faced in the area of plastic waste production and management. China has a big history with plastic. Throughout its rise to economic prominence, China has manufactured and exported a huge amount of plastic products to eventually become the world’s largest plastic producer in 2013. More recently, China's domestic consumption…
Over the last 2-3 years, one of the more interesting developments in China's philanthropic landscape has been the explosion of foundations that have come onto the scene. Interesting because as the number of foundations, and the number of celebrities/ CEOs opening their own foundation, grew there was a general belief that this would improve the mechanisms for giving, transparency, and impact. Ho…
Through the recently released China Charity Donation Report 2010, released by the China Charity & Donation Information Center, the issues of NGO transparency were once again highlighted. An ongoing issue for many, the main data point that was highlighted almost all the coverage was that 90% of the public was not satisfied with the current levels of information being released. Something…
In an Charlie Rose interview, Jack Ma is asked - and speaks extensively - on CSR and philanthropy in China. Interviewed before the now famous Gates and Buffet dinner, the interview couldn't have come at a better time. Founder of Alibaba and Taobao (two of China's most trafficked e-commerce platforms), Jack Ma holds a god like status in China. His voice on the matters of CSR and philanthropy…
