This is the latest installment in our "Hope and Opportunity" article series discussing migrant worker trends in Shanghai. While the world debates the chances of robots replacing human labor and the Trump administration promotes the idea that China's "cheap labor" have stolen American jobs, on the factory floors, the conversations are quite different. Factory managers are wondering why labor poo…
Following up on a question posed by a viewer of Episode 005, and this weekend's announcement by China's Premier Li KeQiang that China needed to do more to clean the air, this entire episode was dedicated to China's air pollution and what efforts need to be taken towards long-lasting solutions. It was originally planned to be a quick 5 minutes, but quickly turned into 12. We hope that you enjoy…
“People are desperately hoping for faster progress to improve air quality. We will make our skies blue again.” These are the words of a commitment made by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the start of the annual National People's Congress yesterday. Li spoke of driving harder to address China’s (and Asia’s) air pollution crisis – a topic which has prompted greater public pressure on the governmen…
THE QUESTION: IS CHINA GENEROUS? Much of our work here at Collective centers on the business side of "social entrepreneurship" in China – going beyond business as usual to work towards the development of a better world. Yet, we also run into a certain question from the more philanthropic side of that mission: Is China generous? Answering such a loaded question risks overgeneralizing a country…
China has some of the largest and fastest-growing megacities in the world. And with 100 million more people moving to those cities by 2020, China will have to tackle critical urbanization issues years, even decades ahead of everyone else. One area that doesn't receive nearly enough attention is waste management. Through our ongoing research on waste in China, we've studied the realities of Shan…
As always, we hope you find these questions and answers useful, possibly gain some new insights, and feel compelled or inspired to ask questions of your own! Enjoy Episode 004 below, check out the full playlist here, and stay tuned for Episode 005 coming soon. (To stay in the loop on what’s new at Collective, you’ll definitely want to subscribe to our channel and follow us on social media.) #As…
Air pollution is on everyone's radar, not just in China, but throughout the world. Recent news pieces are beginning to expose the extent to which air pollution is becoming a truly global problem. From London, to Delhi, to Beijing, public consciousness of the issue is higher than ever, and politicians worldwide are being forced to act. Not a New Challenge Of course, this is nothing new for Chi…
As always, we hope you find these questions and answers useful, possibly gain some new insights, and feel compelled or inspired to ask questions of your own! Enjoy Episode 003 below, check out the full playlist here, and stay tuned for Episode 004 coming soon. (To stay in the loop on what’s new at Collective, you’ll definitely want to subscribe to our channel and follow us on social media.) #As…
In China, waste and waste management have attracted national concern. From environmental issues like toxic chemicals in sea water, to issues affecting urban centers – like Beijing's burdened landfills – waste has become a central part of public discourse. With this in mind, we thought we'd share insights from our past and recent work on waste in Shanghai, and shed light on major changes to waste m…
As we wrap up the start of February, we are proud to present Episode 002 of the #AskTheCollective video series. This episode features topics ranging from ocean plastic and the influence of affluence in China, to the link between sustainability and a market-driven economy. Many thanks to askers: Wade Sewell, allaways coffee, and Mario Van Der Meulen. As always, we hope you find these questions a…
With an increased number of reports and discussions focused on the impact of automation on jobs, there is a clear (and growing) concern in many areas of the world. It is a concern that we first studied last year as part of our work with the ILO in creating the Future of Work report. This concern, at the time, was seen as misplaced in the minds of many of the executives and factory owners we spoke…
Earlier this month, Collective Responsibility joined over 120 corporate social responsibility (CSR) professionals in Shanghai for the 4th annual gathering of CSR WeCan. As part of the event, we were invited to speak on a panel titled “Is CSR Dying or Thriving?” – a topic that has been regularly discussed. Given the liveliness of that debate and the importance of the topic, we thought we would s…
Last week, President Xi Jinping attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Businesses, world leaders, NGOs, and think tanks used the forum to forecast concerns, offer international solutions, and point out emerging global trends. China was often a point of discussion. Chinese Concerns Ipsos, for instance, presented new China-related findings from its 2016 study, “What Worries t…
Early this year, I took a flight from Mumbai to Shanghai - which included a five-hour, pollution-related delay in Delhi. During the whole time in the air, it was only over the Himalayas that I saw the Asian continent getting a respite from the consequences of industrial activity, localized burning, and energy consumption. India: The Next "China" India is now well-documented to follow in Chin…
2017 has just begun, and one question is on everyone’s minds: what exactly will the new year bring? In particular, companies in China want to predict and adjust for major trends, and wonder what upcoming news could affect their operations. 2016 was a tumultuous year for Chinese markets. The Chinese Communist Party issued its second red alert, closed factories across the northeast, tackled risin…
