With the rapid growth of China, citizens become more affluent and waste has been generated at an unprecedented rate, many of China’s first and second-tier cities have been forced to rethink waste management. Particularly, the informal waste management systems that have, to date, efficiently closed the loop on a lot of waste streams. In Shanghai, with two of its largest landfills in the process…
In this episode of Sustainability Ambassadors, hosted at M on the Bund, we speak with Michelle Garnaut, Retauranteur and Social Entrepreneur about "Doing Good " through her work to build the M Group in China, her work to support the community through a number of initiatives, and finding a balance. It is an interview that we were certainly inspired by, and we hope that you will be too! ABOU…
This latest installment in our “Hope and Opportunity” article series, and last week's piece on Rat Tribes and Ant hills, we take a look at why young migrant workers are still drawn to Shanghai. Understanding Shanghai's Young Migrant Workers Young migrant workers born in the 1980s and 1990s now make up 60% of the total migrant population in China. Compared to their parents, the younger generation…
For this month’s event series on “The Future of Productivity”, we have two events in Shanghai that will look at the role of AI inside the office, and the concerns about job losses, and how companies and people will need to adapt to the future working environment and new jobs that will come about as we head not only towards Industry 4.0, but Office 4.0 in China. To help drive depth of insights i…
Moving towards an ever increasing urban world and the pressure and strains that richer more expectant consumers place on the worlds resources put our ecosystem and ability to provide for the populations at risk. The food-water-energy nexus is at the centre of this considered development. The three areas are intrinsically linked and underpin almost all areas of human consumption and activity. Th…
In this episode of #AsktheCollective, I answer questions from the voice of #AsktheCollective, Augustine Lee, about what Singapore can learn from China regarding sustainability, and what Trump leaving the Paris Accord means for Singapore. As always, we hope you find this series engaging, and if you do, please remember to like, share, comment, and SUBSCRIBE! #Timestamps 01:04 –…
When building up networks of sustainability leaders and innovators, it often takes the progressive action of a single individual to catalyze real change. These individuals are Sustainability Ambassadors, and they have the capacity and the drive to inspire change at any level of an organization – from the new talent to the visionary executive. In this episode of Sustainability Ambassadors, we sp…
What used to be an array of migrant housing is now razed to the ground. Rubble and weeds are the only traces of the previously-existing migrant community. According to the local government, the area will be used for development, so it has been slowly removing this community over the past few years. Most of the people who lived here before were forced to move elsewhere, and plots of land lay empty…
When 400 migrant workers were discovered living below an upscale apartment complex in Beijing last week, it was another sign of just how high housing costs have become in China's largest cities, and the lengths that some are driven to in finding a place called home. Known as shuzu or “rat tribes” by the locals, the discovery represents an estimated 1 million people living in a warren of Cold-Wa…
Last Thursday, Collective Responsibility hosted it’s Beijing session on “Closing the Loop on Waste” to look at how China is managing its growing supply of waste, the implications for business, and to share some best practices for how firms in the retail and manufacturing sector are closing the loop in China. Joining the session, we had Libo Ma, Director in Corporate Culture, Employee Engagement…
In this episode of #AsktheCollective, I answer a question about philanthropy, social enterprises, and impact investment in China. As always, we hope you find this series engaging, and if you do, please remember to like, share, comment, and SUBSCRIBE! #Timestamps 00:18 - Philanthropy funding is an important source for social enterprise globally, is this true for China? Also, how is the lands…
In this episode of Sustainability Ambassadors, we speak with Sandra Durrant, Director of Responsible Sourcing at Target about her career, the issues she is most concerned with, and how she looks to leverage the power and scale of business to solve these problems. It is an interview that we know aspiring and experienced professionals alike will be inspired by, and for more stories like Sandra’s,…
This week, we hosted a workshop on “Closing the loop on Waste in China” for 20 sustainability professionals from various industries, to help them understand the waste management system in China and how they can engage their stakeholders in the circular economy. Focusing on the circular economy of waste, and how businesses hold the power to address the waste issue in China and the potential for…
Shanghai’s “Closing the Loop on Waste” professional forum on Wednesday night brought together 50 young professionals who were interest in learning about how business was closing the loop on waste. Opening the forum, Collective Responsibility’s Director of Corporate Advisory Charlie Mathews spoke briefly about China’s virtually unparalleled rate of urbanization, and the mounting challenges he a…
As parents crowd outside the door, a classroom is full of excited six-year-olds ready to go home. The teacher passes out homework books for the students to practice their characters and mathematics. When the students leave, the teacher doesn’t have much time but to remind the parents and students to bring back the homework books the next morning. It is a scene that plays out every day at thi…
