The Future of China’s Left-Behind Children

This latest installment in our “Hope and Opportunity” article series discusses migrant worker trends with regards to children in rural China. When thousands of political and business leaders and experts gathered to discuss major economic, political, and social issues at China's recent Two Sessions, one of the most eye-catching and debatable topics raised was the current situation and futures of…

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Informal Waste Collection in China: A People-Powered Economy

China's waste collection and management system has recently captured public attention. Much of that attention has focused on negative incidents – such as dumping scandals in Shanghai and Wuxi – or uncertainty about the future of waste treatment, with expected landfill closures in Shanghai for 2017. But how much do you really know about waste beyond the headlines? Collective's work on waste i…

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China’s Airpocalypse: Why London’s Playbook Won’t Work

“Beijing’s pollution is bad, but they'll clean their air just like London did …” In 1952, the five-day Great Smog of London killed more than 12,000 people and made over 150,000 people ill. It was an environmental disaster that many people today consider both a cautionary tale and an instructive example of how to address and overcome an air crisis for areas in similar situations – in part because…

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China’s Labor Shortage: Are Its Cities Losing Their Appeal for Migrants?

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…

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China Renews Its Commitment to Battle Air Pollution

“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…

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Why a Chinese Government Lawsuit is an Opportunity for Sustainability

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…

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Smog in China: Wind Patterns and Pollution

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…

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China’s Landfills Are Closing: Where Will The Waste Go?

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…

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Automation & Manufacturing: 3 Insights of China’s Migrant Workers

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…

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3 Top Concerns for Chinese Citizens in 2017

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…

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From China to India: Scaling Sustainable Solutions

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…

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5 Predictions for Chinese Markets in 2017

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…

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Moving Towards Home: “Hope and Opportunity” Revisited

At the beginning of 2016, we interviewed more than 100 migrant workers in Shanghai. We listened to their bittersweet life stories. One of the stories, in particular, touched our hearts. Check out the video below, and the following article explaining China's unique migration phenomenon. This is a story about 200 yuan and a dream. "Chunyun" refers to the travel season for the Spring Fest…

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To gym, or not to gym? That is the question.

It is a question that many ask themselves as they look out the window to the fresh morning haze over the Shanghai skyline: To exercise, or not to exercise? As the full force of winter hits areas of northern China, the realities of factory activity and energy consumption are clear with pollution thickening the sky. Living with the realities of pollution can be frustrating, leaving many wondering…

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2016: CR Year in Review

2016 has been Collective’s busiest and most productive year to date. As we head into 2017 with a continued passion for action and change, we want to look back at the past year and share some of our favorite events, reports, and stories: JANUARY 5 Ways to Become a Sustainability Ambassador By Charlie Matthews  We kicked off 2016 with a Beyond Business as Usual Forum. Over 50 young professio…

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