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Led by the United Nations Environment Program and the All-China Environment Federation, the project, which started in 2014 and ends this month, strives to construct green and comfortable communities in China and guide consumers to choose environmentally friendly products and services in their daily lives. "Sustainable consumption focuses on the quality of life and living environment, which means encouraging people to consume products and services at a minimum expense of natural resources and pollutants," said Jin Min, associate professor at the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Renmin University of China. Taking communities as basic units of sustainable consumption, the project conducts surveys on residents' ideas and practices in the city's Shijingshan Bajiaobeili and Wangjing communities, sets up systematic criteria for evaluation and analysis, and gives suggestions on the country's future strategies and development model. The surveys found that 51 percent of respondents have heard of sustainable consumption, but only 3 percent of them know about the concept. Almost half of all respondents said they had never heard of it. Lyu Keqin, deputy secretary-general of ACEF, said research on China's sustainable consumption is currently limited but that there are key standards being implemented in the two communities that could be promoted around the country. "The criteria will help people have a better understanding of their duties and rights on the environment," he said. Those key standards that the two communities will be measured by include the conservation of resources, purchase of environmentally safe products, garbage sorting and low-carbon traveling. Other standards include how often energy-saving products are used and how often garbage pickups are conducted as well as the effectiveness of community management and participation of the public. Chang Yan, project manager at UNEP, said the change in residents' consumption habits is essential for the country's sustainable development. She said over the past 30 years, the rate of global energy expenditure has increased to 85 percent, and by 2030, China will have the highest rate of consumption among economies in the world with more than 500 million middle-class consumers. "Faced with an uncertain global economy, a series of stimulus policies in the domestic market may cause such environmental problems as the low rate of utilization and a large amount of disposable products," said Chang. "So it is necessary for us to promote sustainable consumption amid China's rapid pace of urbanization and economic transformation." Compared to developed countries in Europe and North America that mainly focus on technological innovations, government policies, art activities and infrastructure, China is paying more attention to long-term sustainable development, city planning, government supervision and the balancing of interests. "In the future, we will further enhance the publicity of sustainable consumption in communities, intensify public involvement, tackle potential problems like management loopholes ... and urge government agencies to establish legal mechanisms for it," said Lyu. He said enterprises also need to have sustainable production process and research and development. "Technological innovation is not the only thing China's enterprises need to focus on. They should also adopt green ways to let customers recognize their products." Zhang Yonghong, secretary-general of ACEF, said at the First China Youth Environmental Forum held on Saturday that teenagers have become a driving force for China's green future. "Environmental education is not only to publicize information and knowledge, but also create practical opportunities. We offer a long-time platform for teenagers to take part in various public environmental activities with the help from such universities as Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Zhejiang University and Renmin University," he said. wangjinhui@chinadaily.com.cn  A researcher collects residential information at Shijingshan community.  Students at the forum take part in an environmental activity at Xishan Mountain in Beijing. |
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