UPM-Biofore-Magazine-2-2014-EN

”CHINA MUST FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN GROWTH, CONSUMPTION AND THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF RESOURCES IN THE LONG RUN,” SAYS ZHANG MING.

Zhang Ming is the head of the China National Resources Recycling Association. The organisation operates under the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and aims to increase the recycling of materials in production and promoting cooperation between various parties.

Encouraging feedback According to Zhang, the paper industry is one of 10 industries in China where special attention is paid to resource efficiency. Increasing the sustainability of wood use, improving the recycling of paper, promoting the efficiency of production plants and reducing emis- sions are key issues. “The Chinese paper industry has been active in improving resource efficiency and environmental perfor- mance.” According to Zhang, the Chinese government has tightened the emis- sion limits set for production plants. This has led to the closure of those equipped with outdated technology. “When the Finnish forest industry was getting rid of its excess capacity, UPM took measures to promote the

attention and effort to deal with them was not sufficient. Improving resource efficiency is a huge, long termproject in a country the size of China. The recycling of waste has constantly increased over the years. However, there are still chal- lenges in improving the way environ- mental matters are handled. According to Zhang, the exhaustion of water resources and the pollution of ground- water are some of the greatest obstacles. “Approximately 10% of our ground- water is badly polluted. In some areas, the quality of the water no longer meets the right standards and the water cannot be used as drinking water.” The contamination of agricul- tural land and air pollution are also a major concern. This winter, there were

exceptionally large amounts of smog in Beijing and other big cities. “These environmental problems directly affect the everyday life of people and the stability of society. That is why the Chinese government and the entire society pay special attention to reme- dying these problems. The government has made huge investments and applied stricter control, measurement and supervision to improve resources effi- ciency. But it is still far behind in satis- fying the public,” Zhang emphasises. Since economic growth and increased purchasing power will unavoidably lead to an increase in consumption, Zhang believes that finding remedies to these problems is of utmost importance. “This is why China must find a balance between growth, consumption and the sustainable use of resources in the long run.”

28 | BIOFORE

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online