Shanghai's first environmentally friendly business forum
In a city where taxis are cheap and plastic is plentiful, attempts to "go green" could be likened to trying to be good in Hell-pointless. However, there are encouraging signs that a green movement is now afoot, as Shanghai hosts its first Green Business Forum. Sponsored by NextStep, the forum will be a platform for entrepreneurs and environmental experts to discuss China's current environmental problems and the steps that need to be taken to make a difference.

NextStep founder Joseph Constanty was inspired to organize the forum after watching The 11th Hour and reading Tales of an Economic Hitman. "It blew my mind," Constanty recalls. "I realized that there was a lot I didn't know, and I could help educate others." At the forum, companies and organizations will participate in panel discussions on the Carbon Credit Market and improving green practices, and display projects such as Roots & Shoots' free audits of companies' green practices and JUCCCE's energy efficient light bulb program.

"China has made tremendous progress in central level environmental policy, but stills need an energy workforce to implement it," says Peggy Liu, chairperson of JUCCCE, a non-profit organization which aims to improve energy efficiency through technological leap-frogging. "We could give away free solar panels today, but people would need to find someone [to install them]. It's not a matter of policy or technology, but of execution." Constanty adds, "The Chinese have a real opportunity to learn from the West and not repeat our mistakes."

Whether China has the right or not to make those mistakes is a point of debate that may already be irrelevant: "The need for energy is through the roof. In Shanghai this summer alone, there is predicted to be a 10 percent energy shortfall," Constanty explains.

The environmental movement in China is often seen as expat-driven. By casting the net beyond foreign NGOs and environmental groups to local companies, entrepreneurs and the general public, Constanty hopes the Green Forum will support sustained efforts toward environmentally friendly practices. As the Chinese government enacts visible policies to make the city a greener place, it seems that being green in Shanghai is no longer pointless-it's the wave of the future.

Kelly Price

Details

What: Green Business Forum
When: July 12, 2-6pm
Where: Crystal Ballroom, Grand Hyatt Shanghai
Cost: ￥250 includes food and drinks