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The Cradle to Cradle Philosophy: the prospects for China (speech)By Dr. Robin Porter, ElcaMedia Consultant for China.

First presented at the NUTEC convention, Frankfurt, November 12th 2008.

Those of you who have read the book Cradle to Cradle will be familiar with itsmessage: that true sustainability has to be designed into the products and processeswe use and depend on from day to day anything less will simply mean that theplunder of resources and the despoiling of our planet with often toxic waste willproceed at a slightly slower pace.

If we look at the emerging market economies over the past several decades SouthKorea and Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Indonesia, and more recentlyIndia and Brazil especially - common to all their experiences of economicmodernization, by which we usually mean industrialization, has been the samefailure to address long-term environmental and resource issues that has beenapparent in Western Europe and North America over the past two centuries.

Clearly there is scope for the introduction of a new approach, designing insustainability, yet equally clearly there is little evidence of this yet. The competitiveadvantage of newly developing economies lies in their cheap labour, using processeswhich are often technologically at several removes from those which are state of the

art. So what possibilities exist for the introduction of the Cradle to Cradlephilosophy in the emerging market economies? In this very brief talk I will look at thecase of China, where I was Science and Innovation Counsellor at the BritishEmbassy from 2002 to the end of 2005.

The story of Chinas engagement with the international economy and itsextraordinary rise as a major force in the world since 1980 is well-known. Less well-known, however, is the more recent rise to priority status of environmental concernsin the policy deliberations of the Communist Party, concurrent with a move in theeconomy to higher technology, and an increase in domestic R and D.

Just fifteen years ago, the focus was on economic development at any environmentalcost. At that time, with a university colleague I visited a major steel plant in Beijing some of you may know of it whose contribution to atmospheric, water and soilpollution in the city was all too visible. The plant was old-fashioned and enormous,with 80,000 workers and their 45,000 dependants all living on the site. The ResearchDirector there rejected our questions about the environment out of hand, saying thatthe environmental lobby was a capitalist front organization seeking to undermineChinas industrial progress; no doubt foreign multinational corporations would havebeen quite surprised at this interpretation!

Since that time, a lot has changed however.The creation of the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1998, the growth inconfidence of the State Environmental Protection Administration, and blossoming

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dialogue with Western powers and Japan on environmental issues, all helped tofocus minds. Academic research in China suggested that if climate changeconsequent on man-made pollution continued unabated, because of floods, drought,and desertification China would be able to produce 8% less food for its people by2030 than it could in 2004. This would be in the face of a projected rise in the

population over the same period. In China, where lack of food has historically been afrequent trigger for rebellion, this was political dynamite.

In 2007 at its major Party Congress in October the Communist Party created a newMinistry for Environment Protection, and named the environment as one of its toppriorities for the first time ever.

So, is there scope for the Cradle to Cradle message in China? Yes, absolutely.

Certain factors make it likely that Cradle to Cradle would be received and examinedwith great interest.

Most of the largest corporations in China are still state-owned, and many ofthose which are apparently private are still subject to state influence andguidance; the governments ability to decide on a policy, and then carry it out,makes China significantly different from other emerging markets

Chinese corporations are busy globalizing, and are aware of the need tocomply with norms and standards overseas

The concept of corporate social responsibility is now taking off in China

following a number of environmental and health incidents and scandals

Chinese regulations pertaining to environmental matters are becoming everstricter; there may still be a problem of enforcement, but the trend is towardsmore effective implementation

China is now consciously seeking to upgrade its industrial technology, and topromote greater investment in R and D

The range of manufacturing activity is comprehensive, covering everythingfrom cheap plastic toys to jet aircraft and space technology; there are

therefore very many activities to which the Cradle to Cradle approach could beapplied

Despite all of this, in its recent past, in the years before 1980, China had avery substantial record of accomplishment in the recycling of products, makingshoes out of old rubber tyres, tools out of scrap metal, and fertilizer out ofhuman waste; the concept of multiple sequential use is well understood inChina, and a part of its own tradition

NOW is the time, therefore, to be pressing the sustainable design message of Cradleto Cradle.

So how would one go about promoting the Cradle to Cradle philosophy in China?Because of the complex part-market, part-command nature of the economy I would

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suggest that an approach which focuses only on the corporate sector is not enough.What is required is a three-pronged approach, through which you engage first withcentral government, secondly with universities or research units interested intechnology for sustainable development, and thirdly with Chinese companies, bothstate-owned and private.

An approach to government is essential. China remains a one-party state, and theCommunist Party and government should always be made aware of an initiative ofthis nature. If they are not consulted, they will take offence and make life very difficultfor a project of this kind; on the other hand if they are consulted, and can bepersuaded of the Cradle to Cradle argument, this will open doors and bring prestigeand support to the project. The specific Ministries concerned would be the newMinistry for the Environment, the Ministry of Science and Technology which has abroad remit covering all technological innovation, and of course the Ministry ofCommerce, which is responsible for the supervision of domestic Chinese companiesand their international operations.

The approach to a handful of carefully-chosen universities or research institutionswould be to carry the Cradle to Cradle message to them, and hopefully to persuadethem of the value of thinking about designed-in sustainable solutions in theirparticular areas of scientific or technical research. In China research institutes havea long history of working closely with state-owned manufacturing enterprises atradition which has now carried over to the private sector. Similarly they have closeties to the government, and academics frequently serve as government advisers.

In approaching commercial enterprises, a simultaneous pitch should be made to boththe President and to the Technical or Research Director, with the obvious messagethat designed-in sustainability is both good in and for itself, will serve China, and willput them ahead of their competitors domestically and internationally. For the manyChinese enterprises looking to expand overseas this should be of particular interest,and will help to counteract negative publicity linked to the trade imbalance betweenChina and countries overseas. As noted above, many of Chinas largest enterprises,and those most suited to the Cradle to Cradle philosophy, are state-owned and haveclose ties to central government. Even those which are ostensibly private often havesubstantial government money behind them, and are subject to the influence of theCommunist Party.

So how typical is China of other emerging markets? The answer may be not very,because of its political system, its hybrid economy, its enormous scale, and itsgrowing concern over the environment. Yet because of its size, it is especiallyimportant that the Cradle to Cradle message reaches China. If China can address itsown issues of environmental pollution, sustainable development and the recycling ofresources effectively, the world as a whole will have taken a major leap forward inaddressing these matters.

Oh, and finally, with respect to the steel plant I mentioned it is no longer a problem.Nearly ten years ago the central government ordered the heavily polluting plant tomove, lock, stock and barrel, two hundred kilometres northeast of Beijing and set up

again, using new, less polluting, technology. The Research Director has now retired.Where there is a will, there can be a way.