Does Green IT Need to Turn a New Leaf?
The Effect of E-Waste on the Environment in China
It is no secret that many businesses around the world are a source of environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions — and that an equal number of corporations are working to change that. Historically speaking, the US has been the largest greenhouse gas emitter, but today China’s environmental problems seem to be increasing at pace with the country’s economic growth. Currently, 16 out of the 20 most polluted cities the world are located in China according to the United Nations Development Program.
The city of Guiyu, China is a prime example of this environmental degradation. This small city’s economy centers on electronic waste (e-waste), which is trash that contains electrically powered products with both valuable and hazardous components. Despite the fact that e-waste imports have been illegal in China since 1996 and the Basel Agreement banned the shipment of electronic waste from the developed to the developing world, over 5,500 businesses in Guiyu are devoted to dismantling e-waste, 80% of which arrives from overseas.
The people of the town who have become the “recyclers” are often former peasant farmers who can make more money — a meager $8 a day — using acid to extract lead, gold, and copper mined out of the circuit boards, wiring, and chips in dumped electronics. The waste from the work flows into the city’s streams and canals, which are now contaminated; drinking water is trucked in to the city. In fact, Guiyu is now the city with the highest levels of cancer-causing dioxins in the world.
You may be asking the same thing came to my mind as I read about this city in China — what can I do, as a consumer and a business professional — to reduce my environmental impact and help improve the conditions in cities like this one? We are equally responsible for these problems: In fact, China and the US combined currently account for nearly half of all carbon emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy has concluded that if China and the US continue on their current paths, China’s annual CO2 emission will grow from 5.3 billion tons in 2005 to 12 billion tons in 2030 and concurrently the US emissions will grow from 6 billion tons to 6.9 billion tons.
There are a number of ways to reach the common goal of improving the global climate. For instance, most individuals and companies are constantly purchasing the most up-to-date technology and then dispose of their outdated computers and electronics. Instead, companies and consumers can be environmentally and socially responsible by shipping older models of technology to third-world countries that don’t have the resources to purchase them new.
The use of public transportation is highly encouraged instead of private cars. In the hopes of improving air quality, new rules were announced in Beijing this past April. As part of the city’s overall strategy to reduce airborne pollution and traffic congestion, vehicles registered in Beijing are banned from metro roads one day per working week, depending on the last digit of their license plate. There are no restrictions on weekend driving. The plan hopes to take 930,000, or roughly 20% of Beijing’s over 3.6 million vehicles, off the road each weekday. This measure represents the strictest action taken since lifting a ban that was put in place one month prior to and during the Olympics, when vehicles were prohibited from driving in Beijing every other day. According to the Beijing municipal environmental protection bureau, this new measure should help to reduce daily vehicle emissions by 750 tons.
On an even larger scale, cities in both developed and developing countries can improve the way buildings are designed and constructed for tenants like corporations. The Asia Society recently noted that buildings are responsible for approximately 30% of the world’s energy consumption. By increasing energy efficiency through design and construction of buildings, cities can reduce environmental impact at the most fundamental level, even before corporations become individual contributors.
A perfect example can be seen in the construction of the Olympic Village in Beijing. Prior to the construction of the National Olympic Stadium a contract was signed with a domestic solar company, Suntech Power, to install a 130-kilowatt photovoltaic system at 12 stadium entrances. This installation supplemented the venue’s conventional power supple and made the stadium one of the world’s most environmentally friendly arenas. Beyond the energy and water initiatives, Beijing concentrated on drainage and wastewater disposal to increase the treating capacity of the city to 90%. Similarly, in New York, the new Bank of America building is incorporating green construction techniques — and will be the city’s second-tallest skyscraper. While the cost of developing energy efficiency into the infrastructure of buildings is high, the social and environmental payoff is equal.
In 2010, there is great potential for more and more companies to realize the benefits of proactively confronting climate issues — and to make a positive impact on their neighbors around the world.