China Watch Blog

China Watch Blog has learnt that Unilever announced it is sourcing more than a third of its agricultural raw materials sustainably, having made significant progress towards its target of 100% by 2020.

With 36% now sourced sustainably, it has exceeded the interim milestone of 30% it set itself in 2010 when launching the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.

The improvement was made against a backdrop of the company reporting annual sales of €51 billion in 2012. Taken together, they represent significant milestones on the way to realising Unilever’s vision of doubling the size of its business whilst reducing its environmental footprint and improving its positive social impact.

This announcement comes ahead of the upcoming Unilever Sustainable Living Plan Progress Report which will be released on 22 April.

Marc Engel, Chief Procurement Officer said: “Climate change, water scarcity, unsustainable farming practices, and rising populations all threaten agricultural supplies and food security.

Half of the raw materials Unilever buys are from the farming and forestry industries, so ensuring a secure supply of these materials is a major business issue. However, sustainable sourcing is not only about managing business risks, it also presents an opportunity for growth, allowing brands to stand out in the marketplace.”

One example is how Knorr has supported sustainable growth for the Foods category. In September 2012 a new soup launched in France became the first Unilever product to promote an ingredient (tomatoes) as sustainably grown in accordance with the Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Code. This was made possible through the Knorr Sustainability Partnership Fund, which uses €1 million a year to support vegetable suppliers on complex sustainable agriculture projects. This development has boosted shelf standout and competitive differentiation and now Knorr plans to continue to label other products.

China Watch Blog has learnt that Suntech Power Holdings Co became the first company from the Chinese mainland to default on its bonds after failing to repay US$541 million of notes due last Friday, breaching terms of other outstanding loans. Is this the first of many?

The Shanghai Daily reported that the move pushes what was once the world’s biggest solar panel maker into default on credit lines it has with International Finance Corp and Chinese domestic lenders, Suntech said yesterday in a statement from its headquarters in Wuxi. China Development Bank has loans to Suntech.

The move opens the way for Suntech noteholders to sue the company in the US, where its shares and bonds trade. Last week, Suntech obtained an agreement of holders of 63 percent of the notes to delay exercising their rights until May 15, allowing executives to press ahead with restructuring payments. Some note holders not involved in those talks are organizing a rival group and have threatened to sue.

Suntech is seeking “a way forward that will take into account the rights and interests of all of its constituents, including shareholders, note holders, lenders, customers, suppliers and employees,” Chief Executive David King said in the statement. “We are currently exploring strategic alternatives with lenders and potential investors, which could help to set us on a path towards longer term success.”

UBS AG is advising Suntech. Chinese solar firms are struggling after taking on debt to expand supply, leading to a glut that cut prices and squeezed profits. LDK Solar Co, the second-biggest solar wafer maker, in December hired Citigroup Inc to help renegotiate its liabilities and obtain “additional flexibility” from creditors.

China has supported solar companies through credit lines from local government or state-backed agencies. Suntech, LDK, Trina Solar Ltd, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co, Hanwha SolarOne Co and Jinko Solar Holding Co were among 12 companies that obtained over US$43.2 billion in credit pledges from CDB, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

LDK, which got a bailout in July for part of its debt from the local authority in Xinyu, said on January 31 that it got approval for a 440 million yuan (US$71 million) loan from CDB. Suntech has been talking with the Wuxi government about the possibility of financial support.

China Watch Blog has learnt that more than 250 investors, including majority of them from China, have been cheated out of millions of dollars in a scheme by an American who led them to believe their investments could enhance their prospects of US citizenship, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Shanghai Daily reported, citing the SEC as saying that the man, Anshoo R. Sethi, had created two companies and “fraudulently sold more than US$145 million in securities and collected US$11 million in administrative fees from investors.”

The commission has halted the scheme and filed charges. It has also frozen Sethi’s assets.

“Sethi orchestrated an elaborate scheme and exploited these investors’ dreams of earning legal US residence along with a positive return on their investment in a project that was not nearly the done deal that he portrayed,” said Stephen Cohen, associate director in the SEC’s enforcement division.

“The good news is that we intervened early and stopped him from getting very far, and the asset freeze preserves nearly all of the money invested.”

But the bad news is that Sethi and his companies have spent more than 90 percent of the administrative fees collected from investors despite a promise to return the money to investors if visa applications were rejected.

More than US$2.5 million of these funds were directed to Sethi’s personal bank account in Hong Kong, said the SEC.

It has obtained an emergency court order to protect the remaining US$145 million in investor assets.

It is not known whether Sethi, 29, who lives in Illinois, has been arrested.

Investigations are ongoing, the SEC said.

Sethi’s website, www.anshoosethi.net, is still in service. It says the family hotel development business is three decades old and he “offers nearly 15 years’ experience as a real estate developer and global financier with a focus on hotel development and management.”

The SEC alleges that Sethi misled people that their investments would help them gain them US citizenship through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, which provides foreign investors with an avenue to US residency by investing in projects that will create or preserve jobs for US workers.

The SEC claimed that Sethi and his companies “made a number of misrepresentations about the project to dupe investors.”

By purchasing interests in Sethi’s companies, the investors were told that they would be financing construction of the “World’s First Zero Carbon Emission Platinum LEED certified” hotel and conference center near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

The SEC alleges that Sethi and his companies falsely told investors they had acquired all the necessary building permits and that several major hotel chains, such as Hyatt, Intercontinental Hotel Group and Starwood Hotels, had signed onto the project.

However, none of those hotel chains has a signed agreement to include a hotel in the Chicago project, according to the SEC’s investigation.

China Watch Blog has learnt that Chinese manufacturing companies which became part of WWF-Hong Kong’s Low Carbon Manufacturing Programme (LCMP) reduced their carbon intensity level by 16 percent in just one year. The companies collectively avoided more than 14,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to the carbon produced by 53,700 return flights between Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Today, the efforts of these accredited manufacturers were recognized at WWF’s annual LCMP Labelling Award Ceremony, in which fifteen manufacturers received awards. Ms Christine Loh, Under Secretary for the Environment for the Hong Kong SAR government said, ”The government always supports manufacturers in their efforts to reduce their impact on the environment and improve the air pollution situation in Guangdong province. We are glad to see that this programme has achieved this outstanding result in such a short period of time.”

At the ceremony, Mr Adam Koo, CEO of WWF-Hong Kong shared that “Seven out of the 15 accredited manufacturing companies have invested approximately RMB 22 million in different areas, mainly using the funds to purchase new machinery or retrofit existing machinery in order to improve their energy efficiency performance. Collectively, they have avoided 14,234 tonnes of carbon emissions; equivalent to 53,700 return flights between Hong Kong and Shanghai, or the average yearly electricity consumption of 4,400 Hong Kong families.”

The LCMP programme helps to measure manufacturers’ effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions and equips them with best practice in greenhouse gas management by providing the companies with a carbon accounting and labelling system. 56 manufacturing companies with over 80,000 staff members have joined the programme so far. The programme not only helps its members improve their energy efficiency, but helps them save money in the long run and makes their corporate image more climate-friendly.

Ms Karen Ho, Business Engagement Leader, Climate at WWF-Hong Kong also shared that “Over half of the manufacturers have released a GHG policy statement and which applies to all activities of their companies. But there is still room for improvement, for example companies need to begin considering GHG emissions when making investment decisions or when purchasing goods and materials.”

China Watch Blog has learnt that GPET™ It’s not an animal, it’s actually a type of raw material gained by recycling PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), a polymer that’s commonly used to make plastic bottles – thousands of which get tossed away every day.

By using WWF’s new GPET recycled bags, you will be strengthening the case for increasing recycling and recovery of PET products; not to mention alleviating their burden on the environment!

Please do your bit and save the environment, and bring more happiness to everyone. This is also an opportunity for you as an individual to save mother earth from destruction.

In 2010, the daily plastic waste in Hong Kong averaged 1,266 tonnes, equivalent to one-fifth of all domestic waste in the city. Approximately two percent of this plastic waste was plastic bottles. (wastereduction.gov.hk/chi/materials/info/msw2010tc.pdf)

- Plastic is not biodegradable – it does not break down and can therefore remain in the natural environment forever. UV rays from the sun allow plastic to “photodegrade”, but this just breaks down the bonds between plastic particles and creates smaller pieces of plastic.
(wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/webfieldtrips/bio_nonbio_materials/)

Where to buy: WWF’s Panda Shop Outlets

- WWF-Hong Kong Visitor Centre, No.1 Tramway Path, Central

You may also order these products online and they will be delivered by mail. Panda Shop hotline: 2526-1011.

From 18 to 24 October, “MyWWF” digital photo exhibition will be held in WWF Visitor Centre in Central. Visitors who vote for their favourite picture there can receive a panda pin for free.

Exhibition period
18/10、19/10、22/10、24/10: 9am – 6pm
21/10: 10am – 7pm
20/10 & 23/10: close

China Watch Blog has learnt that Taiwan’s environmental minister is calling on the island’s men to sit down when they urinate to keep toilets clean, drawing a mixed reaction from the public.

Stephen Shen, head of the Environmental Protection Administration, said he himself had adopted the habit, and suggested other men follow suit so toilet seats will be ready for the next user.

An environmental official contacted by AFP acknowledged the advice would be hard to follow in public restrooms, where urinals constitute the main facilities.

Therefore, she said, men are encouraged to first try to develop the new habit at home.

Reactions to the proposal on the internet forums and chatrooms were mixed, with some calling it a good idea that should have been brought up sooner while others were more critical.

“Brain-damaged politician, why doesn’t the environmental bureaucrat start to wear a skirt,” said a message posted by a user on the United Daily News forum.

“I’d love to see Stephen Shen and [President] Ma Ying-jeou demonstrate on TV how to sit down to pee,” said another message left on the forum.

China Watch Blog believes the carbon tax trend will soon be coming to Hong Kong, China and the region soon, and this tax will become a reality in Australia on Sunday.

While only the top carbon-emitting companies and organisations are affected by the $23 price tag on each tonne of carbon emitted, the cost will filter down to all of the Aussies through their electricity bills.

Apparently, the electricity prices are set to increase due to increased infrastructure costs. Householders around Australia are bracing themselves for a double hit to the hip pocket.

According to ABCnet.com, the treasury estimates for the average Australian household electricity will rise by $3.30 per week, gas by $1.50, and food by 80 cents under the carbon price.

To help those least able to cope with the energy price increases from the carbon tax, the government will provide a compensation and assistance package. This means clever Australians who find a way to cut their energy bills can pocket the compensation.

Go to the following link to learn 30 easy ways to cut your energy bills and keep your compo cash for more enjoyable activities.

http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/06/26/3532627.htm

Remember that every product you see in the shops needed energy, water and material resources to produced and therefore it has a carbon cost. We can cut our eco-footprints, save money and avoid some of the carbon tax by simply buying and wasting less stuff.

For those whose countries or territories where carbon tax is not yet implemented, it would be wise to look up the 30 ways and prepare on what to do in the future when you are hit by this trend, which sooner or later will be on you.

China Watch Blog has learnt that senior Chinese legislators on Monday started their second deliberation on a draft amendment to the country’s Law on the Promotion of Clean Production.

The China Daily reported that at the three-day bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), members are scheduled to review the newly submitted draft amendment, which has introduced a few key changes after several rounds of opinion gathering.

The new draft highlights a concise definition on the “excessive packaging of products” and a list of detailed conditions under which compulsory clean production checks should be imposed on enterprises.

Chinese legislators believe that the current law, which came into effect in 2003, needs to be revised to meet the requirements on energy conservation and emissions control in the country’s bid to build a greener and more sustainable economy.

The NPC Standing Committee’s review on the previous draft took place last October.

China Watch Blog has learnt that the average cost to heat your home this winter season, will increase by an average of 3% to 8%, depending on the type of fuel you use to heat your home, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Natural Gas users will see a 3% increase on average this winter, but if you look closer, you’ll see folks in the South can expect a 10% increase in their winter heating bills according to Ted Rookstool, President and CEO of Sunheat International.

“If you are one of the over 13 million homeowners in the South who depends on natural gas for heat, expect to pay more, even if you use less,” says Rookstool. The EIA projections include an expected decrease in the use of natural gas due only to expected warmer temperatures.

For people in the Northeast you can expect close to a 5% increase in your natural gas bill and the Midwest can expect a smaller 1% increase. “The reason the overall projections are not higher is because out West the cost of natural gas is projected to decrease slightly,” states Rookstool.

Heating Oil is primarily used in the Northeast. About 80% of all heating oil sales are in this area of the country. The EIA’s short term projects states, “Residential heating oil prices to average $3.71 per gallon during the winter season, 33¢ per gallon more than last winter, and the highest average winter price on record.”

According the EIA website, if you’re one of 7 million homeowners who will depend on heating oil this winter, get ready to pay at least $193 more for heat this season. “On average Sunheat owners save $500 per season off their overall heating costs,” said Rookstool.

Propane is used by only 5% of all households for heating or just over 5.5 million homes. These propane users will pay between 5% and 10% more. The Northeast can expect more than a 10% increase in heating costs or around $250. Homeowners in the Midwest will see a modest 5% increase but once again only if they use less propane. If their volume of propane use remains the same as last year, they can expect to pay an even higher price to heat their homes,

Rookstools says, “Electricity is the only heating fuel that is expected to remain neutral or come down in cost. With an average cost of 11¢ per kwh electricity is safe, clean and efficient.”

The Original SUNHEAT makes the best use of electricity by using it to power infrared heat tubes that produce safe, soft, comfortable heat for any area of your home. You can lower your overall heating costs with The Original SUNHEAT by using less of more costly heating fuels and more of cheaper more efficient electricity.”

China Watch Blog received this interesting, well thought out and well written article in the email called “The Green Thing”, and hopes the writer does not mind us sharing it with our readers as yours truly is also from the generation that used a typewriter to write stories, and had to bash our articles at the telex machine to send them to the publisher (as we did not have faxes in those days).

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.

Recycleable bags

The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

The clerk responded, “*That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment.”*

He was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
*
But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?*

*Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.*

*The Green Thing*