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Chinese
Roundtables on SCP
Beijing, China
May 2006, June 2008 and November
2009
The Chinese National Roundtables on SCP have identified,
in the overall framework of promoting SCP in China, four
priority areas as key challenges to be addressed with reference
to China's needs and EU experiences:
- Promoting green/sustainable public procurement
- Improving the eco-efficiency of the seven most polluting
and energy and resource consuming industry sectors (chemical,
steel, cement/building materials, paper, coal, electricity,
light industries)
- Improving waste management focusing on waste prevention
and minimization, re-using and re-cycling
- Promoting sustainable construction and building
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| Arab
Hoballah, Head of the DTIE SCP Branch during the opening
session of the Chinese National Roundtable in 2006 |
The events were co-organized by UNEP and the Sino-Japan
Friendship Centre for Environmental Protection (EDC), sponsored
by the European Commission (EC), UNEP and the State Environmental
Protection Administration of China (SEPA).
3rd Chinese
Roundable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CRSCP):
Beijing, China - November 14th 2009
Sustainable
Products and Life Cycle Communication in Business and Industry
The 3rd Chinese Roundtable focused on Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) and Life Cycle Management (LCM) for Sustainable Consumption
and Production in China. LCA and LCM are essential approaches
for the realisation of sustainable consumption and production
patterns, and they are furthermore increasingly important
business management approaches that can be used by all types
of businesses to improve their products, the sustainability
performance of their companies and associated value chains.
The Roundtable was organised by UNEP DTIE (Division of
Technology, Industry and Economics), the Environment Directorate-General
of the European Commission, Tsinghua University and Sichuan
University
Over forty participants attended the meeting, representing
international organizations, Chinese national and local
government agencies, Chinese companies from different industry
sectors including minerals & metals, building &
construction and ICT, and research institutes, from China
and overseas.
Several conclusions and recommendations were put forward:
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Recommendations for the Chinese government included
designing policy tools considering life cycle thinking
and based on scientific LCA. The development and implementation
of relevant policies and economic instruments was recommended,
in particular for the support of green companies through
subsidies and tax breaks in order to catalyze resources
for SCP. Government can also play a facilitating role
for increasing the availability of green credits.
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Company representatives stressed the importance of
promoting Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle
Management (LCM) in specific industry sectors. Life
Cycle Assessment committees should be set up in relevant
industry associations and promote LCA and LCM sector
wide.
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Independent third party verification systems, coupled
by the enforcement of policies and regulations will
be needed to achieve shifts to create stable markets
for sustainable products and to ensure consumer trust
in environmental declaration systems.
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It is important to improve the reliability of LCA data
and establish recognized international guidance so that
policy decisions for industrial development can be made
based on LCA (e.g. on business cases).
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More communication and exchange opportunities to promote
database development, such as expert training and workshops,
are required.
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Increased international cooperation for technology
transfer and capacity building, including 'soft skills',
such as knowledge of how to use LCA software applications.In
terms of international cooperation, both north-south
and south-south cooperation are needed, as the experiences
from both developed and developing countries are useful.
Capacity building through UNEP and EU initiatives for
LCA and LCM are very welcome (e.g. the SWITCH Asia Programme)
and need to be strengthened to promote implementation
of SCP beyond the circular economy approach in China.
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Existing organizations operating in China, such as
the UNEP/UNESCAP Asia Pacific Regional Helpdesk for
SCP, based in Beijing, should be used to promote life
cycle approaches and support capacity building for industry
sectors to effectively apply LCA and LCM. Furthermore,
the SCP Helpdesk can be used to facilitate promotion
of LCA and LCM throughout the Asian region.
- Agenda
3rd Chinese Roundtable
- Background
document
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Meeting Report
Links:
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