February 8, 2025


A reporter (left) tries a zero carbon coffee sample at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 in Boao, Hainan province, on April 21. Environmentally friendly and low carbon products are becoming more popular among Chinese consumers. (YUAN CHEN/FOR CHINA DAILY)

China’s MNCs are hatching plans to invest big time in low-carbon innovations

Given a choice between buying a laptop complete with attractive packaging and buying one that comes in simple packaging made of recycled materials, most consumers are probably wondering. But not those at the China International Consumer Products Expo held last July in Haikou, Hainan province, where the US tech company Dell Technologies showed a laptop wrapped in 100 percent environmentally friendly packaging materials.

Visitors to the exhibition looked at the innovation, which some asked. Apart from the green laptop, many green and low carbon consumer goods were displayed at the expo. These include Miners’ Tears, the world’s first necklace based on environmentally friendly synthetic materials, beer made using an energy-saving process that also cuts its carbon footprint, coffee cups made using carbon capture technology, pure plant- based cosmetics and biodegradable pens.

The visitors and the people behind these innovations said that the dazzling array of green products proved China’s green transformation of products, services and industrial chains. Umpteen businesses from home and abroad got a lesson on how to launch environmentally friendly products and services that meet the aspirations of local consumers.

According to a survey by market consultancy Ernst & Young, despite the decline in global consumer confidence, 62 percent of Chinese consumers believe their lives will be better in three years. The figure is higher than in the United States (46 percent), Australia (43 percent) and the United Kingdom (35 percent).

Remarkably, 38 percent of Chinese consumers surveyed put “sustainability” at the top of their consumption decisions. In contrast, only 10 percent of consumers surveyed gave the value of cost effectiveness a high weight. All over the world, cost-effectiveness has surpassed caring for the planet and emerged as the factor with the greatest consideration among consumers.

“While inflation and the rising cost of living discourage consumers from paying a premium for sustainable products, we are pleased to see consumers opting for more economical alternative brands and alternatives to achieve -ot sustainable behavior, or looking for a more efficient and sustainable lifestyle,” said. Zheng Mingju, managing partner of retail and consumer products at EY Greater China.

Yu Huanhuan, director of marketing at Tmall Global, the global e-commerce arm of Alibaba Group, agreed, noting that an interesting phenomenon is that a brand with an environmentally friendly concept is likely to attract of the new generation of consumers. Many young people, Yu said, want to support eco-friendly products.

In cosmetics in particular, 70.5 percent of Chinese consumers are willing to buy nature-based beauty products, while as high as 81.1 percent want to buy skin care products that promote natural environment, said Yu.

“Especially, young consumers on our platform are willing to pay an extra 10 percent to 20 percent for brands that seek to be environmentally friendly and sustainable,” he said.

“The reason is, young consumers in particular have a special view of the future. From taking care of themselves to taking care of the community with a shared future, from witnessing change -or as far as participating in change, as far as promoting solutions and changing the status quo, young consumers need a sense of involvement.”

With such demand, many multinational enterprises are sewing plans to make large investments to promote environmentally friendly infrastructure and technology projects in China.

Dell from the US is committed to recycling an equivalent product for every product purchased by customers. More than half of the products are made of recycled or renewable materials and by 2030, all product packaging will be 100 percent recycled materials or renewable materials, it said.

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Livestreamers sell items made of bamboo in Congjiang county, Guizhou province, on May 21. Bamboo products are expected to promote sustainable consumption. [LONG MENGQIAN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

“Dell will insist on the ‘in China, for China’ development strategy and actively promote China’s economic development, digital transformation as well as the realization of carbon neutrality goals, to can better serve Chinese customers and the Chinese market,” Wang said. Lijun, global senior vice-president of Dell.

Bruno Chevot, president of the French beverage company Danone Greater China and Oceania, said, “The company will continue to bring green, high-quality and healthy products from around the world to Chinese consumers to meet the diverse consumer needs, and a high quality and beautiful life.”

The company confirmed that a half-gallon carton of its whole milk has a carbon footprint of 5.58 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent.

China aims to reduce carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. From the announcement of “dual carbon” goals to the development of the national carbon market, the country strives to help accelerate green growth in many sectors, including consumption, automotive and finance.

“The ‘dual carbon’ goals set by the Chinese government bring China’s green economy to a new level, and the realization of this target also requires the full participation of Fila,” said Brian Yiu , CEO of Fila China, in an earlier interview with China Daily. “For us, ‘sustainable fashion’ is not a slogan, but a concrete action.”

For example, compared to traditional dyeing, waterless dyeing has the advantages of not using water and saving steam, fuel and auxiliary agents, which can reduce 50 percent of energy consumption and 50 percent of chemicals. released.

At the beginning of this year, the Chinese authorities unveiled a master plan to promote the green transformation of consumption in key areas from food, clothing and housing to transportation, tourism and electricity.

“Green consumption in China has not yet been stimulated,” said Chang Tiewei, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission, at an early news conference.

He noted the importance of green consumption in stimulating the low-carbon transition on the supply side, improving China’s attractiveness as a huge market, and strengthening high-quality development.

In late July, a guide to promote the consumption of green and smart home appliances, jointly proposed by the Ministry of Commerce and other government departments such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation, approved by the State. Council, Cabinet of China.

More efforts will be made to promote the recycling and reuse of aging household appliances, support the establishment of household appliance recycling networks and distribution facilities, and improve the standards of delivery, installation and maintenance of the service, the guideline said.

Since household appliances involve many different manufactured components such as wires, sensors, integrated circuits, plastics, motors and electronics, the recycling of these components will mark an important step in driving the environmentally friendly industrial chain, industry experts say.

Hu Baolin, a former member of the leading group of Party members at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, however, said that to encourage green consumption, many challenges remain ahead.

“Carbon neutrality concerns everyone and requires mobilizing hundreds of millions of people and stakeholders to work together to change laggard behaviors,” Hu said.

“More innovative methods are needed to stimulate the enthusiasm of the whole society, promote green consumption and establish a green consumption concept, to develop awareness of green consumption and a simple and low- carbon consumption culture.”

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Potential buyers examine eco-friendly wheat straws produced by a Chinese company specializing in plastic straws at an e-commerce expo in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, on April 11, 2021. [LYU BIN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

He suggests establishing personal carbon accounts through big data, where individual consumers can record their carbon footprints and even open carbon bank accounts.

“With more incentive policies for consumers to make green consumption, it is not far that a low-carbon, green life will become the next trend.”

China is still the world’s largest energy consumer and carbon emitter. Although the per capita emissions are low, the total amount is still the largest in the world.

Hu said that technological progress is also a key to driving green development in the country.

“More efforts are needed to actively encourage the research and development of carbon substitution, carbon emission reduction, carbon cycle, carbon recovery, and carbon sequestration technologies, and further put them in applications,” he said.

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