Safeguarding of global public goods such as environment is one of the biggest challenges for the 21st century. Global public goods are important for both rich and poor countries, for domestic and international development. China, due to its size and population, and its rapid economic development over the last decades, plays a crucial role in the protection and provision of those public goods.
In this context, the Guangdong Provincial Association of Work Safety, the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), the Guangdong Professional Committee of Safety Engineers, TÜV Rheinland (Guangdong), Zalando SE, and Guangdong University of Technology co-organized the Guangdong Safe Production Summit “Taking Responsibility for Safe Production” on 5th December 2020 in Guangzhou. The summit was an annual event of the Guangdong Provincial Association of Work Safety, and this year, the theme was Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) and chemical management, both key to an environmental friendly global supply chain.
Based on the latest regulations, practices and requirements of EHS management and chemical management megatrends in China and abroad, speakers from enterprises, associations and academia summarized the status quo, existing problems of EHS and chemical management and discussed future industrial development in China and worldwide. They also shared best practices of waste management, risk assessment of organic gas (RTO), epidemic control in production, and discussed the development of information platform of the standing book (detailed record sheet). This Summit set a good example how Chinese and German experience and good practices can be utilized to tackle supply chain issues across sectors.
Professor Liang Dong from Sun Yat-Sen University, who heads the Guangdong Professional Committee of Safety Engineers, called for EHS managers to take up the responsibility in a brave, strong and wise manner in their positions. Mr. Peng Guoyong from Guangdong Jinqiao Law Firm gave an overview of the stringent requirements and criteria from the latest EHS laws and regulations from January to July 2020 which drew a lot of attention from Chinese producers and triggered deep discussions and exchanges in the panel discussions.
Around 200 participants attended the Summit physically and more than 3,000 virtually. Most of the participants came from the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone and some other provinces in China in a variety of business sectors including electronics, food production and processing, automotive as well as textile and footwear.
China and Germany are long-term partners when it comes to environmental and climate protection. This partnership includes not only government institutions, but also private sector actors. The Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development actively seeks partnerships with German and Chinese enterprises to utilize the potential of business activities to promote sustainable development globally, one of the models being through develoPPP.de where German and Chinese companies can set up and co-fund projects with the German government in areas where business and developing interest overlap. In China, the ZalandoPPP project aims to reduce the harmful impact of chemicals on workers’ health and environment by working towards eliminating hazardous chemical substances in the shoe production process.
