New partnerships marked as carbon neutrality expo wraps up
The first Shanghai Carbon Neutrality Expo wraps up on Wednesday with a number of partnerships signed as companies push forward carbon-cutting solutions with high technologies and innovative scenarios.
With efforts on digitalized transformation, energy consumption per unit of added value in Shanghai's large-scale industrial enterprises has dropped 13.8 percent since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan in 2021, according to the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization.
Shanghai will push integration between digital and other industries on green economy development. The city will establish an eco-system with green development covering equipment, standards, finance and innovation, said Zhang Hongtao, vice director of the commission, during a carbon neutrality expo forum.
Giant firms including Baowu Steel, PwC and Siemens also shared their experiences with green transformation and digital innovation in the forum.
Digitalization is a top opportunity for the industry, using tools such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics. These technologies can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of project management and design, as well as enable new approaches to data analysis and decision-making, said Vincent Cheng, director of climate and sustainability services at Arup in East Asia. Arup is a design firm for engineering and building.
Zhang Hongtao, vice director of Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization, speaks at a carbon neutrality expo forum.
Top energy and chemical material providers are upbeat about the demand for more alternative energy and carbon cutting solutions.
A Green and Low Carbon Casebook compiled by the fair's organizers was published at the expo, including 10 best practices from top industry players such as BASF, L'Oréal, Tesla, and Envision Group.
The Green Power Alliance of Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) was also launched during the expo
Co-founded by several enterprises in the SCIP with great support from the State Grid Shanghai Electrical Power Company, Beijing Power Exchange Center and Shanghai Power Exchange Center, the alliance aims to introduce a long-term, stable and competitive green power supply.
This could help promote the green transformation of chemical industry parks with scale effect.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between China State Shipbuilding Corporation Power (Group) Co Ltd and BASF earlier this week to expedite the progress of onboard carbon capture (CO2 capture) systems for commercial maritime applications.
The two parties hope to address the challenges of energy efficiency improvement and emission reduction in the maritime sector.
Last year was also the sixth consecutive year that BASF reduced carbon emissions from its operations in China thanks to optimizing efficiency through digitalization and deploying new technologies, as well as by increasing the use of renewables in its energy supply.
Top energy and chemical material providers are upbeat about the demand for more alternative energy sources and carbon cutting solutions.
The expo not only showcased advanced technologies, but also created a bridge of cooperation and communication among different sides.
World leading infrastructure consulting firm AECOM moved its renowned "City Salon" series to the expo, gathering eminent enterprise leaders and prestigious industry experts to brainstorm the topic on green and low-carbon international cooperation and innovative demonstration.
The display area of AECOM was clean and clear as it was made of recyclable and eco-friendly materials. For instance, the chairs and tables were made of recycled trash, and the conference system was paperless.
It showcased its solutions on carbon emission reduction, sustainable best practice cases, 3D models and AR interactive installations with the theme "Creating our road map to a sustainable future."
There was also a virtual exhibition hall and AECOM's iLab, a global intelligent laboratory providing services such as zero-carbon building design and smart city analysis.
Richard Whitehead, chief executive of AECOM Global Buildings + Places, delivers a speech during the "City Salon."
"The expansion of existing cities and the creation of new cities in China have been happening over the last 30 years. I expect there will be more regeneration of existing cities as well as completely new ones in the future," said Richard Whitehead, chief executive of AECOM Global Buildings + Places.
"It is exciting to see such a vibrant city in talks of the most urgent topics of the world of achieving carbon neutralization," he added.
"At AECOM, we particularly focus on net zero carbon emission and invest heavily on developing effective and efficient low-carbon designs and tools for city development and construction that includes green transports and decarbonization of buildings...for example. We aim to deliver our Sustainable Legacy strategy by applying these well-designed tools that will cut 50 percent of the carbon out from projects by 2030."
Hung Chih Liu, senior vice president of AECOM Asia and the initiator of AECOM's "City Salon" series, shared AECOM Action Initiatives on Hong Kong Northern Metropolis.
"Under the guidance of local government policy, Hong Kong Northern Metropolis will become an international center for innovation and technology, and with this backdrop, 'City Salon' as a platform aims to bring together the great minds and strength of AECOM's partners and clients to explore how Northern Metropolis would be shaped to make this strategically important space in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area a future champion in sustainable urban developments," he said.
Envision Group's wind turbines along with its carbon management solutions are showcased at the fair.
The expo also created a platform for companies to share experiences and work together.
Alex Sun, Envision Group's chief sustainability officer and general manager of Envision Carbon Management Business, said Envision had been offering suggestions and advice to organizers to expand the influence of the carbon expo in terms of technology achievements and the advancement in solutions.
Corporate lodging and payment technology platform HRS signed a deal with Envision Group to explore innovative hoteliers' emission reduction technology solutions and create a green hotel carbon neutral scenario, and develop green supply chain management for hotels.
"We definitely feel the picking up of awareness of energy saving among retailers and consumer goods companies, and the adoption of green solutions by industry leaders could encourage more players to follow suit," Sun added.
Envision Digital's intelligent carbon management operation system "EnOS Ark Platform" has been used to track the carbon emission status of the expo's whole process, including measures of carbon emission reduction and carbon credit trading.
The integrated platform allows it to combine its renewable energy assets such as wind power and charging stations to offer systematic solutions.
