CBI member, Novartis is celebrating 8 years in Chengdu, Sichuan Province this week. The Swiss pharmaceutical company is pioneering a carbon-sink forestry project there, with the intention of developing natural infrastructure to off-set local CO2 levels by re-foresting areas of land which have been destroyed by industrial logging.
The project has been designed to absorb 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years. To accomplish this, 21 million trees have been planted on 4,095 hectares of deforested mountainside.
Novartis is also offering local businesses training on how they can contribute to sustainable development by tackling climate change.
According to Liu Hongbao, director-general of the Sichuan Forestry and Grassland Administration, “The project has already paid dividends since the launch […] and has offered us innovative ways of using targeted, poverty-relief measures to help people lift themselves out of poverty and improve their standard of living. Related technical integration and demonstration projects have also been launched this year in the context of the Novartis carbon-sink project, which are expected to serve as templates for the development of the green and low-carbon future economy.”
The forest provides another good example of the opportunity that exists in China for foreign firms capable of collaborating with the Chinese state - be it the government or enterprise - by offering consultancy services and international connectivity. The Novartis carbon-sink forestry project is the first carbon-sink forestry project carried out in direct collaboration with a multinational company in China, and builds off the success of similar projects launched in 2010 in Argentina and Mali.
Chen Xiaojing, vice-president of Novartis Group China said that the forest demonstrated the company’s commitment to being in the China market, and that the company looked forward to “A further 30-50 years of careful forest management [to ensure] the Novartis carbon-sink project in Sichuan makes its full impact. […] Novartis is willing to join hands with the government and society in contributing to sound environmental stewardship. This is part of the Novartis’ environment sustainability agenda and its long-standing commitment to China.”
The project hopes it extend purview over the coming years and incorporate enabling greater bio-diversity within the forest. The project is located within one of Sichuan province’s newly introduced bio-diversity hotspots, and is home to the Giant Panda and other endangered species.
Please read more here.
Comments