Many district governments in east China metropolises Shanghai are going all out to be good green citizens.

For example, bottled water will not be provided for conferences held by the government of Xuhui District as part of its energy-saving drive. A drinking-water dispenser has been installed instead, officials said yesterday.

"Previously at meetings we had waiters pouring tea for guests, but it was a manpower waste, so then we provided bottles of mineral water on every table for guests instead," said Zhou Jian, a Xuhui government official.

At a conference yesterday, the government provided two tanks of self-serve barley tea.

"Every bottle of water costs two yuan (26 US cents), but now every cup of tea only costs 0.1 yuan on average," Zhou said.

The Zhabei district government yesterday called for increased energy efficiency. "Office buildings are required to keep the temperature of air-conditioners set at 26 degrees or above," said Zhu Jing, a Zhabei official. "They should also be switched on only when the temperature is above 30 degrees."

Only half of the lights in garages are being kept on and people in offices have been told to switch off power before they leave their workplace.

The government of Putuo District has ordered all buildings under construction in its area to meet energy-saving standards.

According to the standards, energy-saving materials should be used in the exterior walls, windows and doors of all new buildings.

"So far we found all of the buildings under construction in our district meet the standards," said Lu Huan, an official with Putuo District.

(Shanghai Daily June 25, 2007)