An increasing number of businesses in Shanghai are going green - and it isn't just out of love for the environment.

Going green can help cut energy costs and be an effective marketing tool - a message Shanghai-based entrepreneur network NextStep is trying to get out to the city's business community.

NextStep organized a Green Business Forum in Pudong earlier this month to get local businesses thinking about going green, and help them connect with organizations at the forefront of the green movement in the city.

One of them is JUCCCE (the Joint United States-China Co-operation on Clean Energy), a non-profit organization spreading awareness on the climate change at the grassroots level. It also works with businesses to develop green Corporate Social Responsibility programs.

Surface water

JUCCCE Chairperson Peggy Liu says businesses in China have a special responsibility to do their bit to tackle the problem.

"While the Chinese government is the most progressive in the world today when it comes to climate change policy, the change has to begin on the ground. But the climate change message is still a step above most people's heads," she said.

JUCCCE said some 350 million Chinese are expected to move into cities from rural areas in the next 20 years, taking China's urban population past 1 billion and further straining infrastructure and demands on industry. Between 50 and 70 percent of the surface water in China is already undrinkable, according to Liu.

JUCCCE is doing its bit: It recently launched an ambitious Clean Lighting Conversion program in Shanghai to spread awareness on the use ofthe energy-saving Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs.

It will give away 10 million CFL bulbs for free in homes across Shanghai, helping to reduce some 2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the bulbs' five-year lifespan.

Liu says businesses can play a huge role in supporting the green movement at grassroots levels.

"All businesses have something to offer, and we help them brainstorm about how their unique services can help," she says.

(Shanghai Daily July 21, 2008)