| Environmental NGO compiles blacklist of polluting multinationals in China |
BEIJING, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nestle Shanghai, Changchun Pepsi and Panasonic Battery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. These are just three subsidiaries of some of the world's leading multinationals that have been included on a blacklist for violating environmental regulations in China.
The list has been compiled by a Beijing-based NGO, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, headed by renowned Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun.
"The blacklist was drawn up according to the information released by local environmental protection bureaus across China over the past three years," said Ma.
"Those multinational companies have violated the basic environmental laws and regulations of China," Ma said.
The companies on the blacklist involve various industries including food, electronic, chemical and machinery sectors from countries such as Japan, the United States and Switzerland.
Panasonic Battery (Shanghai) was found to have released waste water which contravened safety standards because the sewage treatment facility malfunctioned. Changchun Pepsi was criticized for excessive discharge of waste water, while Nestle Shanghai's main project was put into operation before the local environmental protection bureau could test its environmental protection facilities.
A Chinese company in southeast China's Fujian Province, which has been the subject of investment from Noell Crane Systems in Germany, was found to be operating without any pollution treatment facility. It caused serious pollution and was later supervised by the local environmental authorities.
The Purolite China Co. Ltd was listed as one of the major polluters in Zhejiang Province in 2005.
"The list only reveals a fraction of the number of violations of environmental regulations by multinational companies in China, because it only covers companies causing water pollution. Those that have caused air and waste pollution were not included," Ma said.
There may be more polluting companies that have not been made public by local environmental departments, he added.
"I was surprised by the finding," said Ma, who has been an environmental consultant for many multinational companies. "These companies require their Chinese partners to obey strictly environmental regulations. But they violate the regulations themselves." Ma said.
Most of the companies blamed accidents or negligence for violating regulations.
Chen, head of environmental affairs at Panasonic Battery (Shanghai), said the excessive discharge of waste water only happened on one day when he was absent.
A company affiliated to American Standard is also on the backlist. Wei, an engineer working in the company, said the sewage treatment system happened to break down the day before the inspection by the local environmental protection bureau.
Nestle Shanghai insisted their violation had no direct connection with pollution. When the company expanded its production in May 2005, they were required to provide the factory's previous construction documents. But the original environmental examination documents could not be found.
But their explanations were not accepted by environmentalists.
It shows that there is a gap in their environmental management system, said Zhao, director of supervision at the Environmental Protection Bureau of northeast China's Jilin Province, where Changchun Pepsi is located.
Some international companies relax their environmental standards in China, mainly because some local governments set loose requirements in order to attract foreign investment, Zhao said.
China's environmental standards are significantly lower than those of European countries and the United States.
"On one hand, these multinational companies fail to keep their universal environmental promises and on the other hand China is weak in its implementation of the environmental laws and regulations," Ma said.
"Chinese enterprises choose to implement the domestic environmental standards which are lower than the international standards. In order to compete, the international companies in China abide by the domestic regulations in order to cut costs," Ma said.
But the low domestic standards should not be excuses for the multinationals, according to a environmentalist with Greenpeace, adding that the multinationals should be leaders in environmental protection as well as their respective industries.
In general, however, the multinational companies are better than Chinese enterprises at protecting the environment, Ma said.
The 33 multinational companies were on the blacklist of 2,700 enterprises which have violated relevant regulations. The vast majorities of the polluting companies are from China, according to Ma.
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