Sustainability has become a key task for many industries in China, as the country's economy has been shifting from a stage of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development. Promoting green development to achieve dual carbon goals in the 14th Five-Year Plan puts forward higher requirements for sustainable development of enterprises. In this process, business entities, many of which must improve their environmental infrastructure, are critical players in demonstrating sustainable development for a greener China. Certification bodies that can provide testing, inspection and certification services are essential for enterprises to obtain transparency in the sustainability process.

Andrew Lee, CFO of TüV SüD North Asia. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

With a goal of helping build a more sustainable China with its technologies and services, TüV SüD, a global testing, inspection and certification institution, has decided to participate in the fourth China International Import Expo in Shanghai under the theme of sustainable development.

"China has created a path of sustainable development that balances economic, social and environmental development. The achievements it has made have promoted global sustainable development and provided Chinese wisdom and solutions to developing countries," Andrew Lee, CFO of TüV SüD North Asia, said during this year's CIIE on Nov 6, adding 2021 is the launch year for China's 14th Five-Year Plan, a key year for the construction of the country's new dual-circulation development pattern and the promotion of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutral" goals. "TüV SüD's theme 'sustainability' for the CIIE is an important proof of its commitment to the Chinese market, and an evidence of continuous contribution to China's sustainable development process."

In achieving carbon neutrality for the entire international community, Lee said, enterprises bear the most important responsibility. "Sustainability is a major trend in international trade operation. In the context of globalization, under the planning of sustainable development and the commitment to peak carbon emissions by 2030, how to achieve transformation and reach emission targets is related to the fate of many enterprises."

According to Lee, TüV SüD has brought European experience and expert teams to China to assist Chinese enterprises improve their international competitiveness in sustainability. "In 2020, TüV SüD has launched vegan product certification to assist textile industry demonstrate commitment to animal-friendliness; recently, TüV SüD has issued its first recycled content verification statement worldwide. The issuance of this statement indicates that TüV SüD is committed to promoting global sustainable development while helping companies fulfil their commitments to green production and social responsibility by pragmatically protecting the environment.

"TüV SüD has sought to provide carbon screening and carbon services to Chinese firms in fields including new energy, energy storage, and green hydrogen," Lee said. "The TüV SüD mark is widely recognized and trusted in Europe, China and other places, which is an added value for products to quickly gain customer recognition."

As a global company providing one-stop testing and certification services and sustainable quality solutions both at home and abroad, TüV SüD has been committed to fulfilling its commitment to the Chinese market and enabling sustainable development in China. According to Lee, the company has signed memorandums of cooperation with Shenzhen Institute of Sustainable Development and has also carried out strategic cooperation on technical services with China Hydrogen Alliance Research Institute.

From 2016 to 2020, the proportion of days with good air quality in cities at prefecture level and above in China increased by 5.8 percentage points to 87 percent, and the proportion of surface water with excellent quality rose by 17.4 percentage points to 83.4 percent, according to Huang Runqiu, minister of ecology and environment, who emphasized the country will unswervingly carry out new development ideas while staying true to the mission of environmental protection.

"China has always been committed to green transformation in its economic and social development and has laid out the goals to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. This is the Chinese government's commitment to the world, and we have full confidence in the successful transformation and realization of the goal," Lee said. "As a global third-party testing, inspection and certification institution, we will continue to provide transparent services and standards for Chinese enterprises to meet the needs of the times and help achieve sustainable development."

Lee said, in November, TüV SüD's lab in Changzhou in Jiangsu province for rail transit will open after upgrading, covering businesses such as detection and certification for rail transit products, signals and green hydrogen. TüV SüD's testing center in Panyu, Guangzhou, will also open in the same month, providing comprehensive test and evaluation services for the development of smart energy, smart manufacturing, smart transportation, new energy vehicles and other emerging strategic industries, all of which eye for further promoting the healthy and orderly development of China's strategic emerging industries.

According to TüV SüD, the company regards sustainable development as one of the group's strategic themes, and has many cross-disciplinary experts accredited by international associations and standards to provide services covering standards development, audit, report verification, and training on sustainable development capacity building.

As per the company, TüV SüD has been in China for 30 years, with locations in more than 30 places in China and around the region. It has about 3,000 employees focusing on various fields supporting more than 70,000 clients in the country.

"China's business environment is one of the best in the world. Many emerging industries have been rising sharply since the reform and opening-up," Lee said.