Transparency

Following the news on environmental issues here in China can be a grim business. The first months of 2013 alone brought coverage of January’s “airpocalypse,” when air pollution in Beijing reached historic levels; news of thousands of dead pigs floating in the Huangpu River, a primary source of Shanghai’s drinking water; and a new report indicating that China sees 1.2 million premature deaths each year due to outdoor air pollution – almost 40 percent of the world’s total of such deaths. Amid such bleak headlines, it can be easy to miss any kind of progress.

Released by the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs in conjunction with the publication of the IT Study Report (IV): Apple by Green Choice Alliance, this video feature shows the effect of n-haexane exposure on production workers at the Suzhou branch of Wintek, a contractor producing touch-screens for Apple Inc. It also highlights other problems in Apple's supply chain in China.

The Carbon Disclosure Project 2010 Asia ex-Japan Report, compiled and written by the Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA), documents some encouraging signs that the region is now on a stronger footing to improve carbon management, capitalizing on opportunities that increasing resource efficiency, reduce emissions and raise financial performance.