Wuxi Zone Stresses Environmental StandardsEconomic development zones and enterprises are implementing a series of strict environmental protection standards in a bid to achieve sustainable development.Released by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in 1996, the ISO14000 system aims to regulate environmental management and effectively allocate resources. There are already 500 domestic enterprises and organizations hat are in the process of being certified as complying with the standards. The new district of Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu Province was certified in late April by the Centre for Environmental Management Systems under the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). This marks a new development for the State-level high-tech development zone in environmental protection. The district is one of China's three ISO14000 national demonstration districts, which are authorized by SEPA. As China's first district to receive certification from both the centre and the national examinations centre of Britain in September last year, Wuxi has set the standard for environmental system management in China. More than 40 per cent of the district's area consists of park-land. Electronic information technology accounts for 46 per cent of the total economy in the district, which limits pollution. The energy consumption per 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) in gross domestic product is 0.6 tons of standard coal, less than 30 per cent of the national average. To further improve the district's environment, the district also promotes ecological techniques to local farmers, such as using organic fertilizers and pollution-free pesticides. As well as the district itself, the 15 major enterprises in Wuxi have also received the ISO14000 rating and more than 10 of them are currently applying for the rating. "Through the implementation of ISO14000 standard, the district has laid a solid basis for its economic development," said Deputy Director Song Ruixiang of the administration. He said environmental protection was an investment in the district's future. |
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