Dual carbon goals spur green business into action

Despite initial setbacks, the Chinese government's announcement of its dual carbon goals meant a brighter future for her company.

The momentum accelerated dramatically upon the introduction of concrete regulations supporting mechanisms last year, such as the energy cost trusteeship, an arrangement where businesses delegate their energy expenses to specialized third-party providers, who primarily profit by improving energy consumption efficiency.

A guideline unveiled by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council in August last year, for instance, vowed to vigorously promote trusteeship services oriented toward environmental improvement.

China will accelerate the retrofitting of existing buildings and municipal infrastructure to enhance energy and water consumption efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, the document said.

The country will also encourage the adoption of advanced and efficient lighting, air conditioning and elevator systems.

Bai said her company secured 15 energy cost management projects last year to enhance energy efficiency in government and public buildings. This represents 7.2 percent of all projects for such buildings nationwide.

Her energy efficiency management team has increased from 70 in 2017 to more than 160, she said.

In 2017, the company's revenue was 40 million yuan ($5.6 million). So far this year, it has secured energy cost trusteeship contracts with a total value of 3 billion yuan.

To date, the company has served over 2,300 clients in the energy efficiency services sector. This year, its energy cost trusteeship business has helped clients save 60 million kilowatt hours of electricity, reducing carbon emissions by approximately 59,000 metric tons, Bai said.

The company is still faced with challenges that extend beyond reliance on macroeconomic tailwinds. The limited awareness of low-carbon development remains a significant obstacle in acquiring clients in certain regions, she said.

Unlike Bai, Zhu Weiqing, the chairwoman of Shanghai Treasure Carbon New Energy Environmental Technology Co, made her first venture into the professional world in the low-carbon sector.

While studying marketing at Durham University in the United Kingdom, Zhu stumbled upon an unexpected passion. A casual conversation with a law school acquaintance piqued her curiosity about the United Nations' Clean Development Mechanism — a program allowing developing nations to generate tradeable emissions credits for industrialized countries striving toward climate goals.

At the time, she thought, "How could such an industry exist?" Little did she realize this question would chart her career path.

Returning home to China after graduation, Zhu discovered policymakers laying the groundwork for domestic carbon-trading pilot programs. She seized the moment, launching her company in 2010.

Yet progress proved slow initially. "There was nothing to trade in the entire market in 2011," she said.

Early stagnation gave way to cautious optimism starting in late 2011, however, when authorities launched pilot carbon trading programs in seven parts of the country, including Beijing and Hubei province.

Regulatory tailwinds arrived in mid-2012, too, when China rolled out provisional rules governing voluntary emission cuts, granting companies legal pathways to transact offsets.

These shifts gradually unlocked doors for Zhu's firm. Starting purely as a broker purchasing and reselling carbon credits, the team branched into strategic partnerships with banks to design trust funds managing pooled carbon assets.

Later iterations saw them advising corporations navigating compliance obligations and building an online information system, which provides unified carbon asset management solutions.

But in 2017, regulators halted issuance under China Certified Emission Reductions amid concerns over inflated inventories and subpar project quality.

Despite the turbulence, resilience paid dividends three years later when the dual carbon targets were announced. Coverage of the targets dominated headlines everywhere, Zhu said.

"I felt that, at last, my perseverance was about to pay off," she said. "Everyone in my sector is driven by a strong belief and passion for the trend toward carbon neutrality. It's only a matter of time, and that time has finally come."

Market dynamics vindicated her swiftly thereafter.