More companies are capitalizing on social responsibility

Energy enterprises deploy advanced technology and equipment to realize clean production and cut emissions, Du Juan reports from Perth, Australia

Chinese companies are increasingly focused on improving production efficiency and willing to invest more in this area during their expansion in overseas markets, say experts.

Driven by the policy to reduce carbon emissions and save energy, a growing number of companies have started to realize the importance of raising production efficiency that is both environmentally friendly and profitable in the long term, especially for energy companies.

"After 30 years of growth, Chinese companies have developed to such an extent that they have enough scale to realize their social responsibility," said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research ar Xiamen University.

"In addition to the government policy, there is also a need for these companies to pay more attention to energy efficiency to realize a sustainable future because the era of achieving big profits solely by large-scale production is over," he said.

Oil and gas companies, including PetroChina Corp, Sinopec Group and CNOOC Ltd, have been investing in better processing and management to achieve high-quality products with better technology in recent years.

Some foreign companies specialize in process solutions, such as US-based Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS), Siemens AG, based in Germany, and Japanese company Yokogawa Electric Co. They are all trying to benefit from the booming Chinese market.

"We see a great opportunity that lies in front us in the China market," said Jason Urso, vice-president and chief technology officer for HPS.

He said even during the last year when China endured a slowdown in its economic growth, the company still achieved a good performance in the Chinese market because of high demand.

"It slowed down a little, but the economy is still growing strongly among the high-growth regions," said Tony Cosgrove, vice-president of sales, HPS Asia-Pacific.

As a technology solution provider, HPS has been maintaining a good relationship with China's top oil companies, helping them improve their efficiency in sectors such as production and management processes.

In June 2013, HPS' Lifecycle Service Department and one of the largest State-owned petrochemical companies in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, signed a contract to provide a package of solutions for centralized control room upgrading. The scope of the project includes control system station migration and network optimization to meet the requirements of centralized monitoring and operations.

"The Chinese government has carried out policies to improve air quality, which created demand for companies such as us," said Urso. "There is a need for working with major clients such as Sinopec and PetroChina to solve the problem."