Amway China expands its eco reach

Twenty-plus Amway China employees joined Amway China President Audie Wong on a recent trip from Guangzhou and Beijing to remote rural areas of Qinghai province.

Instead of marketing their household products, they were investigating wetlands and biological diversity in Qinghai province's Sangjiangyuan Nature Reserve, preparing for an environmental study that will be under way for the next one and a half years.

Sangjiangyuan, or the Three Rivers' Sources Area, is located in the hinterlands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the highest plateau in the world. The plateau is 4,200 m high and also the largest in China, covering 2.4 million sq m.

Three of China's famous rivers -- the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers -- originate from this area. Sanjiangyuan provides about 25 percent of the water in the Yangtze River, 49 percent of the water in the Yellow River and 15 percent of Lancang River's water.

In recent years, however, deglaciation in the headstream of the Yellow River has amounted to 77 percent, caused by global warming.

Areas of Zhaling Lake and Eling Lake in Sanjiangyuan are shrinking because of climate change, too.

In the face of such changes, Amway China earlier this month initiated the natural resources research and protection program.

The program, which will be under way through December 2010, is being carried out in partnership with the Sanjiangyuan Nature Conservation Bureau and the China Green Foundation, a national non-government environmental protection organization.

Amway China is the program's financial sponsor, although the company declined to disclose the amount invested in the initiative.

Amway China staff members are serving as program volunteers. The two Chinese organizations will provide scientific and professional support, local coordination and account management.

The program includes three phases. The first is investigating the habitats and distribution of biological species at Zhaling and Eling lakes and at wetlands near the two lakes.

The second phase is estimating the effects of human activities and climate change on biological diversity.

The last phase is formulating a report on biological diversity in the wetlands of Sanjiangyuan. The report will include conservation proposals.

"I hope the scientific study delivers a message to the public that the protection of Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve should be an urgent task, and that everybody can take part in efforts to protect this area," Wong said.

"Meanwhile, we expect that suggestions from the research report might offer guidelines to the government and professional institutions to better protect biological diversity and the natural environment here," Wong said.

Amway volunteers

Wong said the Sanjiangyuan program is just one of Amway China's environmental protection projects in China.

The company's corporate social responsibility framework centers on work to help children and the environment.

"The two focuses not only meet China's needs, but also are in accord with Amway's goals to care for families and the environment as ways to improve the quality of life," Wong said.

Amway China volunteers have participated in tree planting, garbage removal and environmental protection education projects in recent years.

The company last October invested 10 million yuan to establish the Amway Environmental Protection Foundation with the China Environmental Protection Foundation to systemize its "green" social causes in China.

Among those initiatives is the "Cleaning Qomolangma Mountain" project.

The world's highest mountain, better known in Western countries as Mount Everest, has been polluted with more trash each year as more climbers challenge themselves to reach its peaks.

If one visitor produces 220 grams to 320 grams garbage each day, the total quantity will reach 24 tons to 67 tons a year.

Based on that equation, an estimated 615 tons of garbage were left on Qomolangma Mountain from 1921 until 1999.

As an ongoing sponsor of Chinese polar sciences expedition teams to the mountain, Amway China realized the serious problem.

The company donated 4.3 million yuan from 2004 until 2007 to send 20 volunteers each year to sweep garbage from Qomolangma Mountain. The teams were credited with removing 10 tons of trash.

"Environmental protection is a natural obligation for sustainable development," Wong said.

Since 2003, the company has established more than 160 volunteer teams around China. Altogether, more than 50,000 registered volunteers have contributed 810,000 hours of work to various social and environmental projects.

"These activities have promoted the connection between our company and the communities, making our products more attractive and also creating stronger relationships among our employees at Amway China," Wong said.

Green operations

Amway China is also taking steps to protect the environment by its actions as a company through "green" research, production and transportation policies.

It has reduced plastic packaging by 50 percent to 70 percent by offering smaller packages with condensed ingredients. And biodegradable surfactants are added to its cleaning products.

(China Daily 08/24/2009 page10)