Everbright Environment's Chairman of the Board of Directors, Wang Tianyi, Discussed Enhanced Solid Waste Management for Marine Protection with Harvard Kennedy School Students

24 February 2022, HONG KONG － Professor Wang Tianyi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Everbright Environment Group Limited ("Everbright Environment") (SEHK: 257), had an online lecture for Harvard Kennedy School Students on enhanced solid waste management systems for collection, transportation, and recycling to reduce land-based sources of marine debris.

During the lecture, Wang Tianyi shared the best practice of Everbright Environment in solid waste management as the world's leading waste-to-energy operator. He also analysed the key global challenges of waste management and its impact on ocean pollution. Wang Tianyi pointed out, "land-based municipal solid waste is the leading cause of marine pollution. Better waste management from the collection, sorting, and final treatment can effectively prevent plastic flow to the ocean and mitigate climate change."

Wang Tianyi said that Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (the "three Rs") of waste is important in the context of China's ambitious targets of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Central Government attach great importance to waste sorting and resources recycling and are promoting "zero-waste cities". Local governments are facilitating public-private partnerships (PPP) and encouraging communities to collectively address environmental and climate challenges as a society.

In June 2021, Everbright Environment signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to cooperate on efforts to promote the circular economy and protect ocean health and has since initiated a series of research and knowledge sharing. In addition to this lecture, Everbright Environment has contributed to SOURCE, a multilateral PPP project management platform for sustainable infrastructure backed by ADB and other multilateral development banks, to enhance PPP project preparation templates and promote PPPs in solid waste management in developing countries.

In the coming months, Everbright Environment will focus on raising awareness on the critical role of circular economy solutions in marine health protection and document a case study through relevant projects.