Editor’s Note

The concept refers to that people play a key role in urban development and the ultimate goal of urban development is for people’s good. As we commemorate the fifth anniversary of the proposal of this significant concept, Baoshan promotes urban development in four aspects, namely the beautiful city environment, the convenient public services, the rich cultural activities, and the increased public security capacity. In the process, a series of programs targeting people’s concerns and specific issues have been launched under the guidance of the concept of People’s City.

On the west side of Tongji Road stand several steel structure buildings on the Site of Shanghai Steel Plant No. 5. These buildings are symbols of the early industrial development. With the transformation of urban development, the area is planned as the Special Steel Pioneer Area, making it the hinterland of Wusong Innovation City.

Recently, the construction of a 183-meter building is nearing completion in this area. The city’s first green low-carbon supply chain public service platform will be put into use in this building.

The transformation from “selling steel” to “selling services” helps more people understand the meaning of “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” and the way to balance economic development and environment protection in the process of modernization with Chinese characteristics.

Recently, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Green Transition in All Areas of Economic and Social Development, which is the first systematic deployment for green transition at the national level. It means integrating the requirements of green transition into the overall economic and social development and promoting green transition in all areas of economic and social development of China, thus further promoting China’s new development advantages for building a more competitive economy in the world.

For Baoshan, which has been accelerating the building of the “Green and Low-carbon Transition Demonstration Area”, the favorable policy is both an opportunity and a challenge. Baoshan has issued the Action Plan to Accelerate the High-quality Development of Green and Low-carbon Industry in Baoshan District (2024-2026), which requires coordinating the pioneer area and comprehensive promotion, coordinating the low-carbon production and green life, and coordinating the environmental protection and pollution prevention.

Around Meilan Lake in Luodian Town, there are many residential buildings surrounded by green spaces. [Photo by Wan Haimin]

Green Driving Force: Pioneer Area and Comprehensive Promotion

Energy transition is the driving force for the green transition in all areas of economic and social development.

Within this year, key emission industries such as the steel industry are planned to enter the national carbon emission trading market. China aims to improve the carbon pricing mechanism and accelerate the building of the carbon footprint management system.

Baoshan is accelerating the construction of a green and low-carbon supply chain public service platform and has been looking forward to it for a long time. “In the future, in addition to purchasing carbon quotas, steel enterprises could achieve green transition through the optimization and upgrading of the manufacturing process. Their investment in green technology would be recognized by the market as green assets.”, an official of Baoshan District Development and Reform Commission said.

In April this year, the green and low-carbon supply chain public service platform was officially launched. At present, it has established cooperation with more than 100 enterprises, co-builders and service providers, and released the world’s first 24 standard specifications including coke and semi-coke product PCR, coal product PCR, 155 product carbon footprint CFP or carbon reports on environmental product declaration (EPD).

Behind these results, there are countless innovations in carbon footprint accounting methodology, which are not only conducive to finding out the “green condition” of thousands of industries but also help make international rules in the green and low-carbon field.

Previously, there was no transparent and credible local database in many areas of carbon emissions, and some companies had no choice but to choose overseas databases when they “go global”. However, these databases are often updated slowly, and the “green investment” of these enterprises in process innovation was often underestimated, which to a certain extent has reduced the enthusiasm of enterprises to participate in the green transition. The green low-carbon supply chain public service platform plays the role of a “pioneer”. Sorting out the production processes in manufacturing could help provide them with customized carbon footprint reports with credibility and promotion value.

In August this year, Shanghai decided to build the innovation zone connected with the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Baoshan District, and the green and low-carbon supply chain platform project is one of the tasks of Baoshan for pilot programs. Baoshan will explore building green and low-carbon supply chain standards, guide the relevant enterprises in the region to develop advanced and international product carbon footprint accounting rules and support the cooperation with other regions in product carbon footprint management system.

This means that the standards for green transition issued by Baoshan would serve as international standards. Baoshan is accelerating the construction of a green low-carbon supply chain public service platform “1+4 matrix”. “1” refers to the green and low-carbon supply chain public service platform built and operated by Ouyeel and “4” refers to the technical service platform for SMEs built by E-C Digital, the public service platform for buildings’ carbon management built by Inspection and Certification Co. Ltd. MCC, the public service platform for green procurement built by Obei, and the public service platform for carbon credit jointly built by Inspection and Certification Co. Ltd. MCC and Greenland Financial Technology Group.

Green Vitality: Low-carbon Production and Green Life

The demand for green and low-carbon production and life is the result of economic and social development. In the view of many people, low-carbon production and green life promote each other and rely on each other, and they both require scientific and technological innovation.

Taking the research and development of new green and low-carbon materials as an example, through the updating and iteration of materials, the storage and conversion efficiency of energy is improved, thus saving energy and reducing carbon emission. For example, the improvement of photovoltaic cell materials makes it possible to popularize the application of solar energy; The material innovation of wind turbines promotes the construction and operation of large-scale wind farms.

The first industrial park for green and low-carbon innovation and industrial development in Shanghai - Carbon Neutral Industrial Park. [Photo by Liu Jiming]

With a number of new options, relevant departments find it a test to choose and find the best technological scheme. Therefore, Baoshan built the first Carbon Neutral Industrial Park for green and low-carbon innovation and industrial development in Shanghai. It provides researchers with pilot test scenarios for research and development and helps find new technologies and new products that are useful in the market through multiple pilot tests.

At present, Wusong Material Laboratory established by Zhao Dongyuan, Academician of Fudan University, has signed a contract with the park. The laboratory will focus on pilot tests of new materials such as mesoporous materials, fiber and flexible materials, and high-efficiency energy storage materials, to accelerate the incubation of innovative projects and allow more research results to enter the market. Advanced Materials Incubator has been introduced as a vertical incubator and has been given the mission of high-tech innovation, transformation of subversive scientific and technological achievements, incubation of hard-core science and technology enterprises, and integration of all-factor resources.

The iterations of advanced energy materials are also influencing the daily lives of consumers.

At the Shanghai Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2025, there were a lot of green elements on the fashionable runway. Some designers have applied the traditional split fabric technology to clothing design, and the unique texture and the rough texture are intertwined into a strong vitality. Split fabric originated from the Yunnan-Guizhou area, where people collect scattered cloth to weave into the weft, and then dye and wove it into a complete piece of cloth.

With the green and low-carbon concept, it has more stories to tell about the excellent clothing design. In daily life, we need to take more relevant methods to foster the green consumption habit.

Some people believe that the green transition of consumption requires more green improvements in production, transportation, and sales, especially improving the incentive mechanism of green consumption and certification of green products and services. For example, in the absence of a “carbon label”, the consumers have no way to identify the specific carbon emissions of a bottle of drinks from manufactories to shelves. If there is a carbon labeling certification system, it will be easy for consumers to buy and support green and low-carbon products.

Green Performance: Environmental Protection and Pollution Prevention

Shanghai Wusong Fort National Wetland Park on the Ground of Steel Slag. [Photo by Zhu Jiayi]

Green and low-carbon development is not just about a set of data of progress for reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality, but also about the “blue sky and white clouds”.

With the overall planning of environmental protection and pollution prevention, Baoshan put the green buildings as the key to building the “Shanghai Green and Low-Carbon Development Demonstration Area”.

With huge logistics needs of construction wastes, Baoshan found the road and construction site haunted by dust, which has been a “headache” for the relevant authority. Under intensive construction, Wusong Innovation City has several major projects, which need green construction methods to reduce the impact on surrounding residents so that people can benefit from green and low-carbon development. In this regard, a policy at the national level has pointed out the direction of development. According to the Opinions on Accelerating the Green Transition in All Areas of Economic and Social Development, priority should be given to green building materials and the comprehensive treatment of dust pollution.

Green buildings have become an important part of green and low-carbon development. Data shows that at least 40% of the global annual carbon emissions come from buildings. As one of the first cities in China to develop green buildings, Shanghai has developed its industry with local legislation. The Regulations on Shanghai Green Buildings will come into effect on January 1 next year and the city will try to cover the construction sector in the carbon emission trading mechanism, and the buildings with a certain quantity of carbon emissions will submit to the carbon emission management.

This coincides with the pilot area of Baoshan. The building carbon management public service platform constructed by Inspection and Certification Co. Ltd. MCC is coming soon. Taking carbon emission reduction of green buildings as its core task, it is positioned as a “tertiary hospital” in the field of green buildings, and it will also cover carbon emission accounting, carbon asset management and other important areas.

From a professional perspective, the difficulties in the transition to green buildings are more complex and arduous than the energy industry. It involves many issues such as property rights of public buildings and civil buildings, and the energy saving and emission reduction of green buildings should be reflected in construction, operation, and maintenance so the authority needs to have relative professional operation knowledge and ability.

At present, taking public green buildings as the starting point, Baoshan is preparing to introduce carbon emission reduction standards. As of August this year, Baoshan has put forward the requirements of renewable energy utilization (photovoltaic, etc.) in the consultation stage of land transfer opinions for 14 land parcels, and carried out a pilot program for green development in Wusong Innovation City.

For new buildings, Baoshan puts forward many “green standards”. For example, the proportion of photovoltaic construction of new buildings is promoted. For new government agencies, schools and industrial plants, the photovoltaic area ratio should be not less than 50%; for other public buildings, the installed photovoltaic area ratio should be not less than 30%.

The transition to green and low-carbon development requires changes in technology and concepts in all areas of economic and social development, and efforts from all relevant departments. More than two years ago, Baoshan took the lead in exploring mechanism innovation and established the Green Development Office, which serves the needs quite well. In the past, services related to green development involved different departments for various fields, namely development and reform, ecological environment, market supervision and landscape and city appearance. After the establishment of the Green Development Office, all green and low-carbon affairs are dealt with in one office with targeted services not provided by the government before and all parties could get things done related to the transition to green and low-carbon development.

From policy formulation to platform building, from industrial emission reduction to individual carbon reduction, the transition to green and low-carbon development requires the long-term efforts of everyone.

Believing “With a better natural environment comes a better life”, Baoshan is making all-out efforts to build the “Shanghai Green and Low-Carbon Development Demonstration Area”. Respecting the law of nature and protecting nature benefit humans in the long run.