USAID Public-Private Partnership Launches Jiangsu EHS Academy in China.
On May 13, 2011, the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) and Nanjing University’s School of the Environment formally launched a new Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Academy in China’s Jiangsu Province to provide practical and affordable training courses on environmental management, occupational health and safety, greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, and energy efficiency management.

The launch event was attended by 150 company representatives, the U.S. Consul General from Shanghai, and provincial and local officials. It follows the successful launch of China’s first EHS Academy in Guangdong in 2009. Funders of the EHS Academy partnership in Jiangsu, in addition to USAID, include the GE Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, and Pfizer.

The EHS Academies increase the number of competent professionals working in manufacturing companies, particularly small- to medium-sized enterprises, that contribute to China’s national and international commitments to achieve low-carbon and environmentally sustainable development, including, for example, the use of internationally-recognized GHG measurement and accounting tools. The EHS Academy in Jiangsu is an initiative of ISC’s U.S.-China Partnership for Climate Action program.

The First County-Level GHG Accounting Initiative in China Launched.
On May 5, 2011, USAID’s U.S.-China Partnership for Climate Action program partners, ISC and World Resource Institute (WRI), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Xiaolan, in Guangdong Province, to launch the Xiaolan Low Carbon Initiative.

The initiative aims at assisting Xiaolan in developing its own GHG inventory and implementing low carbon actions. The Xiaolan Government has established a leadership committee, led by the mayor and consisting of various governmental department directors, to oversee this initiative.

ISC and WRI have partnered with Guangzhou Academy of Energy Testing and Inspection (GAETI) and newly established Xiaolan Sustainability Service Center, a local NGO, to carry out the implementation of the initiative. The Xiaolan’s GHG inventory is scheduled to be published by the end of this September, which will be the first county-level GHG inventory in China.

Community-Based Education for Sustainable Development is Recognized by Chinese Educators.
On May 11, 2011, ISC’s Guangdong Environmental Partnership program, together with South China Normal University and Green Point Youth Environment Education Center, hosted an international forum in Guangzhou, China. The forum brought together teachers, government officials, NGOs, and scholars to network and share best practices on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

The forum is the capstone event of the program’s ESD initiative, which uses a community-based platform to build awareness and promote behavior change that can be shared with and replicated in other communities of China. About 300 teachers and young environmental leaders from Guangdong and other provinces attended.

The forum also featured international experts from the Learning and Ecological Activities Foundation for Children (LEAF) of Japan and Shelburne Farms of the United States, as well as local experts from Beijing Normal University, Southwest China Normal University, and NGOs from across China.