China’s E-waste Challenge: Can Baidu’s Innovative CSR Initiative Lead by Example?
“The United Nations and business need each other. We need your innovation, your initiative, your technological prowess. But business also needs the United Nations. In a very real sense, the work of the United Nations can be viewed as seeking to creat the ideal enabling environment within which business can thrive.”
–Ban Ki-moon, Former United Nations Secretary-General
Over the years, world’s transition towards a more digital and information technology-centric socio-economic system offered unparalleled avenues for sustainable development. It, however, also fueled exponential growth in the consumption of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) and resultantly increasing volumes of e-waste posing a global challenge. On March 21st 2018, United Nations’ (UN) organizations actively involved in addressing the global e-waste challenge signed a ‘Letter of Intent’ to strengthen the coordination and collaboration on UN system-wide support for e-waste management. The signing of the ‘Letter of Intent’ furthered the ongoing work of the Environment Management Group (EMG) which coordinated the collaborations among UN organizations in the areas of e-waste management.
While e-waste is a global challenge, over the decades, China earned the dual distinction of being one of the largest exporters of EEE and also one of the largest generators and importers of e-waste. Continuously increasing volumes of e-waste posed environmental and health hazards in China forcing the Chinese Government to take strict actions..............
GLOBAL E-WASTE CHALLENGE
Since the onset of the 21st century, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), commonly referred to as e-waste, became the world’s fastest-growing form of waste. Though it represented only 2% of solid waste streams, yet it accounted for 70% of the hazardous waste that ended up in landfills. It was estimated that the global e-waste volume reached 48. Mt5 in 2018. According to a report launched at Davos 2019, the growing volumes of e-waste would weigh more than 125,000 Boeing 747 jumbo jets which would be enough to build 4,500 replicas of the Eiffel Tower every year...............
UN’S COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE GLOBAL E-WASTE CHALLENGE
The UN plays an important role in the control and disposal of e-waste through several initiatives across the globe. Headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, US, the UN is an intergovernmental organization, with 193 member states. The UN was founded on October 24th 1945, with an aim to maintain international peace and security, friendly relations and cooperation among nations and harmonizing their actions. The UN tries to fulfil its aims through its entities (UNDP, UNEMG, UNU, etc.) and its specialized organizations and agencies (ILO, IMF, WHO, World Bank Group, etc.) along with the country governments, NGOs and private entities............
CHINA’S E-WASTE CONUNDRUM
In December 2001, a study by Basel Action Network (BAN) on the e-waste recycling conditions in China, found that during 1995-2001, Guiyu, a Chinese town, had transformed from a rice-growing community into an e-waste recycling center, and went on to become the ‘E-waste Capital of the World’. This completely polluted Guiyu’s ecology and exposed residents to various health hazards. As per a report from Shantou University, “Guiyu has the highest level of cancer-causing dioxins in the world and elevated rates of miscarriages”. The environmental calamity of Guiyu highlighted the e-waste problem in China..............
China’s E-Waste Collection and Recycling Systems
In China, the formal and informal system of e-waste collection and recycling co-existed (Exhibit XIV). However it was the informal sector that dominated e-waste management system in China. To counter the rising problem of e-waste, China undertook several initiatives starting 2000 (Exhibit XV)............
‘BAIDU RECYCLE’ AS AN INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE
Birth of ‘Baidu Recycle’
In 2014, one of the 23 UN and related entities, UNDP, was looking for partners in China who could offer more effective ways of designing and delivering development solutions rather than just contributing money. With the aim to work on projects with impact, UNDP China office established an innovation task force with Louise Li (Li) as Communication and Innovation Officer..........
Partnerships for Greater Impact
The UNDP worked with Baidu’s Big Data Lab and TCL Corporation (TCL) (a Chinese electronics manufacturer engaged in recycling e-waste since 2009) to create a formidable e-waste disposal and recycling platform, in an attempt to crack down on the informal sector that recycled e-waste illegally, causing hazardous impact on human health and the environment...........
Operating Model
‘Baidu Recycle’ deployed an operating model akin to Uber taxi app by connecting the users who needed the service with the service providers. ‘Baidu Recycle’ was the first of its kind e-waste app piloted in China which did not need to be downloaded and could be accessed just by searching for ‘Baidu Recycle’ in the Baidu search ap...........
Global Recognitions
‘Baidu Recycle’ was recognized by the UN as one of the top global solutions when the app emerged as one of the 14 winning innovations among 800 entries (from over 100 countries) showcased at the Global Solutions Summit held in New York on September 27th 2015...........
Challenges
While Baidu showed an effective way to overcome the inherent challenges of e-waste management in China, it faced several challenges................
ADDRESSING THE GLOBAL E-WASTE PROBLEM: AN UPHILL TASK?
Effectiveness and Sustainability of Various UN Collaborations
While there were several collaborations in place involving 23 UN and related entities for addressing the e-waste problem, the effectiveness and sustainability of these collaborations was threatened by a host of challenges...........
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Challenges in Tackling the Global E-waste Problem
It was argued that the fashion cycle and life-span of many EEE and products containing EEE components had shortened, increasing the likelihood of higher e-waste generation. Thus, while on the one hand it was the responsibility of EEE manufacturers to extend the life-cycle of their products, on the other it called for a societal change in consumer behavior to inculcate a sense of recycling and reusing EEE and each person taking the onus of contributing towards saving the environment with or without incentives............
Assignment Questions
I. Explain the factors that led to mounting global e-waste challenge, reasons for continuous flow of illegal imports into developing economies and ways to effectively address the e-waste challenge.
II. What is sustainable development? How will the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be implemented? Discuss the role of UN’s collaborations in achieving the SDGs.
III. Considering China’s e-waste problem, discuss and debate on the country’s inability to find a holistic solution to the e-waste challenge. What are your suggestions for managing China’s e-waste problem?
IV. ....................
Exhibits
Exhibit I: E-waste Categories
Exhibit II: Percentage of Households with Internet Access and a Computer, and Percentage of the Population Using the Internet, 2007-2017
Exhibit III: Global E-waste Generated (2014 – 2021e)
Exhibit IV: Countries that Generate the Most E-waste (2016)
Exhibit V: Classification of Materials in E-waste
Exhibit VI: Mining E-waste Gold
Exhibit VII: International Agreements
Exhibit VIII: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Exhibit IX: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Exhibit X: SDGs’ E-waste Targets
Exhibit XI: UN and Related Entities Involved in E-waste Initiatives
Exhibit XII: Number of E-waste Initiatives by UN Entities
Exhibit XIII: Sales of Five Major Home Appliances in China (1995-2011)
Exhibit XIV: China’s E-waste Collection and Recycling Systems
Exhibit XV: China’s Efforts to Address the E-waste Challenge
Exhibit XVI: Statistics on the Usage of ‘Baidu Recycle’
Exhibit XVII: Baidu Recycle - Operating Model