Grandblue Environment Co., Ltd.: Grandblue Model breaks the NIMBY predicament of solid waste disposal industry

Company profile
 
Grandblue Environment Co., Ltd. (Grandblue) is a listed company focusing on environmental service industry. Its business covers solid waste treatment, tap water supply, sewage treatment and gas supply. Committed to providing systematic environmental services and solutions for major cities, the company undertakes the CSR of environmental enterprises, and upgrades the CSR philosophy of "Good Housekeeper in City, Good Model in Industry and Good Neighbor in Community" to the strategic level, fulfilling CSR by closely focusing on the main business and daily operation management. The company has been widely recognized by the society and has been voted the most socially responsible enterprise in the water operation industry and solid waste industry.
 
Challenge
 
NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), is an inevitable barrier for all garbage comprehensive treatment enterprises. Whether it is incineration power generation or kitchen waste recycling, all enterprises have encountered the dilemma of being complained by residents. The Green News Department of Southern Weekly in cooperation with Power Generation Branch of China Association of Circular Economy, launched a risk questionnaire survey to 33 senior executives of garbage power generation industry in 13 provinces in China. It was found that 52 % of garbage disposal enterprises had received complaints or objections, and 27 % of enterprises had experienced mass movements. NIMBY caused by non-standard waste disposal is the most difficult and urgent challenge in the development process of waste incineration industry.
 
Solution
 
Faced with the predicament of "NIMBY" that besets the whole industry, the company must clearly realize that the iron triangle of "Government, Enterprises and the Public" should form a closed-loop to solve the problem of waste incineration, and the public is the core of the closed-loop. Enterprises need to accomplish the change from "Enterprise-Government" to "Enterprise- Government+the Public " in strategic thinking. Enterprises need to provide environmental services to satisfy the people for government, and make the iron triangle closed. Based on this, Grandblue upholds Craftsmanship Spirit, pays attention to the focus, precision and pursuing perfection in every detail and every link, and patiently touch the public by meticulous job, so as to reverse NIMBY mood. Finally, the leading "Grandblue Model" in the industry was formed, which has been unanimously approved by government, the industry and public.
 
Honest communication to eliminate the publics worries
 
In 2006, Grandblue bought South China Sea Environmental Protection Power Plant, located in Foshan City, Guangdong Province and prepared to build it into the South China Sea Solid Waste Industrial Park. However, the construction encountered severe resistance as the surrounding residents and schools jointly complained to government departments to protest the impact of power plants on the community environment.
 
Faced with the enormous pressure of public opinion, Grandblue did not hide behind the local government to "Wait and Rely on", but took the initiative. First of all, the company gave out environmental protection supervisor certificates to residents and representatives of teachers and students, and asked them to supervise the waste incineration and disposal work. They can went anyplace in the waste incineration plant to inspect and investigate at any time. Secondly, the company published the emission index data on the website of local environmental protection bureau in real time, and displayed it on the LED screen in a prominent place in the community, so that teachers and students can keep abreast of the environmental protection situation of power plants. In order to completely eliminate misgivings of the surrounding residents, with the agree of the Grandblue headquarters, the power plant organized government officials, villager representatives, school faculty representatives to visit the most advanced waste power plants in Guangzhou and Shanghai. They found that power plants and environment could be harmonious through advanced technology and management. After visiting, they indicated that as long as waste incineration project of the company can be built to reach such level, they can accept the existence of power plants.
 
Innovation for tackling key problems to fulfill environmental protection commitments
 
After taking over the environmental power plant, the company first transformed the old plant. Waste incineration plant directly blocked all sewage outlets at the first time, and no sewage outflow. When there is no better way to treat sewage under these circumstances, it actively cut off the sewage outlet. At the same time, the company invested a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, and hired industry experts to do technical research and investigation together, effectively reducing odor and smoke emissions through technical means. Faced with the dozens of industry problems of unplanned stoppage (passive and uncontrolled fault results in the failure of the equipment, and the equipment must be stopped for maintenance) annually, the company team worked hard to tackle key problems and reduced the unplanned stoppage to only five times a year. In spite of the financial pressure, it has invested 20 million yuan in relevant rectifications.
 
Owing to the continuous lean transformation and process management guided by Craftsmanship Spirit, the emission of pollutants such as noise, odor, smoke and dust from refuse incineration plants has been greatly reduced, and all environmental protection indicators have met the standards, which has changed the direct perception of refuse incineration plants and made the surrounding residents feel incredible.
 
Win-win cooperation to promote community development
 
Recognition by residents is just the beginning, the company actively explores the establishment of the model and relationship reconstruction of neighbourliness, and strives to change "NIMBY" into "YIMBY" and realize shared development. In 2016, the company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Light Industry Institute. The two sides cooperated in education and training, industrial tourism and incubators. According to the agreement, the company invested 10 million yuan to open a 20-acre environmental park in the central area of the Nanhai Solid Waste Industrial Park, and constructed an environmental protection exhibition hall of nearly 3,000 square meters for public environmental education. At the same time, it cooperated with light industry to build the Nanhai Industrial Tourism Museum, the first university-enterprise museum with the theme of industrial tourism in China. According to the "one main and three deputy" planning pattern, the company built a main hall, Nanhai Folk Customs History Hall and three deputy halls, namely, Nanhai Tourism Resources Hall, Nanhai Industrial Industry Hall and Nanhai Education Science and Technology Hall. Tourist routes such as environmental parks, environmental exhibition halls and operating factories are also combined with industrial exhibition halls and campus landscape corridors planned by light industry to enrich the connotation of scenic spots and enhance the environmental image of enterprises and universities. In addition, the two sides have jointly established Guangdong Industry Polytechnic, and set up an environmental protection industry incubator to carry out in-depth cooperation in the construction of production, education and research bases, the vocational training of environmental protection talents, the formulation of industry talent standards, students innovation and entrepreneurship, etc.
 
Achievements
 
Social benefit
 
In the face of misunderstanding and anxiety, Grandblue has won public trust with its patience and sincerity of Craftsmanship Spirit and built a YIMBY community relationship. Grandblues solid waste (garbage) treatment environmental industrial park achieved zero odor discharge and waste water discharge of domestic waste and sludge treatment, and the "zero complaints + zero petitions" from the residents for eight consecutive years. In High-tech Industrial Development Zone with the most centralized technology enterprises and universities in Foshan City, the companys  waste incineration plant has been expanded for three consecutive phases without any objection, and the public participation in the EIA has been 100% passed. 
 
Economics benefit
 
In 2013, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the AAA level certificate to harmless waste incineration power plant and Grandblue scored the first in all indicators. In 2016, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development recommended five enterprises that have reached the international advanced level of waste incineration, including Grandblue. In 2017, Grandblues solid waste business expanded to 18 cities in 9 provinces, and the "zero complaint + zero petition" garbage disposal mode is being promoted to all parts of China.  
 
Prospect
 
In the future, Grandblue will continue to implement the concept of social responsibility of "Good Housekeeper in City, Good Model in Industry and Good Neighbor in Community". While doing a good job in its own operation and management, it will actively disclose environmental data, and continue to explore more mutually beneficial cooperation models with the community. And "Grandblue Experience" and "Grandblue Model" will be pushed to the whole country, leading the whole industry to complete the transformation from "NIMBY" to "YIMBY".