Environment     

Private sector fights against deforestation

China.org.cn, June 28, 2012

• During the preparations for their 2010 AGM in Prague, international audit and advisory firm Mazars made the decision to measure the carbon footprint of the event.

  The meeting was attended by partners coming in from all over the world and therefore the energy consumption caused by flights alone was bound to be considerable. At the AGM, the Group decided that as part of their social responsibility, efforts should be made to compensate for the carbon damage the event caused to the environment (stemming from transportation, accommodation, water, electricity, paper, etc.).

  For the above-mentioned reasons, Mazars chose to lend its support to the "Million Tree Project" which aims to slow down the desertification that is sweeping through Inner Mongolia at an alarming rate, affecting towns and cities across China, including the nation's capital, Beijing.Unsustainable farming practices and climate change have turned the land in and around Kulun Qi, Tongliao Municipality, Inner Mongolia from workable farm land into desert. Sandstorms have already destroyed numerous local homes and forced many people to flee.

  Mazars Beijing Senior Founding Partner, Thierry Labarre, explained: "We've all seen how badly Beijing has been affected by sand storms. The desert is a problem that has taken over about one third of China's landscape already and every year when spring time comes, it stretches further and further. The Million Tree project aims to afforest the area, revive the land and block the sandstorms. Mazars has now committed itself to funding the planting of 5,000 trees. This project also meets our objective to compensate for the firm's carbon footprint by capturing CO2."

  Labarre also spoke of Mazars' desire to get local children involved in the project since these children will ultimately be the decision makers of the future.

  He stated: "As well as planting trees, we also plan to meet with the local population and engage with young students in local schools to raise awareness about global sustainable development issues. We want to encourage them to continue the work in their own areas. These children are the decision makers of the future and by educating them we believe they will be able to make the right decisions for the environment in the future."

Copyright © China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved