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On Lead-in Mechanism of Enterprise Transformation from the Perspective of Low-Carbon Economy
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
IACEED2010
On Lead-in Mechanism of Enterprise Transformation from the Perspective of Low-Carbon Economy ZhangYing-hua* , Wang Dan-dan, Zhang Shu-chun Tianjin University of Finance& Economics, Tianjin, No.25 Zhujiang Road, Hexi District, 300222,China.
Abstract In the era of the low-carbon economy, mode of production and trade is experiencing great changes all over the world. In order to adapt itself to the new environment, enterprise in China needs to trot its transformation and implement a low-carbon operation. This paper constructs the lead-in mechanism for enterprises to realize their low-carbonization from “four-level and multiple-dimension”, that is, with collaboration and mutual promotion of government, innerenterprise, inter-enterprises and consumers, a low-carbon transformation of enterprises in China is expected to be pushed and developed.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of RIUDS Key Words: low-carbon operation; the lead-in mechanism; transformation of enterprise
1. Introducti on According to 2010 Central Economic Working Conference, energy saving and emission reduction with the aim to mit igate the impact of climate change by human activit ies have become an important means to realize the transformation of economic mode. Working paper of McKinsey &Company “Pathways to a Low-Carbon Econo my” published in 2009 reports that the potential for emission reduction of enterprises is the largest in the industry [1]. From the current situation all over the world, studies on the lead-in mechanism of enterprise low-carbon operation seem more important and urgent. 2. The lead-in mechanism for enterprise low- carbon operation
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 13011363803˗15222149280 E-mail address: [email protected];[email protected]
1876–6102 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2011.03.396
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ZhangYing-hua et al. / Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
2.1. Principles of enterprise low- carbon operation Firstly, the lo w-carbon concept which can pro mote and accelerate enterprise low-carbon operation is regarded as a forerunner in the construction of the lead-in mechanism; Secondly, coordination of reward and regulation is considered as a guarantee to construct the mechanism. As both technical innovation and capital input are required by a low-carbon operation, guiding scheme issued by the government is propitious to encourage the introduction of low-carbon technology and the application of low-carbon products. However, relevant regulation with reduction of carbon dio xide emission must be carried out as for the high-pollution industries or enterprises; and thirdly, consumer’s desire to purchase low-carbon products and enjoy low-carbon services has compelled enterprises to take feasible measures and bear social responsibility to develop the low-carbon economy. Fro m the above princip les, it is recognized that, to achieve a state of optimization, the lead-in mechanism should be constructed from a comprehensive system----government guidance, corporate responsibility, push of inter-enterprises and pull of consumers [2] . With respect to our country’s realities, a “four-level and mult i-d imensional” lead-in mechanism for enterprise low-carbon operation is put forward below:
Fig. 1: Lead-in mechanism of enterprise low-carbon operation
These four aspects form a closed-loop mechanis m of low-carbon operation---government provides guidance and support by policy, motivation and regulation; inter-enterprises supply a platform for the exchanges within the same industry and consumers play an important role in the pull of the enterprise transformation. 2.2. Construction of the lead-in mechanism of enterprise low- carbon operation 2.2.1. Government level Govern ment p lays an important role in the low-carbon operation of enterprises. A mu ltip ledimensional lead-in mechanism at this level is built as follows:
ZhangYing-hua et al. / Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
Fig.2 Government level of enterprise low-carbon operation
On one hand, the enterprise low-carbon transformation needs to be supported by policies such as tax cuts, financial subsidies, government procurement and even the establishment of "low-carbon development fund" [3]; as to the transition of high-carbon enterprise to a lo w-carbon type, government should formu late relat ive regulation and binding indicators , for examp le, environ mental monitoring organization can be established to execute carbon audit, carbon assessment and carbon disclosure; On the other hand, government may organize financing guarantee agencies and low-carbon information platform----by making full use of resources fro m universit ies and institutes , the employees’ lo w-carbon technical training would be strengthened and low-carbon achievements could be hatched faster. 2.2.2. Inner-enterprise level As the realization of low-carbon operation is an inevitable tendency for the sustainable development of enterprise, this level should be considered as the responsible core [4]. For enterprise itself, the lead-in mechanism could be constructed from four aspects:
Fig.3 Inner-enterprise level of low-carbon operation
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ZhangYing-hua et al. / Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
Firstly, shared values and cultural connotation of an enterprise can d irect its production activities or services toward the lo w carbonizat ion and secondly, low-carbonization should be imp lemented in all processes of production such as raw material selection, energy recycling and reusing and circulation of waste; thirdly, in order to improve leaders’ environ mental attention and employees’ environmental awareness, MBO, 5S Visual Management , TQM should be applied widely in the daily management of enterprise; and finally, lo w- carbon service is regarded as a crucial factor to attract consumers and a way to set up good images for service-oriented enterprises. In order to achieve an organic unity of both economic and environ mental benefits, low-carbon service conserves resources and energy from every link of service process, such as service design, service consumables, service product and service marketing. 2.2.3. Inter-enterprise level In times of the low-carbon economy, hardly any enterprise owns all the resources for the effective competition. This level provides a platform for the exchange of informat ion and resources between different enterprises within the same industry. Fro m the perspective of inter-enterprises, the lead-in mechanism can be constructed as followings:
Fig.4 Inter-enterprise level of low-carbon operation
Fig.4 shows that if the boundaries between different enterprises could be broken and the same business content would be comb ined, the mutual support is able to be gained. Therefore, through construction of informat ion-resource management platfo rm by means of which enterprises can share not only low-carbon informat ion, but also low-carbon technology, low-carbon project research and lo w-carbon products, the alliance by enterprises and research institutes would be strengthened ; a reduction of cost and risk and improvement of organizational effectiveness will be brought about consequ ently [5]. 2.2.4. Consumer level Consumers are the pulling power for the lo w-carbon transformation of enterprises. The lead-in mechanism in this level can be built below:
ZhangYing-hua et al. / Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
Fig.5 Consumer level of enterprise low-carbon operation
With consumers’ deepening cognition of the lo w-carbon economy, their willingness to purchase environment-friendly products is increasing [6]. As a citizen’s low-carbon consciousness has a profound impact on the management of an enterprise, it has to carry out the lo w-carbon transformation and manufacture the low-carbon products accordingly in order to gain the competitiveness. 3. Conclusion There is crisis as well as opportunity in the low- carbon economic era. Opportunities can be grasped by the enterprises well-prepared yet crisis frequents those unprepared. Therefore, explo ration of his expansive "clean ocean" in the low -carbon economy era has been an urgent task for enterprises in China.
Acknowledgement We wish to thank Zhang Shu-chun, Tianjin University of Finance&Economics for the original materials and many helpful discussions.
References [1] Pathways to a Low-Carbon Economy-Version 2 of the Global Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve, McKinsey& Company. [2] Sustainability Entrepreneurship and Equitable Transitions to a Low-Carbon Economy. Bradley D. Parrish and Timothy J.Foxon. University of Leeds, UK [3] Ming guang, Qi yu, Enterprise’s coping in the post- era off financial crisis [J]. China Economic Herald, 2009(18): 49-50 [4] Xiong yan, Pathway to the low-carbon [M]. Beijing: China Economic Press, 2010 [5] Liu yong, Construction of the organizational alliance among network [J], Library Forum, 2008(6): 105 -107 [6] Du Jun-ming, Enterprise strategic choice on low carbon economy development constraints [J], Enterprise Vitality, 2010(1): 138-140
2245
Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
IACEED2010
On Lead-in Mechanism of Enterprise Transformation from the Perspective of Low-Carbon Economy ZhangYing-hua* , Wang Dan-dan, Zhang Shu-chun Tianjin University of Finance& Economics, Tianjin, No.25 Zhujiang Road, Hexi District, 300222,China.
Abstract In the era of the low-carbon economy, mode of production and trade is experiencing great changes all over the world. In order to adapt itself to the new environment, enterprise in China needs to trot its transformation and implement a low-carbon operation. This paper constructs the lead-in mechanism for enterprises to realize their low-carbonization from “four-level and multiple-dimension”, that is, with collaboration and mutual promotion of government, innerenterprise, inter-enterprises and consumers, a low-carbon transformation of enterprises in China is expected to be pushed and developed.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of RIUDS Key Words: low-carbon operation; the lead-in mechanism; transformation of enterprise
1. Introducti on According to 2010 Central Economic Working Conference, energy saving and emission reduction with the aim to mit igate the impact of climate change by human activit ies have become an important means to realize the transformation of economic mode. Working paper of McKinsey &Company “Pathways to a Low-Carbon Econo my” published in 2009 reports that the potential for emission reduction of enterprises is the largest in the industry [1]. From the current situation all over the world, studies on the lead-in mechanism of enterprise low-carbon operation seem more important and urgent. 2. The lead-in mechanism for enterprise low- carbon operation
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 13011363803˗15222149280 E-mail address: [email protected];[email protected]
1876–6102 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2011.03.396
2242
ZhangYing-hua et al. / Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
2.1. Principles of enterprise low- carbon operation Firstly, the lo w-carbon concept which can pro mote and accelerate enterprise low-carbon operation is regarded as a forerunner in the construction of the lead-in mechanism; Secondly, coordination of reward and regulation is considered as a guarantee to construct the mechanism. As both technical innovation and capital input are required by a low-carbon operation, guiding scheme issued by the government is propitious to encourage the introduction of low-carbon technology and the application of low-carbon products. However, relevant regulation with reduction of carbon dio xide emission must be carried out as for the high-pollution industries or enterprises; and thirdly, consumer’s desire to purchase low-carbon products and enjoy low-carbon services has compelled enterprises to take feasible measures and bear social responsibility to develop the low-carbon economy. Fro m the above princip les, it is recognized that, to achieve a state of optimization, the lead-in mechanism should be constructed from a comprehensive system----government guidance, corporate responsibility, push of inter-enterprises and pull of consumers [2] . With respect to our country’s realities, a “four-level and mult i-d imensional” lead-in mechanism for enterprise low-carbon operation is put forward below:
Fig. 1: Lead-in mechanism of enterprise low-carbon operation
These four aspects form a closed-loop mechanis m of low-carbon operation---government provides guidance and support by policy, motivation and regulation; inter-enterprises supply a platform for the exchanges within the same industry and consumers play an important role in the pull of the enterprise transformation. 2.2. Construction of the lead-in mechanism of enterprise low- carbon operation 2.2.1. Government level Govern ment p lays an important role in the low-carbon operation of enterprises. A mu ltip ledimensional lead-in mechanism at this level is built as follows:
ZhangYing-hua et al. / Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
Fig.2 Government level of enterprise low-carbon operation
On one hand, the enterprise low-carbon transformation needs to be supported by policies such as tax cuts, financial subsidies, government procurement and even the establishment of "low-carbon development fund" [3]; as to the transition of high-carbon enterprise to a lo w-carbon type, government should formu late relat ive regulation and binding indicators , for examp le, environ mental monitoring organization can be established to execute carbon audit, carbon assessment and carbon disclosure; On the other hand, government may organize financing guarantee agencies and low-carbon information platform----by making full use of resources fro m universit ies and institutes , the employees’ lo w-carbon technical training would be strengthened and low-carbon achievements could be hatched faster. 2.2.2. Inner-enterprise level As the realization of low-carbon operation is an inevitable tendency for the sustainable development of enterprise, this level should be considered as the responsible core [4]. For enterprise itself, the lead-in mechanism could be constructed from four aspects:
Fig.3 Inner-enterprise level of low-carbon operation
2243
2244
ZhangYing-hua et al. / Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
Firstly, shared values and cultural connotation of an enterprise can d irect its production activities or services toward the lo w carbonizat ion and secondly, low-carbonization should be imp lemented in all processes of production such as raw material selection, energy recycling and reusing and circulation of waste; thirdly, in order to improve leaders’ environ mental attention and employees’ environmental awareness, MBO, 5S Visual Management , TQM should be applied widely in the daily management of enterprise; and finally, lo w- carbon service is regarded as a crucial factor to attract consumers and a way to set up good images for service-oriented enterprises. In order to achieve an organic unity of both economic and environ mental benefits, low-carbon service conserves resources and energy from every link of service process, such as service design, service consumables, service product and service marketing. 2.2.3. Inter-enterprise level In times of the low-carbon economy, hardly any enterprise owns all the resources for the effective competition. This level provides a platform for the exchange of informat ion and resources between different enterprises within the same industry. Fro m the perspective of inter-enterprises, the lead-in mechanism can be constructed as followings:
Fig.4 Inter-enterprise level of low-carbon operation
Fig.4 shows that if the boundaries between different enterprises could be broken and the same business content would be comb ined, the mutual support is able to be gained. Therefore, through construction of informat ion-resource management platfo rm by means of which enterprises can share not only low-carbon informat ion, but also low-carbon technology, low-carbon project research and lo w-carbon products, the alliance by enterprises and research institutes would be strengthened ; a reduction of cost and risk and improvement of organizational effectiveness will be brought about consequ ently [5]. 2.2.4. Consumer level Consumers are the pulling power for the lo w-carbon transformation of enterprises. The lead-in mechanism in this level can be built below:
ZhangYing-hua et al. / Energy Procedia 5 (2011) 2241–2245
Fig.5 Consumer level of enterprise low-carbon operation
With consumers’ deepening cognition of the lo w-carbon economy, their willingness to purchase environment-friendly products is increasing [6]. As a citizen’s low-carbon consciousness has a profound impact on the management of an enterprise, it has to carry out the lo w-carbon transformation and manufacture the low-carbon products accordingly in order to gain the competitiveness. 3. Conclusion There is crisis as well as opportunity in the low- carbon economic era. Opportunities can be grasped by the enterprises well-prepared yet crisis frequents those unprepared. Therefore, explo ration of his expansive "clean ocean" in the low -carbon economy era has been an urgent task for enterprises in China.
Acknowledgement We wish to thank Zhang Shu-chun, Tianjin University of Finance&Economics for the original materials and many helpful discussions.
References [1] Pathways to a Low-Carbon Economy-Version 2 of the Global Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve, McKinsey& Company. [2] Sustainability Entrepreneurship and Equitable Transitions to a Low-Carbon Economy. Bradley D. Parrish and Timothy J.Foxon. University of Leeds, UK [3] Ming guang, Qi yu, Enterprise’s coping in the post- era off financial crisis [J]. China Economic Herald, 2009(18): 49-50 [4] Xiong yan, Pathway to the low-carbon [M]. Beijing: China Economic Press, 2010 [5] Liu yong, Construction of the organizational alliance among network [J], Library Forum, 2008(6): 105 -107 [6] Du Jun-ming, Enterprise strategic choice on low carbon economy development constraints [J], Enterprise Vitality, 2010(1): 138-140
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