Ma Jun Quotes

"Even the government understands that the environmental challenge is so big that no single agency can handle it. It needs collaboration among all the stakeholders - companies, governments, NGOs and the public. Public accountability will be the ultimate driving force."

"Globalised manufacturing and procurement mean that a lot of high-polluting, heavy duty jobs are transferred to China. We will ask major companies, such as Wal-Mart, Microsoft and IBM to put pressure on their Chinese suppliers."

"When I look at China's environmental problems, the real barrier is not lack of technology or money. It's lack of motivation."

"Environmental problems cannot be resolved here the way they are resolved in other countries. I heard that 80 per cent of the environmental problems in the U.S. are solved in court. That can't happen here."

"Of course, as consumers, we want cheap and good products; however, if these production processes are exceeding wastewater discharge standards and even causing heavy metal pollution, they will cause long-lasting damage to the ecological environment and public health."

"No matter how rich you are, you can't get healthy air."

"We want to use the environment to shift the way our society works."

"Regulatory failings mean that the cost of breaking the law is far below that of obeying it - businesses are happier to pay fines than to control pollution."

"Ever since we published the first Apple report, we've had some other brands turning more proactive."

"Everyone else has some interest in economic growth and development, which often happens at the expense of the environment and community. We need the other side to join this to check and balance."

"We firmly believe the environmental issues cannot be addressed without extensive public participation, but people need to be informed before they can get involved."

"We copied laws and regulations from western countries, but enforcement remains weak, and environmental litigation is still quite near impossible."

"I hope they can see that as a consumer, if they express themselves, they may make an impact and leverage their impact on the brands, and the brands can leverage their buying power on tens of thousands of polluters - suppliers - in China."

"Brands who come to China, often they just care about price - so they actually drive the suppliers to cut corners on environmental standards to win a contract."

"I know the government needs to ensure economic growth... we just hope it takes care of the environment, too."

"China has leapfrogged into this information age, and Web users have grown very significantly, which knocked down the cost of doing the environmental transparency."

"In China we need to do our own part to try to combat global climate change."

"One thing most people would agree is that climate change would add further uncertainties to our already quite tight water supply situation in China."

"Some of the areas in China have been under very grave water scarcity: for example, the north China plain; they are facing a very serious water shortage. Per capita levels have dropped to very serious levels, including in Beijing."

"I hope to see an integrated solution created to deal with both the local pollution problem and the global climate change problem."

"In America, you complain about job losses because of China, but here, we carry all of the environmental costs."

"I think its time to change and balance the environment and growth. If we don't do that, we're going to suffer a hard landing one day very soon."

"We can't go to courts in China, so we have to find alternate ways, like working with brands to try and create a level playing field by identifying the most obvious polluters."

"If you publish something in traditional media, it's one-way. With social media, we get all this info coming back from those who read our posts."

"The motivation should come from regulatory enforcement, but enforcement is weak, and environmental litigation is near to impossible. So there's an urgent need for extensive public participation to generate another kind of motivation."

"We haven't seen the turning point yet, but we're sticking to our bottom line, for the environment and the health of the country."

"Like in those cancer villages, a group of old ladies kneeling down in front of me, you know, holding a bottle of polluted water and hoping that they would get help, this is the voice that got drowned in this complex, globalized supply chain system."

"They pollute. It's not because morally they have a problem, but more because the mechanism now is rewarding those who cut corners to save cost."

"In some cases, it's not just about cleaning up the factories. It's about cleaning up the nearby rivers and lakes that have been tainted with heavy metals."

"I think there are a few brands like Nike and Patagonia which are quite progressively minded."