CSCEC Eyes on Green Development

As the world's largest investment and construction enterprise, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has actively explored a new path for green development in recent years.

The building industry contributes to 40 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in the world, according to a report released by the International Energy Research Center, making the industry a key to realize carbon neutrality.

CSCEC has given green and low-carbon development a top priority to contribute to peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality.

Green construction

About 1.55 billion to 2.4 billion tons of waste is produced during construction, demolition and decoration annually in China.

To reduce the waste, CSCEC independently developed a smart green engineering cloud platform, which can carry out real-time monitoring of environmental data and give early warning and treatment, as well as utilization of green energy like solar, wind and air power, to improve new energy consumption, reduce cost and lower carbon dioxide emissions.

What's more, CSCEC upgraded several of its concrete plants, and developed waste slurry and residue treatment technology in ready mix concrete plants to limit solid waste from the source.

The company also led the establishment of China's first fabricated construction technology and innovation league and launched the country's first full industrial chain fabricated construction smart factory.

It invested in more than 50 PC prefabrication factories with an annual production capacity of over 6 million square meters in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, South China's Sichuan Province and Chongqing, and the Yangtze River Delta region.

The North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Center in Hong Kong, contracted by CSCEC, opened for service on Feb 25. The project was built with much less noise, water consumption and wood materials, and released about 80 percent less construction waste than other projects.

Another CSCEC's project in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, used bare concrete on the wall columns and reduced materials for decoration. Tea trees were also planted on the roof of the buildings, which creates a cozy space for rest and reduces sun heat absorbed by the building.

High-tech has also been a main player in green building.

The National Aquatics Center, known as the "Water Cube", is the world's largest membrane structure project. The space between the two membranes is used to preserve and dissipate heat in winter and summer.

Its neighbor, the ice sports center, features glass screen walls as the ceiling and installs light pipe on the ground, through which light is diverted to the venue. The settings reduce about 26,000 kWh of power annually, equaling 10 years of power demand of a household.

Ecological restoration

Ecological restoration has also been a highlight of CSCEC.

For example, it planted 13.32 million Haloxylon ammodendron saplings and built 157 kilometers of road in the desert in the past two years.

What's more, it recovered 66.505 square kilometers of mines, afforested 26,400 mu (1,760 hectares) of area, and built more than 2.36 million cubic meters of seawalls.

The company will continue to highlight environmental protection in its development, production and operation, technological innovation and cultural construction and to build a green full industrial chain.

Environmental protection has become a focus in construction and development. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)