May 2013
| Business World Magazine | 131
the total loss and disposal of these resources,
by-product synergy solutions can identify
new uses and naturally lead to business sav-
ings in the six-figure range or more.
This project methodology has expanded
around the world. In May 2012, for exam-
ple, the US BCSD and the China Business
Council for Sustainable Development ini-
tiated a BPS project in Hebei Province in
northeast China (a partnership structured
through the US-China Strategic Economic
Dialogue’s EcoPartnership program). The
Hebei BPS project is modeled after the US
BCSD’s network of successful projects in
regions across the US and will address sev-
eral objectives of China’s 12th Five Year Plan
which includes: a 16% reduction in energy
use per unit of GDP; a 17% reduction of
CO2 emissions per unit of GDP; and an 8%
absolute reduction in sulfur dioxide and or-
ganic water pollutants. Some three to four
dozen Chinese companies will be invited to
join this network and are expected to pro-
duce synergies valued at US $5 million-$10
million in new revenues, savings and invest-
ments in 2013.
WATER
Implementation of sustainable water man-
agement strategies is of increasing impor-
tance to US businesses, especially as water
resources that are significant supply or dis-
charge points for their facilities become
stressed. Water management is a local issue,
defined by the characteristics of a watershed
and its use – encompassing business, agricul-
ture, livestock, municipal, residential, ship-
ping/transport, and recreational users. The
US BCSD has aimed its collaborative meth-
odology at bringing watershed users togeth-
