Sharing is not a new concept in China. In the olden days, back when Chinese people had siblings and still lived in traditional communities, sharing everything, from one's toys to one's toilet, was a way of life. Back then, people shared out of scarcity.

Today, with China's newfound abundance, sharing seems to be done because it is profitable. Drivers give rides to strangers, but only those who pay for it using ride-hailing mobile apps. Property owners let strangers stay in their apartments, but only if they use paid online services. Private households in China are even now cooking homemade lunch for office workers, but you must pay for it.

Fortunately, there are still some individuals and organizations who believe in selflessly sharing their world with others. Green Initiatives' (GI) "Joy of Sharing" forum, which will take place this Thursday at 6:30 pm, will spotlight three speakers from local businesses that believe that sharing can benefit the environment.

This forum will be the kick-off event of GI's Chinese event series "Better Planet Better Life" launched in August.

"We chose 'The Sharing Economy' to be our first event in this series partially because GI's work is all about sharing and collaboration and also because Chinese consumers have been quick to adopt ride-sharing services and other sharing technology," Nitin Dani, founder and director of GI, told the Global Times.

GI is one of Shanghai's most active environmental nonprofit organizations. It has been organizing environmental awareness events and engaging people in environment solutions since its founding in 2009. Expats originally made up the larger portion of their audience and members, but local Chinese are steadily joining GI.

"We started with 80 percent foreigners and 20 percent local audience and have gradually reached a 60 to 40 or a 50 to 50 split between Western and local audience, despite the events being in English," said Dani. "With the worsening of environmental pollution in China over the last few years, and with the Chinese government focusing heavily on solving environmental issues, food safety and air pollution remediation, more and more locals have become interested in the topics and curious to know how they can improve."

Nitin Dani gives a lecture about the environment at a recent Green Initiatives event. Photos: Courtesy of Green Initiatives

Local engagement

To cater to concerned Chinese, GI selected its most successful events from past forums over the last seven years and tailored them for a local audience. Topics from the Chinese event series will include "Do You Know Where Your Food Comes From?" (September 1), "Eco is the New Lux" (September 27), "Smart Home, Green Family" (October 27) and "The Future of Charity" (December 1).

"Chinese people's environment awareness is different from expats. Different educational systems, different periods of economic liberalization and different approaches to sustainability make them think differently," said Dani.

He explained that Western sustainability concepts are mostly related to the environment around them, while in Asia sustainability concepts have more to do with personal and family health and well-being.

"However, the goal is the same. The health of the environment and the health of the people is closely linked," said Dani.

To achieve the goal of attracting a broader Chinese audience, GI is partnering up with various local organizations, including local co-working spaces, impact organizations and green businesses such as Impact Hub, Eco & More, URBN Shanghai, and YIMISHIJI. It will also be promoting the events on Chinese platforms such as WeChat and Weibo.

At the forum, Lisa Feng, founder and CEO of Wanjuzuzu will be speaking about turning children's toy consumption into a sharing business opportunity. Fred Lu, general manager of WeWork, will discuss how shared spaces can fit the interests of tenants, companies and the environment. Zhang Jinjin, a partner of MSParis will share her opinions on how to allocate resources effectively by sharing high-end attire and accessories.

"GI and our Chinese forums hope to be the platform, the bridge and the facilitator of such ideas and discussions that catalyze the creation of green businesses and taking responsibility of the environmental problems that people see around them," said Dani.

Nitin Dani

 
Newspaper headline: Eco-sharing