Clean water efforts include competition

Lanxess is paying close attention to its social responsibility as it seeks sustainable development in China.

On its way to promoting environmental protection and building a sustainable ecosystem, the company has organized the "Clean Water for Better Life" University Students Research Competition for four consecutive years.

University students participating in the competition are encouraged to carry out months of field research on clean water and complete a project. The best work is then selected and rewarded.

A number of projects have entered the competition from prestigious universities over the years, including Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, and Wuhan University.

In 2017, Lanxess and China WTO Tribune also jointly published a paper titled "Clean Water for Better Life: Innovation and Water Sustainable Management". It studied the development and the realities of the water industry in China, from a collaborative innovation perspective.

The "Clean Water for Better Life" initiative has had wide influence, and the number of participants has kept rising over the years. This year's competition attracted 33 colleges and universities from 23 provinces and cities with their 50 projects.

So far, a total of 137 innovative solutions to water treatment have emerged from the annual competition. The projects' topics range from industrial wastewater treatment, water pollution and drinking water in remote areas to water circulation and use as well as promoting awareness of the need to save water.

Lanxess senior management and employees have also got involved in the competition. Ming Cheng Chien, president of Lanxess Asia-Pacific, has personally met with students and encouraged them to find innovative solutions to China's environmental problems.

The managers and experts of the company's various departments have worked as volunteers to help students seek solutions to their projects' problems.

In October, senior executives convened in Wuhan for a project evaluation meeting and talked about the sustainable development of the chemicals industry with the contestants, students and staff of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

This week, Lanxess will announce winners of the fourth "Clean Water for Better Life" University Students Research Competition.

(China Daily 12/14/2018 page12)