Across China: Green development drives enterprise efficiency in NE China province

HARBIN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The air is filled with the smells of the harvest in China's major agricultural province of Heilongjiang. In towns and villages, many green factories with lowered emissions have also ushered in the busy autumn season.

Inside the plants operated by Heilongjiang Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd., automated assembly lines run in an orderly fashion with minimal inspection. A large screen in the control room provides a dynamic display of information related to material supplies, operational status and equipment management.

Located in the Du'erbote Mongolian Autonomous County in the northeastern province, the biotech company is a deep-processing corn enterprise that exports products to more than 80 countries and regions. In 2020, it was listed among the country's green factories by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

"Digitalization reduces manual operations and significantly improves production efficiency," said Zhang Peng, a workshop director at the company.

In recent years, more enterprises in the county have balanced their economic and environmental development, accelerating work to minimize carbon emissions and maximize resource utilization.

Relying on whole-process data monitoring, the plants operated by Eppen can optimize process parameters in real time and improve production efficiency.

If there are any abnormal fluctuations in the data, the company can handle the potential production fault in a timely manner and control any waste in the production process.

It has made 17 energy-reduction renovations, saving a total of 1 million yuan (about 139,000 U.S. dollars) in production and operating costs.

"Green development is crucial to enhance core competitiveness," said Ha Wanjun, deputy general manager of the biotech company.

Green development can also be found in many other fields in the Du'erbote Economic Development Zone in Heilongjiang Province.

The green coverage rate in the zone has exceeded 36 percent, and solar and LED energy-saving lights are being used to light both streets and landscapes to cut power consumption.

The utilization rate of industrial solid waste disposal has now reached 99 percent in the zone, and green electricity accounts for more than 30 percent of power consumption.

On the path to building a modern industrial system, the development zone has cultivated three national-level green factories and 12 enterprises with intelligent workshops.

And the green transformation drive is spreading among enterprises across the old industrial base of Heilongjiang Province, with a total of 65 national-level green factories and four green supply chain management enterprises cultivated there.