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HSBC China partnered with the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development at the Tongji University in Shanghai to run the leadership programme on Environment for Sustainable Development. The first three-day session took place in April 2006 and HSBC has committed nearly US$65,000 per year to support the programme at least until the end of 2007.

Participants on the training programme include government officials, media representatives, non-governmental organisations, environmental professionals and enterprise representatives. In 2006, over 40 Chinese government officials and enterprise representatives from ten provinces attended the workshops. The programme takes places twice a year and focuses on different aspects of the environment and sustainable development. The theme for 2006 was Urban Environment and Sustainable Development.

The third leadership programme took place on the Tongji campus from 22-24 April, coinciding with World Earth Day 2007. Discussing the balance between energy consumption and sustainable development, the conference was attended by 27 Chinese government officials in charge of environmental protection as well as representatives from enterprises, non-governmental organisations and media – representing 14 municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions across China.

The programme was held by the Centre for Environmental Education and Communications of the State Environmental Protection Agency, the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development at Tongji and HSBC Bank China. This partnership underlines the importance of government, universities and enterprises working together on environmental issues. To further this partnership, HSBC also announced support for a three-year Tongji research project on carbon dioxide emission reduction in the Yangtze river delta region. The research will attempt to quantify the effect of energy consumption of cities and industries on the environment and to identify effective solutions to balance economic growth and the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.