Smog is among the most discussed topics at the annual National People's Congress (NPC) sessions this year. Earlier, China's central authorities put forward their "Beautiful China" concept to create an eco-society frequently challenged by pervasive smog, leaving the public to fear this particular undertaking may prove a difficult one.

Gao Dekang, chairman of Bosideng Group and an NPC delegate, has said economic development should no longer come at the expense of the environment.[Photo/China.org.cn]

The government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on March 5 once again addressed the environmental protection issues which are both pressing and in the actual interest of the people.

Gao Dekang, chairman of Bosideng Group and an NPC delegate, said the extensive development with high input, high energy consumption and high pollution, has put too much pressure on the environment and other social resources; economic development should no longer come at the expense of the environment.

"Protecting the environment and building an eco-society are an enterprise's inescapable social responsibility. We cannot merely seek growth with higher income while neglecting the environment. Likewise, we cannot either repeat the pattern of 'pollution first, treatment later.' If we do that, the world will laugh at us," he said.

Gao has noted heavily polluting companies were told to suspend production during the Two Sessions, measures he referred to as "carefully improving the environment." Yet bidding a final farewell to the lingering smog has to fundamentally rely on reducing pollutants at the source.

Apart from a basket of strict regulations backed up by determined reinforcement, he urges the government to encourage technological innovation and to enable enterprises to upgrade their mode of development.

An entrepreneur himself, Gao said the corporate sector should actively shoulder the "Beautiful China" responsibility, rather than leave the burden to the government. More specifically, manufacturers should upgrade their process to reduce emissions while improving energy efficiency. Gao already has his confidence in his own company in this regard.

"An enterprise should carefully evaluate how its production process will impact the environment, before responsibly reducing any negative impact to the [bare] minimum," he said.

In the bigger picture, the entrepreneur delegate underscores enterprises' responsibilities to the environment. He noted it is far from sufficient for them to merely to treat one's own pollution. Instead, companies should incorporate eco-society and green economy thinking into its own development strategy.

He proposed the idea of "green management," meaning a company should provide "environmentally friendly" products to the market, all the while influencing the entire supply chain.