China Policy Journal Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2018 | Page 121

China Policy Journal
The first Green Watch ratings
were disclosed through the media in
1999. The program was extended from
Zhenjiang to all of Jiangsu Province
in 2001, and to eight other provinces
during 2003-2005. Nationwide implementation
of the Green Watch rating
has been promoted since 2005. Overall,
the evidence suggests a positive
impact for the program, at least in the
beginning years. Table 1-1 shows that in
Zhenjiang, the percentage of firms with
positive ratings (green, blue, and yellow)
increased from 75% in 1999 to 85%
in 2000. The most significant changes
were in the extremely noncompliant
black group, whose percentage dropped
from 11% in 1999 to 2% in 2000, and a
major shift from the partially compliant
yellow group (44%–22%) to the fully
compliant blue group (27%–61%).
Evidence for the Green Watch
program in Jiangsu Province indicated
both increasing participation by firms
and improvement in their compliance
rates. As shown in Table 1-1, the number
of rated firms increased more than
10-fold, from 1,059 in 2001 to 11,215
in 2006; and the percentage of firms
with positive ratings (green, blue, and
yellow) increased from 83% in 2001 to
90% in 2006. Furthermore, Table 1-1
suggests that Green Watch ratings pro-
Table 1-1. Firms’ Environmental Performance Ratings by the First Green Watch Program
in Jiangsu Province in the First Eight Years (% Representation in Parentheses)
Pilot program in
Zhenjiang City
Year Green Blue Yellow Red Black Total
1999 3
(3.30)
25
(27.47)
40
(43.96)
13
(14.29)
10
(10.99)
91
2000 2
(2.10)
58
(61.05)
21
(22.11)
12
(12.63)
2
(2.10)
95
Province-wide 2001 77
program (7.27)
512
(48.35)
288
(27.20)
141
(13.31)
41
(3.87)
1,059
2002 182
(7.26)
1,196
(47.69)
655
(26.12)
398
(15.87)
77
(3.07)
2,508
2003 267
(8.69)
1,545
(50.26)
789
(25.67)
367
(11.94)
106
(3.44)
3,074
2004 329
(6.46)
2,659
(52.20)
1,467
(28.80)
525
(10.31)
114
(2.24)
5,094
2005 530
(6.62)
4,016
(50.17)
2,614
(32.65)
702
(8.77)
143
(1.79)
8,005
2006 702
(6.26)
5,414
(48.27)
3,944
(35.17)
1,000
(8.92)
155
(1.38)
11,215
Sources: Pilot program in Zhenjiang: Wang et al. (2004). Province-wide program: the Legislative
Affairs Office of the China State Council (2007) (http://www.chinalaw.gov.cn/article/dfxx/dffzxx/
js/200706/20070600021431.shtml; last accessed on May 19, 2009).
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