While we currently are trying to be more sustainable, we might also be overlooking an important factor...Have you ever wondered where our ‘sustainable’ products are being made and what kind of energy is being used for these production processes? Although probably not everywhere, but definitely at some places in China, the factories in which our sustainable goods, for example solar panels or wind turbines, are being produced are still using cheap and polluting energy like coal to make their products.
Another remarkable notion is that for instance the Chinese city Baoding does not have any windfarms within the borders of the city while in the mean time it is a city with a driving local industry in wind turbines and solar panels! In 2014 the city was even ranked by the ministry of environmental protection as the worst city in the entire county regarding air quality.
This disconnect between economy and ecology is becoming a big problem. Labour and space may be cheaper in Asia, however, research by the Northwestern University and the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has proved that (at least) solar panels that are produced in China have a higher overall carbon footprint and are likely to use substantially more energy during manufacturing than those made in Europe. It is even estimated that a solar panel's carbon footprint is about twice as high when the panel is made in China and used in Europe, compared to the ones that are locally made and used in Europe. The main reason for this difference is that China has less environmental and efficiency standards for its factories and plants and because it generates more electricity from coal and other non-renewable sources than European countries.
The previous mentioned study did only include the energy cost of the production of the products, so the energy used for transportation of a solar panel to its final destination was not even included. This would make the difference between solar panels that are being produced in Europe and those in China even bigger if, like 60 percent of all solar installations in 2012, went up in Germany or Italy.
As I am not against sustainability, my aim was definitely not to discourage anyone from doing so. I just wanted to address the less sustainable side as well, since a lot of people only see the going ‘green’ without any critical thinking towards the grey production techniques that may have been used during the process. So my message would be: try to be as green as possible, not only regarding the end product but also during the production process and concerning transportation.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/multimedia/100000004055365/the-dark-side-of-going-green-in-china.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140529154151.htm