Using smart technology to keep the environment of an industry park pristine

In a heavy industrial area, maintaining clean water and a pristine environment are technical challenges.

The Shanghai Chemical Industry Park on Hangzhou Bay largely owes its exemplary environment to the efforts of French engineer Herve Louis Lienhardt.

He is general manager of Sino French Water Development Co, a partnership between the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park and SUEZ NWS, a joint venture of Paris-based SUEZ and Hong Kong-based New World Holdings.

In 2002, SUEZ NWS signed a 50-year contact with the park to supply water, treat highly polluted sewage and handle hazardous waste for companies in the park. When he took over the project in 2015, he brought “smart” solutions to the task, relying on digitalization and the latest in information technology.

He was quoted in the Chinese media as saying, “I am proud to be a part of Shanghai, and I am trying my best to seek green development for this city.”

Shanghai, in turn, is proud of Lienhardt, whose Chinese name is Lu Ziwei. The city honored him with a 2019 Magnolia Award for his contributions to Shanghai’s environment and ecology.

He said his 11 years living and working in China have taught him how to get along and work together with Chinese counterparts.

“We foreigners like to get straight to the point and solve problems along linear lines,” he said. “The Chinese way is much more flexible.”

Chemical Industry Park on Hangzhou Bay in Shanghai’s south is one of the world's largest integrated petrochemical bases, home to companies such as Sinopec, Bayer, BASF, Evonik, Huntsman and Mitsui Chemicals.

The concentration of heavy industries created environmental challenges for clean water and wastewater disposal. Shanghai’s water quality standards are even stricter than those in many Western countries.

Among other innovations, Lienhardt’s company has installed a system developed by Suez to evaluate odor emissions from urban wastewater treatment facilities. The company relies on intelligent data to monitor environmental systems in the park.

Since he took over stewardship of the joint venture, pollution levels have dropped to the strictest standards set by the Shanghai government, and the environment of Hangzhou Bay has improved. The park environment itself is a testament to the efforts, with its sparkling ponds and lush green lawns.

The French engineer worked in France, Switzerland and Germany before coming to China. He has been with Suez for 30 years in a variety of capacities. Lienhardt said his former days of playing rugby ingrained in him the values of team spirit, respect, trust and commitment.

He said he really enjoys living and working in Shanghai, though it is a dramatic change from his much smaller French hometown.

He told Shanghai media that despite thousands of people on the streets here, he never feels crowded because of the city’s peaceful lifestyle.

“What I like the most is that the city is always on the move,” he said. “I am always telling overseas friends that in China things change so fast, so smoothly and on such a large scale that they really have to visit to understand it all.”

He said it was a great honor to receive the Magnolia Award and pledged that his company will continue to make contributions to clear water and blue skies in the Chemical Industry Park, in Shanghai and in China.