Environment

Staff and Community

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The Group has persistently observed the principles of environmental protection in its purchase of raw materials, production processes and finished products as it is convinced that no paper-makers could sustain in the absence of environmental protection initiatives. All production bases of the Group are in compliance with internationally recognised environment management standards and effective environment management is being implemented with the use of efficient environmental protection equipment and technologies. As one of the international leaders in the paper manufacturing industry, the Group maintained consistent compliance with environmental protection practices and high environmental standards throughout the year. We have also formulated an operating system conducive to an environmentally-friendly paper-making operation.

The Group has significantly reduced the risk of non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations caused by impact of our operations on the environment by improving our operational efficiency through energy conservation and environmental protection systems. Our persistence in environmental protection measures has in fact become a valuable asset that fosters competitive advantage for the Group.

ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY PRODUCTION PROCESS
The Group's production lines are imported from international leading manufacturers with energy conservation features. We carry out clean production in our production lines, reducing per product unit water and electricity consumption and exercising control over the sources of pollutants. Since recent years, we have been increasing the use of energysaving equipment in new projects. The principle of energy conservation and reduced consumption has been observed throughout the production process from the design and model selection of paper machines to the choice of lighting facilities for the production workshop.

Currently, the water produced during the operation of the paper machines can be fully recycled. The Group has formulated medium to long term objectives in reducing water consumption and increasing water recycling in production, in order to further reduce excessive consumption of resources.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Clean water is an important natural resource and an essential element in paper production. To minimise pollution to water resources in its production process, the Group has introduced the anaerobic aerobic two-stage biological treatment, currently the world's most advanced wastewater treatment technology, and the systems have sustained continuous operation with high efficiency throughout the years, resulting in water discharge performance that exceeds relevant national and local standards.

We have also adopted the state-of-the-art automatic programmable logic controller (PLC) systems with an online monitoring system to monitor our wastewater discharge for centralised management. The wastewater treatment rates of such systems are 100%. Moreover, at each of the wastewater treatment facilities of our new projects, we newly installed an additional precipitation tank which will further reduce the concentration of water pollutants through the addition of water purification agents. Meanwhile, we have gained valuable experience in wastewater treatment through technological exchanges with internationally advanced companies engaged in wastewater treatment.

The level of discharged pollutants is measured based on the water quality parameter after treatment. The COD of our discharged water after treatment is less than 80 mg/l, which is better than the grade one national discharge standard of 100 mg/l.

EMISSION CONTROL
The Group has a circulation fluidized bed solid waste incinerator which can effectively incinerate a wide range of lowgrade fuels, including waste paper pulp, light slag and sewage from the wastewater treatment station. The system is effective and environmentally friendly with its low emission. The use of low-grade fuels not only greatly reduces waste discharge but also reduces coal consumption and the emission of carbon dioxide.

Our coal-fired power plants in the Dongguan and Taicang production bases are equipped with particulate filtration and desulphurisation equipment, and their emission levels are far better than the approved level under the applicable PRC regulatory requirements.

In 2008, the Group conducted a technology upgrade exercise for its methane collection and treatment system featuring the addition of a methane desulphurisation unit. With this unit, processed methane will be transmitted to the heat and electricity boiler system as fuel for power generation and a reduction of 30,000 tons each year in coal consumption will be achieved after commissioning. The optimised use of methane (including methane gases) as resources will contribute to reducing the greenhouse effect.

In addition, the Group, being the first among its peer, introduced a fully-automatic and fully enclosed coal storage dome in the Dongguan production base. The environmental-friendly design can reduce the amount of dust produced during loading, transporting and storing of coal, improving the working environment for the staff.

SOLID WASTES DISPOSAL
The solid wastes of the production process of the Company are mainly residual paper pulp, light slag and sewage. The Group has achieved the goal of processing all wastes from paper making on an internal basis with its proprietary environmentally-friendly incinerator and avoided creating further burden for public waste treatment facilities. The incinerators apply advanced emission treatment equipment, fabric-bag filters for dust removal and half-dry desulphurisation facilities. Monitoring devices are installed for real-time monitoring.

To enhance our overall utilisation rate of solid waste, we also incinerate all solid waste to increase steam production and thereby reduce coal consumption.

NOISE CONTROL
All of our paper machines comply with the strict standards currently enforced in America and Europe and all international standards for noise control. We have installed noise-insulating enclosures and mufflers to our double-disc refiners and air compressors that produce heavy noises. Noise-insulating control rooms are set up in the paper-making workshops to prevent staff from working long hours under high noise levels. Personal noise protection devices like earplugs are used during inspection patrols.

AWARDS/CERTIFICATIONS
Solid and fluid wastes (including waste water and sewage) as well as polluted gas are being generated from our production process. To comply with relevant laws and regulations, the Group has obtained relevant permits for the discharge of wastewater and polluted gas and the disposal of solid waste.

In recent years, the government has adopted a tightened environmental protection policy underpinned by much more stringent environmental requirements for enterprises. To tighten the monitoring of enterprises , the Environmental Protection Bureau has conducted unwarned inspections in addition to regular visits to ensure that paper manufacturers are in compliance with relevant requirements. The Group has never been charged for material violation of any environmental laws or regulations, or subject to any fine in respect thereof.

In addition to ISO 14001 certification for environmental management, our Dongguan and Taicang production bases were granted with the honour of Green/Environmental Creditable Enterprises by the Guangdong Environmental Protection Bureau and Taicang Environmental Protection Bureau, respectively. Besides, the Group was also one of the few paper manufacturing enterprises in the industry which could pass the energy saving assessment held by the Economic and Trade Commission of Guangdong Province and attained its energy saving goal successfully.

Discharge Standards:

		PRC Government approved	ND Paper	Parameter before treatment			Parameter after treatment
Projects	Unit	level	Standards	2006	2007	2008	2006	2007	2008
CODCR	mg/l	≤100	80	2,500	2,500	3,000	<100	80	80
BOD5	mg/l	≤20	20	1,000	1,000	1,300	<20	10	10
SS	mg/l	≤70	30	2,000	2,000	2,800	<70	28	28
PH		6~9	6~9	6~9	6~9	6~9	6~9	6~9	6~9
SO2	mg/m3	≤400	100	2,360	2,520	2,800	<55	60	80
Dust	mg/m3	≤50	50	24,600	25,400	25,400	<29	30	30
NOx	mg/m3	≤450	450	-	-	-	<356	339	333

A "PEOPLE-ORIENTED" HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
ND Paper is committed to the "people-oriented" management philosophy underpinned by the "Growth → Development → Mutual Reward" human resource development strategy, linking corporate development closely with the staff's personal and career development. In addition to providing career development opportunities, the Group has also worked vigorously to promote lifelong learning among staff to enhance individual's capabilities as well as the overall competitiveness of our team. We sought to enhance staff satisfaction with and loyalty to the Group through ongoing improvements to employees' work environment and living conditions, the practice of "people-oriented" personnel management and more extensive communications with staff. The Group has successfully build an internationalized business management team that has drawn together industry experts with proven experience in paper-making technologies, through internal promotion complemented by relevant external recruit

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR STAFF
The Group provides ongoing development opportunities and formulates career development plans for staff with potentials as well as implementing a sound promotion path and performance appraisal system. MBA and EMBA courses for senior management have been launched in association with the renowned Zhongshan University, while outstanding technical staff have been chosen and sent abroad to receive advanced technical training. We also have in place a comprehensive continuing education programs for both management and technical staff. These programs are tailor-made for staff with varying professional qualifications, job duties and experiences, providing them with strong support and assistance for staff's career path development.

ND Paper has an effective mentorship system for newly joined staff in addition to the induction program which covers the corporate culture, job-specific skills and operational safety rules.

CARING OUR STAFF
The Group sought to enhance staff's satisfaction and loyalty to ND Paper through continual improvement to the working environment and living conditions, implementing a "people-oriented" personnel management and providing more interactive communications channels.

The Group is committed to providing a pleasant living and working environment for its staff. With continuous effort in improving the staff residences, ND Paper has also introduced numerous welfare facilities and organized a variety of cultural and recreational activities so as to provide its staff with some refreshing and relaxing moments after work. The Group also organizes regular occupational body checks for staff to ensure their physical health.

ND Paper attaches great importance to staff communications and interaction. Various channels have been set up for this purpose. For instance, regular meetings with new staff, setting up the staff hotline and publication of our corporate newsletter "The Nine Dragon Community" («玖龍員工») which disseminates corporate information regularly, have proved to be effective channels to interact with staff . In addition, staff communication sessions are being conducted by the staff union on a regular basis to allow staff to voice their opinions and allow the Group to devise effective solutions and improvements, maintaining harmonious relations with its staff.

REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
The Group offers competitive remuneration packages and performance-based discretionary bonuses, which are determined by performances at the corporate, team and individual levels, as well as the job duties of individual employees. The Group conducts regular review and revision on staff remuneration in accordance with its remuneration policy to maintain ND Paper's competitiveness in the recruitment market.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Social responsibility is the top priority for the Group. The Group donated RMB15 million this year to charity organizations and local communities on a continuous basis. Immediately following the "5.12" earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, the Group donated RMB10 million while RMB610,000 were raised among its staff for the post-earthquake relief. ND Paper's kind-hearted staff participated in the charity walkathon ("四川挺住‧中國加油") to show their full support to Sichuan and China.