Blue Map App

China has a serious pollution problem, and both the government and regular citizens are starting to take action against it. Based in Beijing, the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), is a non-profit organization creating and curating pollution databases that monitor environmental performance. Their goal is to facilitate public participation in environmental governance and hold polluters accountable. IPE provides information about the state of pollution in China, as well as details on the companies and factories responsible for the pollution. Much of this data originates in government-mandated close to real time monitoring of emissions. But IPE’s founder, environmental journalist Ma Jun, believes government data needs to be made accessible via websites and mobile apps. Through IPE’s interactive website, people can search the environmental records and locations of Chinese manufacturers, helping them to make informed decisions on which companies to support as patrons. The website also allows users to view the status of air and water pollution in any region of interest.

Through expanding people’s knowledge on the environment and pollution, IPE allows citizens to understand hazards that may impact their lives. In promoting public participation, China may be more successful at enforcing environmental protocols as more pressure is applied in affected communities. Cities and companies may be shamed into compliance as a result of public visibility. The online pollution map displays over 15,000 companies, and 1,400 factories have taken steps to decrease their pollution, including in the textiles and electronics industries. With more than three million downloads of the mobile app, IPE and Chinese public are working together to improve the environmental performance of companies. As yet, however, there are no plans to implement the Blue Map app internationally and, as far as we know, no similar app exists in the United States.

http://wwwen.ipe.org.cn/