Situated on the East coast of China, the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) is a chemical industrial park. However, the picture in one’s mind is quite different to the reality of the sun’s rays sparkling on the water and lush green grass carpeting the ground. Hervé Lienhardt is general manager of Sino French Water Development Company, a subsidiary of Suez Environment, and he is responsible for providing services for the enterprises in the park by customizing water treatment schemes and disposing of the waste products in a more efficient and economical way. For his great work, he has recently won the 2019 Shanghai Magnolia Award.

(Hervé Lienhardt, GM of Sino French Water)

Lienhardt has been devoting himself to water treatment and environmental protection for more than 30 years.

Smartness in water treatment

The business philosophy of Sino French Water is “smart”. Nowadays, many things are named using this word, such as smart card, smartphone, smart city and smart library. But what is smart? “It is smart when you serve the clients as well as the community in a better way and in an efficient way,” said Lienhardt.

For him, a modern wastewater treatment plant has to rely on digitalization and information technology to achieve a scientific, refined and intelligent management. Since 2017, Sino French Water has been devoted to smart water management to guarantee a stable and compliant water supply in SCIP.

Under Lienhardt’s leadership, the company has adopted the NOSE system developed by Suez, so as to evaluate odor emissions and anticipate nuisance odors from urban wastewater treatment activities. Systems for access control, energy consumption monitoring, intelligent data reporting and the pipeline network geographic system have also been applied by the company, which serves as an “environmental housekeeper” for the enterprises in the industrial park.

The word “smart” is often related to the innovation that depends on scientific research. Together with SCIP, Tongji University and East China University of Science and Technology, Sino French Water established China’s first research center specializing in industrial water supply and treatment in 2006. As of today this center has obtained 13 patents. Connecting with other institutes set up by Suez Environment all over the world, Lienhardt’s company stays current on the latest technologies, which benefits the operating efficiency of its water plants.

Protecting the environment with the Shanghai municipality

In 2002, Sino French Water signed a 50-year contact with SCIP promising to supply water, treat highly polluted sewage and handle hazardous waste for the enterprises in the park. In 2015, Lienhatrdt took charge of this water company. He organized the experts from Suez Environment to visit SCIP and they advised on the development of this industrial zone.

For a company which focuses on water treatment and recycling, environmental protection is one of its main concerns. Great changes have already taken place in China. “What China has achieved in a decade is what Europe has taken 30 or 40 years to realize,” he claimed.

China has set a higher standard for water treatment. Lienhardt emphasized that the assurance rate of the treated water must be 100% in Shanghai, while in Europe and America, 95% or 98% is up to scratch.

Lienhardt has also noticed the Chinese government’s mind changing from pollution control to ecological protection. When he went on a business trip to Beijing last summer, he found that the State Environment Protection Administration had been renamed the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China. “I am proud to be a part of Shanghai and I am trying my best to seek the green development for this city,” he said with a smile.

Lienhardt’s impression of Shanghai

Lienhardt was shocked when he got his first glimpse of this metropolis in 2008. “There’re two features in Shanghai, as Pudong and Puxi are entirely different,” he commented. “It’s an international city where the Chinese traditional culture and the Western culture have been wonderfully combined.”

In Lienhardt’s hometown in France, thousands of people are enough to constitute a town but here in Shanghai, there are thousands of people on a single street. “Though Shanghai has a large population, I don’t feel crowded,” he said.“Only when I go downstairs or take time to rest, I feel that there’re many people around.” Lienhardt ascribes this to the peaceful lifestyle in Shanghai.“Despite many people, there’s little pressure. I never see people fight over any topic,” he added.

Lienhardt also believes that Shanghai is a mix of peaceful and fast development. “Life is so peaceful. However, things are moving fast at the same time,” he said in a tone of surprise. “Every day on my way to work, I see buildings growing and things changing.”

This year, Shanghai honored Lienhardt with the Magnolia Award in recognition of his contributions in water treatment. As Lienhardt said, he will continue making his own contribution to the clean water and blue sky in SCIP, the city of Shanghai, and China.