Environmental management has always been regarded as the basic function of the government. Under this thinking framework, the government is the regulator, the enterprise is the regulated, and the initiative of enterprise self-management is weakened. If we can give full play to the initiative of enterprise self-management, it will reduce the pressure of government supervision and help to do a good job in environmental management. The advantages and disadvantages of self-management of enterprises can be judged by industry associations to form a joint management mode of enterprises, industry associations and the government.

The trade association is a kind of social intermediary organization which provides service, consultation, communication, supervision and coordination between the government and enterprises. The trade association is a kind of non-governmental organization, which is the bridge and link between the government and enterprises. The industry association knows the production (including process), operation, management, waste generation links and production situation of the enterprises in the industry, and has priority in mastering the advanced technology, waste production and discharge situation, waste treatment and disposal status of the industry. In view of this, the industry association has the advantages of industry guidance and environmental management, so in addition to production guidance for industry related enterprises, it should also give full play to its potential and expertise in environmental management. This paper takes the role of Shanghai Coatings and Dyestuffs Industry Association in solid waste management as an example.

Before the implementation of the 2016 edition of the national hazardous waste list, the relevant solid waste generated in the water-based building coating industry was managed according to the hazardous waste management, and the 2016 edition of the national hazardous waste list excluded the "water-based paint" from the list for the first time. According to the interpretation of the national hazardous waste list (2016) issued by the former Ministry of environmental protection, the property of the waste "not included" in the list should be determined by identification, and the production of water-based architectural coatings belongs to the category of "excluding water-based paint". There are many enterprises involved in water-based architectural coatings in Shanghai. If the relevant solid waste generated by all enterprises in the industry is identified according to the identification standard for hazardous waste, on the one hand, the economic burden of enterprises will be very large, which is not conducive to the construction of business environment; on the other hand, the limited identification ability will restrict the identification work.

In view of the above problems, Shanghai Coatings and Dyestuff Industry Association set up a bridge between the government and enterprises, and took the lead in formulating the attribute identification and management requirements (hereinafter referred to as group standard) and implementation rules of solid waste of waterborne building coatings with the approval of environmental authorities. The formulation of group standard is based on accurate grasp of raw and auxiliary materials and process of waterborne architectural coatings, and reference to actual test data and identification results. As a result, the identification process is greatly simplified, the identification cycle is shortened, the burden of enterprises is reduced, and the business environment is improved.

The management of enterprises by trade associations is essentially the self-discipline management of enterprises. The starting point of industry management of Shanghai Coatings and Dyestuffs Industry Association is group standard. The implementation of the group standard started on May 28, 2020 and was organized and implemented by Shanghai Coatings and Dyestuff Industry Association, reflecting the responsibility and responsibility of Shanghai Coatings and Dyestuff Industry Association. Up to now, the solid waste of six water-based building coating enterprises has been included in the group standard management.

In order to better implement the group standard, Shanghai Coatings and Dyestuff Industry Association organized an expert group composed of industry experts, eco-environmental protection experts, operation and management experts to carry out on-site work and guidance, and effectively passed the national and local environmental management laws, regulations and standards to the enterprise. Constructive suggestions are put forward for the process links that are inconsistent with the source reduction in the production process. Problems found on site in environmental management (especially solid waste management) are pointed out and solutions are informed in time.

In view of the special identity of the association, enterprises are more willing to communicate with the association, and the association can better see the real situation and existing problems of the enterprise. For example, the on-site inspection found that the production and environmental management of some small and medium-sized enterprises were relatively extensive, and the materials that can be reused in production were not reused, but were managed as solid waste, which violated the principle of source reduction; the source classification of waste of some enterprises was poor, and the storage sites of general industrial solid waste mixed with domestic waste and liquid exuded waste did not take anti-seepage measures and storage sites The problems such as not setting corresponding signs, inaccurate label contents and responsibility system not being put on the wall reflect that the enterprise's awareness of ecological environment is weak, and there is a certain gap with the national and local environmental management requirements. In view of the above problems, the Association issued rectification opinions to assist the rectification, and incorporated them into the group standard management after the rectification of the enterprise was in place.

Association and enterprises work together to reach a consensus and form industry self-discipline, which can help enterprises develop good environmental management habits and achieve the purpose of environmental management. The association's participation in environmental management is conducive to the formation of a harmonious situation in which the government can rest assured and enterprises can benefit (reduce the cost of solid waste disposal). The problems in the process of implementing the group bidding will help to improve the group bidding.

The tripartite management mode of enterprises, industry associations and government will help enterprises to improve their management level, promote the improvement of the management level of the whole industry, reduce waste production and discharge, and realize the value of industry associations in environmental management.

Source: China Environment News