Concerned over the energy and environmental impact of China’s breakneck industrial expansion, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation provided $22.2 million in 1999 to create the China Sustainable Energy Program. CSEP makes grants inside China for research, training, and policy formation to improve energy efficiency and reduce air pollution in the country. Universities, commercial firms, industry groups, and policy organizations can be eligible for support, and as of 2015, 1,560 projects had been funded at more than 440 different organizations. The program also holds workshops in China for entrepreneurs and public officials on topics like efficient transportation, improving electric utilities, appliance efficiency, green buildings, and so forth.
In 2002, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation became a funding partner with a contribution of $2 million directed at transportation initiatives. Other donors have joined as well, and cumulative grantmaking in China has exceeded $200 million. The effort is now known as Energy Foundation China.
- Duke University case study, cspcs.sanford.duke.edu/sites/default/files/descriptive/china_sustainable_energy_program.pdf
- Energy Foundation China, efchina.org