Taihe Updates | Attorney Wang Kai of our firm was invited to attend the “Su Xiaohuan and the Law” briefing on the promulgation and implementation of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China on Ecology and Environment, where he delivered a special presentation.

On the afternoon of September 9, the “Su Xiaohuan and the Law” seminar on the promulgation and implementation of the Environmental Protection Code of the People’s Republic of China was successfully held at the Hongze Industrial Park. The event was hosted by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment and co-organized by the Huai’an Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment and the Hongze District Bureau of Ecology and Environment. Attorney Wang Kai of our firm, serving as legal advisor to the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, was invited to attend and delivered a special presentation titled “Interpretation of New Provisions and Corporate Compliance Guidelines in the Context of the Environmental Protection Code and Its Supporting Regulations.” Representatives from enterprises within the industrial park participated in the event.

The Ecological and Environmental Code of the People’s Republic of China was adopted by a vote at the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress on March 12, 2026, and will officially come into force on National Ecological Day, August 15, 2026. As the second foundational, comprehensive law in China to bear the title “Code,” following the Civil Code, its promulgation marks the official entry of China’s ecological and environmental protection efforts into a new era of governance through codification. The Code comprises five parts, 59 chapters, and 1,242 articles, totaling 166,000 characters. It comprehensively repeals ten core standalone laws, including the Environmental Protection Law and the Environmental Impact Assessment Law, and sets forth systematic, all‑round requirements for upgrading enterprises’ ecological and environmental compliance frameworks. This briefing session aims to establish an efficient communication channel between regulatory authorities and park‑based enterprises, provide precise interpretations of the Code’s key new provisions and practical implementation guidelines, and offer face‑to‑face guidance on addressing the pain points and challenges of environmental compliance in business operations, thereby helping enterprises accurately adapt to the new legal requirements and smoothly transition between the old and new regulatory regimes.

During the thematic briefing, Attorney Wang Kai drew on his extensive experience in ecological and environmental rule of law as well as corporate‑government compliance services. Starting with the legislative background, overall structure, and key changes of the Civil Code, he systematically reviewed critical institutional reforms, including the expanded definition of “ecological environment” that moves away from a narrow “compliance‑only” approach; the formalization of spatial management under the “Three Lines and One Map” framework; the shift in public participation from a mere procedural formality to a binding obligation; and the strengthening of end‑to‑end accountability for sudden environmental incidents. He then highlighted five major transformations: the upgrade of the environmental impact assessment system from “environmental impact assessment” to “ecological and environmental impact assessment”; the first inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions within the statutory assessment regime; the codification of full‑life‑cycle project oversight; the establishment of five categories of red lines, triggering automatic disapproval upon violation; and the imposition of lifelong primary responsibility on project developers for environmental impact assessments. Addressing the issue of heightened legal liability—of particular concern to businesses—Attorney Wang Kai provided a detailed analysis of stringent penalties, such as fines of up to RMB 10 million for unauthorized construction, tiered bans on engaging in related professions, and substantial monetary sanctions for falsifying EIA documents. He also clarified a multi‑layered punitive framework comprising corporate fines, administrative detention of responsible individuals, industry‑wide bans, and credit‑based sanctions.

Taking into account the Hongze Industrial Park’s ecological location—adjacent to Lake Hongze and situated along the route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project—Attorney Wang Kai conducted a targeted analysis of the core legal risks facing the park’s two key industries: textile dyeing and chemical manufacturing. In the textile dyeing sector, he highlighted critical risk areas, including the regulation of emerging pollutants such as PFAS, APEO, and azo dyes in dyeing auxiliaries; the identification of hazardous characteristics in dyeing sludge; the treatment of high-salinity, high‑COD wastewater; VOC emissions from setting machines and related odor‑related complaints; and measures to prevent seepage into soil and groundwater at dyeing workshops and wastewater treatment facilities. In the chemical industry, he provided an in-depth examination of compliance requirements, covering environmental registration of new chemical substances; determination of hazardous waste status for chemical waste salts; end-to-end QR‑code and electronic manifest management of hazardous waste; control of total carbon emissions and emission intensity; and prevention of tank‑area pipeline leaks and emergency response to sudden environmental incidents. Building on this analysis, Attorney Wang Kai proposed tailored compliance strategies for each industry across three phases—project initiation, environmental impact assessment, and operations—guiding enterprises to establish a full‑life‑cycle compliance framework that integrates proactive self‑assessment, rigorous in‑process oversight, and post‑event monitoring. This approach aims to promote coordinated progress between industrial development and the protection of the ecological environment in the Hongze Lake watershed.

This briefing session precisely addressed the core environmental compliance needs of enterprises in the Hongze Industrial Park, closely aligning with the region’s industrial realities and the requirements for protecting Hongze Lake. It effectively helped companies grasp both the legislative spirit and practical implementation guidelines of the Ecological and Environmental Code, providing clear direction for building compliant systems once the new law officially takes effect. Taihe Law Firm will continue to deepen its expertise in ecological and environmental rule of law, leveraging its professional strengths in public‑private compliance, local legislation, environmental enforcement, and ecological damage compensation, to offer comprehensive, high‑quality legal services to all types of market entities and support businesses in pursuing steady, sustainable progress on the path of green and low‑carbon development.

Attorney Wang Kai

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