Blue Map Database

• What is the Blue Map Database？

The Blue Map Database is an environmental data disclosure platform developed by IPE, with both website and smartphone application versions. The database was built in 2006, and has continuously collected environmental violation records, corporate emissions information, regional environmental quality information, and regional pollution emissions information published by the nation’s 31 provinces and 337 cities since 2004.

• What types of data are included in the Blue Map Database?

The Blue Map Database includes national air and water quality data, as well as real-time air emissions, wastewater discharge, and carbon emissions data. The database also includes more than 1.7 million enterprise environmental violation records (listed under ‘supervision records’) issued by government departments at all levels, as well as enterprise online monitoring data (‘online data’), enterprise feedback and corrective action information (‘enterprise feedback’) and environmental data reported by enterprises (‘emissions data’).

Guide to Blue Map Data Types (Chinese) (March 2020)

• What is an environmental violation record?

Environmental violation records refer to penalties issued by government environmental departments to factories that have violated environmental laws and regulations. A record includes the enterprise name, city and province, year of violation, type of violation, cause of violation, means of punishment, value of fines, and other relevant information.

• What is enterprise online monitoring?

China began to require national Key Polluting Enterprises to publish their real-time monitoring data online in 2014. Although the list of Key Polluting Enterprises changes every year, in 2018 it included approximately 8,000 enterprises with potentially high environmental impacts, all of which are required to install equipment that tracks the concentration of pollutants in their air and water emissions and collects data every hour or two hours. The Blue Map Database collects and integrates data from the online monitoring reporting platforms for every province.

An enterprise’s online air and water emissions monitoring data includes the enterprise name, emissions outlet name, monitoring timestamp, pollutant concentration, concentration standard, whether the pollutant concentration exceeded the standard, by how many times pollutants exceeded the standard, and other relevant information.

• What are the data sources of the Blue Map Database?

Major sources include but are not limited to the following:

- The website of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE)

- 31 provincial environmental protection bureau (EPB) websites and provincial people’s government websites

- EPB websites and government websites of 337 cities

- Official websites of county-level environmental protection departments

- Environmental monitoring information from government supervisory departments as quoted by mainstream media

- Official Weibo accounts of government departments

- Official channels for the ministries of water resources, land and resources, housing and urban-rural development, and meteorology, among others

• Do I need to pay to use the database?

No, the Blue Map Database is a public database that does not require any payment to use.
• Do I need to register to use the database?

IPE encourages users to register. After registering an account, users can access more functions, such as batch searching enterprise environmental violation records. Account registration does not require any fees.

 Corporate User Registration Guide (Updated May 2020)

• Does the Blue Map Database have both Chinese and English versions? Why are some contents only in Chinese?

The database offers both Chinese and English versions, but some enterprise names and all the enterprise violation records are only offered in Chinese. IPE continues to translate and update all other content on the website.


• Is enterprise environmental data limited to Chinese enterprises? Does the database includes environmental information from factories in other countries?

Environmental violation records, online monitoring data, and PRTR data refer only to Chinese enterprises. Detox data includes data submitted by factories in other countries.

• Does the Blue Map Database includes all active companies in China? Why can I not find my enterprise in the database?
The Blue Map Database currently includes more than 6 million Chinese enterprises, but it does not include every active company. As the database grows, IPE will continue to expand its coverage. Close

Supplier Screening

• What is supplier screening? 

Supplier screening refers to the process by which brands and companies use the Blue Map Database to check whether their suppliers in China have environmental violation records. 

• What is the recommended scope of a supplier screening?

The scope of a supplier screening ideally covers all affiliated companies up and down the production supply chain, including but not limited to production facilities, raw material providers, production-related service providers (such as centralized wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste treatment facilities or thermal power plants), and potential suppliers, as well as any subordinate factories and enterprises in which the brand has invested. 

• How often should a brand screen its suppliers? 

The Blue Map Database is updated in real-time and will continuously collect enterprise violation records issued by environmental protection departments. Therefore, IPE recommends that brands screen their supplier lists on at least a quarterly basis, or to register a brand account to receive automatic updates regarding their suppliers using the Blue EcoChain tool. 

• How do I conduct supplier screening? 

Single search: On the Blue Map Database, enter supplier names or keywords one at a time (suitable for companies with a small number of suppliers). 

Batch search: Register a corporate account for free; then upload a supplier list using the Excel template. The system will automatically find suppliers’ environmental violation records, and promptly provide recent online monitoring information for suppliers that publish this data. 




For more details, please see the following: 

 Guide to Using the Enterprise Environmental Performance Data Platform  

 My Green Choice "Following" Page User Guide 

• What should I do after screening through my suppliers?

After identifying which suppliers have existing violation records, brands should inform these suppliers of their records, request that they take corrective action and contact IPE to transparently address violation records. 




While communicating with suppliers, brands should inform suppliers of the record source and of any specific requirements they have for the supplier to address the violation record (e.g. providing enterprise feedback regarding the violation record and corrective actions, or removing its violation record from the IPE database, etc.). 




For more details, please see the following: 

 A Letter to Suppliers Regarding Environmental Violation Record(s) in the Blue Map Database (Updated April 2020)

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Information Disclosure/ Public Explanation

• What is public explanation?

Public explanation refers to the process by which enterprises may disclose information regarding the reasons for their violations and any corrective actions they have taken in response. 

• Who provides public explanation? 

Enterprises who have violation records or who have exceeded emission standards according to their online monitoring data.

• Why should enterprises provide explanation? 

According to Article 13 of the Measures for the Disclosure of Environmental Information by Enterprises and Public Institutions, the state encourages enterprises and institutions to voluntarily disclose relevant information that is conducive to protecting the environment, preventing pollution, and fulfilling social environmental responsibilities.




Public explanation not only demonstrates to clients and investors that the enterprise recognizes the consequences of the violation and aims to proactively respond, but also helps environmental organizations, researchers, and government departments gain a deeper understanding the reasons for illegal behaviour, aiding the development of more effective policy that supports enterprises and companies as well as the public.  

For details, please see:  Legal and Regulatory Requirements for Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure (Chinese)

• For enterprises that have already submitted rectification statements and paid penalties to the issuing department, why is it still important to give feedback on the Blue Map Database?

The Blue Map Database is an open data platform that helps environmental organizations, the public, traders and brands, media, financial institutions, insurance companies, research institutions and other parties better understand the reasons for enterprise violations, and to be aware of companies’ subsequent corrective actions and current compliance status.




By providing explanation on this platform, enterprises signal to the parties listed above that they are aware of a violation record and have taken steps to respond and maintain environmental responsibility and accountability. 

• How do I submit enterprise feedback to the Blue Map Database?

Step 1. Register a corporate user account on the Blue Map website or App;

Step 2. Log in, submit Explanation for Environmental Violation(s) and other supporting documents.

For detailed instructions, please see:  Guide to Enterprise Public Explanation (Chinese) (Updated January 2020)  Step-by-step Instructions for Online Public Explanation (Chinese) (Updated May 2020)

• Do enterprises need to pay for providing enterprise feedback?

No payment is required for providing enterprise feedback.

• Where does the feedback information appear on the website? Who can see it? 

Feedback will be displayed under “Enterprise Feedback” on the Enterprise Performance page, and everyone who visits the website may access it.

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GCA Audit/ Record Removal

• What is record removal?

Record removal refers to the process by which enterprises may remove their environmental violation records from the Blue Map Database, after demonstrating that they have undergone thorough rectifications and passed a Green Choice Alliance (GCA) audit to prove that rectification was completed and that air and water emissions can consistently achieve regulatory compliance.

• What is the difference between enterprise feedback and record removal?

“Record removal” refers to the process of removing violation records from the Blue Map Database, whereas “enterprise feedback” will not suffice to remove a record. After a record is removed, the database will no longer show an enterprise’s violation information, only the enterprise’s feedback information and their audit reports. 

• How do I remove a record? Do I need to pay to do so? 

The record removal process depends on the date and specific details of the environmental violation record. There are two methods: an off-site document review or an on-site GCA audit. Enterprises are eligible for an off-site document review if it has been two years since the record was first issued, and if it falls under one of the categories for minor violations (please see Guide to Addressing and Removing Environmental Supervision Records) 

1). Off-site document reviews are carried out by IPE staff, and IPE does not charge any fees for this process; 

2). GCA on-site audits are carried out by qualified third-party auditing companies. A representative from IPE or an environmental NGO from the Green Choice Alliance (GCA) also join, review and monitor the audit process. Payments are negotiated between the enterprise and auditing company; IPE does not charge any fees for this process. 

For more details, please see:  Record Removal from the Blue Map Database (Updated July 2020)  Step-by-step Instructions on Record Removal (Chinese) (Updated May 2020)

• My enterprise has several violation records on the Blue Map Database; can I remove them one at a time? 
Enterprises with multiple records must remove them all at one time through the processes described in the Guide to Addressing and Removing Environmental Supervision Records.  Close

GCA (Green Choice Alliance)

• What is the Green Choice Alliance? 

The Green Choice Alliance (GCA) refers to a coalition founded in 2007 by IPE and 21 other environmental organizations. Presently, the GCA includes 58 Chinese environmental organizations. By integrating information disclosure and public participation into supply chain management systems, the GCA encourages brands, suppliers, and consumers to support green production through green procurement, ensuring that product life-cycles do not contribute to pollution, and furthermore promote energy and resource conservation for minimal environmental impact. 

• Which third party environmental auditing companies are certified and GCA-approved? 

Find a full list of GCA-approved auditing companies here: http://wwwen.ipe.org.cn/GreenSupplyChain/GCA_Audit.html.

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CITI (Corporate Information Transparency Index)

• What is the CITI evaluation? 

The Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI) is the world’s first quantitative assessment system based on brand’s environmental management of their supply chains in China, jointly developed by IPE and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 2013. The index uses government supervision data, online monitoring data, third party environmental audits, and other public information to dynamically assess the environmental performance of brands’ supply chains. 

• What is the scope of the CITI evaluation?

CITI evaluates brand companies. In 2019, the evaluation scope covered 438 brands across 19 industries. A brand is included in the CITI evaluation scope after IPE has attempted to contact the company regarding a suspected supplier with violation record(s). 

As corporate environmental information disclosure in China continues to improve, the CITI evaluation scope will continue to expand to more industries. 

• What are the major areas that CITI evaluates? 

The evaluation examines the following five areas:

1. Responsiveness and transparency: How does the brand respond to environmental violations by suppliers? 

2. Compliance and corrective action: Does the brand screen its suppliers to ensure their environmental compliance? If there is an existing violation, does the brand require corrective action and information disclosure? 

3. Extended green supply chain practices: Does the brand promote green supply chain expansion upstream to resolve high impact pollution issues?   

4. Energy conservation and emissions reduction: Does the brand push suppliers to disclose energy conservation and emissions reduction targets, as well as pollution emissions transfer data? 

5. Performance disclosure: Does the brand push consumers to pay attention to the environmental impacts of product life-cycles?

For more details, see the full guidelines here: 

 CITI 7.0 Evaluation Guidelines (Updated January 2020)

• What are CITI rankings? 

IPE uses publicly available information to score each brand’s environmental management of their supply chains in China out of 100, according to CITI evaluation criteria. Brands are then ranked according to score. 

• How often are CITI rankings updated?

CITI rankings and scores are updated continuously throughout the year. IPE keeps in regular communication with brands and adjusts CITI scores and rankings according to materials provided by brands (only publicly available information can influence CITI scores). 

• How often are CITI reports published? 

Since 2014, the CITI evaluation report has been published once every year. Although scores are updated throughout the year, the report compares brand scores approximately a month before publication in the fall of each year.

Read the CITI reports from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. 

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PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register)

• What is a PRTR system? 

"A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is an environmental database or inventory of potentially hazardous substances and/or pollutants released to air, water and soil and transferred off-site for treatment or disposal." - UNECE




In August 2013, IPE established a voluntary disclosure platform for PRTR data in China, and encourages high environmental impact enterprises to disclose their emissions and transfer data, particularly data regarding hazardous chemicals. 




For more information, please see the report:  Establishing a PRTR Disclosure System in China

• Why should enterprises publish PRTR data? 

According to Article 13 of the Measure for the Disclosure of Environmental Information by Enterprises and Public Institutions, the state encourages enterprises and institutions to voluntarily disclose relevant information that is conducive to protecting the environment, preventing pollution, and fulfilling social environmental responsibilities.




By publishing annual PRTR data, enterprises actively fulfill their primary responsibility to environmental protection. Furthermore, with greater information transparency, the government and environmental organizations can better understand bottlenecks in the system that impede environmental protection and put pressure on high impact areas; brands and investors can better understand environmental risks and status of enterprises; and suppliers themselves can measure and track year-on-year progress. 

• Where is public PRTR data displayed on the Blue Map Database? Do I need permission to access it? 

Published PRTR data is displayed on the Enterprise Performance page under “Emissions Data”, and everyone who visits the website may access it.

• Which enterprises should report PRTR data? 

All enterprises can publish PRTR data on the Blue Map Database.

• How to report it?

Please see:  PRTR Reporting Guidance (Chinese) (Updated May 2020)

• IPE’s PRTR reporting template covers what kind of information?

The reporting template requests enterprises to fill out general information, energy use and carbon emissions, water use and wastewater pollutants, air emission volume and pollutants, and hazardous waste discharge and transfer information, among other content.   




For more details, please see:  PRTR data form template (Chinese) (Updated March 2020)

• How often do enterprises need to report PRTR data? 

PRTR data is annual data; IPE suggests enterprises submit annual PRTR data collected over the past year.

• PRTR data reporting process


• PRTR reporting training materials 

 PRTR Data Submission Training Material (Chinese) (Updated May 2020)

 Guide to Greenhouse Gas Calculation Tools (Chinese) (Updated May 2020)

 PRTR Data Submission Tutorial Video (Chinese)

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Green Supply Chain Map

• What is the Green Supply Chain Map?

The Green Supply Chain Map was collaboratively developed by IPE and NRDC, and formally published on IPE’s website in January 2018. Map users can view the brands’ factories and processing plants in China, with their names and locations, air and water self-monitoring emissions data, and other public environmental information. 

For more details, please see:  An Introductory Guide to the Green Supply Chain Map

• What are the benefits of joining the Green Supply Chain map?

The map showcases the commitment of leading brands to transparency in their supply chains and environmental management. The map also provides a platform for brands’ suppliers to openly certify environmental compliance. At the same time, the map also helps consumers understand brand efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of their supply chain. 

• Which brands can join the Green Supply Chain Map?

All brands interested in improving supply chain environmental transparency may join the Green Supply Chain Map. 

• Do you need to pay to join the Green Supply Chain Map?

No, joining the Green Supply Chain Map is free for all brands. 

• How do I join the map? 

Brands could join the map by providing suppliers’ Chinese and English names, addresses, longitude and latitude, and other relevant information using the  Excel template and sending it to the brand's designated contact at IPE.

•  How often is the map updated? 

IPE intends to update the map on a quarterly basis. 

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Detox

• What is the Detox campaign? 

Detox is a campaign initiated by Greenpeace advocating for zero hazardous chemical output from the global textile industry. IPE provides a public platform for enterprises to submit Detox data. 

For additional questions, please contact: detox@ipe.org.cn

• How do I submit Detox data?

Please see:  Guide to Detox Data Submission

• Where is public Detox data displayed on IPE’s website? 

Detox data is shown on the Enterprise Performance page under “Emissions Data”, and everyone who visits the website may access it.

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