Fifty major enterprises that rely on Chinese manufacturers joined the campaign, identifying suppliers that were violating environmental regulations and working with them to make positive changes, Ma said.
"But it has proven to be a difficult task to push particularly large corporations to confront the problems created by their Chinese suppliers," Ma said, citing Apple as an example of such a company.
Ma said Apple at first refused to even confirm that it had any relationship with factories that had been blamed for polluting the environment. But one-and-a-half years later, the company changed its mind and started auditing its suppliers.
Ma's efforts, as well as those of his group, earned him a nomination as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2006 by Time magazine. In 2012, he received the Goldman Environmental Prize, one of the world's biggest awards for local environmental activists.
"We can only have an impact on a fraction of firms in the database," Ma said, adding that the overall situation is still severe and some areas are experiencing degrading environmental conditions.
Ma said the improvement of the public's awareness of environmental protection and the expansion of government transparency will help create a cleaner China.
"An early step is always helpful," Ma said.
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