A push for greener policies and technologies in China after it pledged to cut carbon emissions at the United Nations COP21 climate change conference in December has become an opportunity for companies operating in the country.
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chief executive of multinational electricity and energy management company Schneider Electric told CNBC that a push towards greener practices in China was leading his company to re-position its strategy on the mainland.
"There is plenty of good news coming from the mainland (China) for a company like ours. There's a big focus on energy efficiency to fight pollution and emissions after these big commitments from the government," he told CNBC on Wednesday.
Opportunities were present in China in terms of water and waste management, innovation and automation, Tricoire said.
Progress after COP21
In December, global political and economic leaders met in Paris for the United Nations' COP21 climate change conference where they agreed to legally binding deal on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The deal, which was largely led by both China and the U.S., includes a target to limit global temperature increases to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and also for more developed countries to assist poorer ones in achieving that target.
Feike Sijbesma, chief executive of Dutch nutrition and materials group DSM told CNBC that the materials industry was in a state of flux as the world transitioned from the "fossil age" to the "bio-renewable age."
"We at DSM have invested a lot in that and we are fully prepared for that transition and I think it's really happening now."
Despite corporate preparation for a new era of renewables, geopolitical and macroeconomic events such as the lower price of oil and slowdown in China have made companies more aware of cost-savings before a downturn really hits home.
DSM's Sijbesma said that a cost-cutting program at DSM was progressing "fairly well."
"I hope that the fundamentals in China remain in place and that the growth in China will hopefully not disappoint us too much."
Reflecting on the COP21 conference in Paris, Sijbesma believed that "real progress"
"I think we really made a stepping stone for a new future and the low oil price and carbon pricing (which is an excellent moment to introduce that right now) will introduce this transition to a new age."
