| Industry | Energy Services |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder(s) | Zhang Yue |
| Headquarters | Changsha, Hunan, China |
| Key people | Zhang Yue (Chairman & CEO) |
| Products | Absorption chiller Air-conditioning Sustainable building Air purifier |
| Services | Energy Services |
| Revenue | 900 million USD (2007)[1] |
| Website | http://www.broad.com |
Broad Group is a private company based in Changsha, China. Since 1996, it has been the global leader in manufacturing central air conditioning non-electric absorption chillers, which is powered by natural gas and waste heat, and currently exports its products to over 60 countries.[1][2] It was Shanghai Expo 2010's only global official partner that was a Chinese private enterprise and exclusively supplied central air conditioning, ventilation and air purification products for the event.[3]
Broad is one of the few Chinese manufacturing companies that has been widely recognized for its green policies and commitment to climate change. It has expanded its business in recent years to include other energy saving products and sustainable buildings, and achieved a feat of building a 15-storys tall hotel in 6 days, which received 2 million views in the first 10 days on YouTube.[4]
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Zhang Yue founded Broad in 1988, registering in Chenzhou, Hunan. Using $3000, Broad developed industrial boilers based on Zhang's patented design.[5] At the time, most boilers domestically manufactured were of poor quality and had high risk of exploding, while Broad's did not.[6]
In 1992, the company was moved to Changsha and began manufacturing absorption chillers. At the time, government provided incentives for non-electric chillers to relief strain on the national electricity grid, contributing to the company's rise as it became the global leader in absorption chiller by sales in 1996; it entered the international market in 1998 and today, its sales in domestic and international markets split evenly.[6]
While absorption chillers remain Broad's largest source of revenue, it now offers other environmentally friendly products including air purifiers and air conditioner terminals, with the BSB(Broad Sustainable Building) its latest invention in sustainable building technology, receiving more attention.
Invented in 2009, the BSB achieves high energy efficiency and carbon reduction primarily through thermal insulation, preventing cool air from leaving indoors and hot air from coming in from outdoors when the weather is hot and vice versa when the weather is cold, and requires short construction time since parts are pre-fabricated in factories and assembled onsite.[7] In the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference, President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón, commented the BSB technology to be a practical, imaginative, creative & bold endeavor and a new revolution of world's architectural and housing industry, which is bound to be transferred to developing countries leading to reduction in carbon emissions.[8] BSB has also been tested to be able to resist a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and was recommended in an United Nations Environment Program report on the rebuilding of Sichuan after its catastrophic earthquake in 2008[7][9]
So far, Broad has built 4 demos of BSB, including: the 6-story Broad Pavilion in Shanghai Expo 2010 in 1 day,[9] the 14-story New Ark's Hotel in Broad's headquarters in 6 days,[4] and the Broad Pavilion in 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference in 8 days.[8]
In May, 2011, Broad's founder and chairman, Zhang Yue, was awarded the Champions of the Earth Award (Entrepreneurial Vision Category) by the United Nations Environment Programme for Broad's commitment to climate change.[2] It was one of the ten companies to be recognized by the BusinessWeek Greener China Business Awards in 2009.[10] It was also named one of the "20 Most Admired Companies in China" in 2001, ’02, ’04, and ’05 by China's Economic Observer and Peking University.[11]
In 2000, amid temporary company sales drop, and huge demands for cooling equipment of all kinds in China, Zhang was urged to enter the much larger market for electric air conditioners. Zhang refused citing that after successfully challenging himself to create wealth when the company was started, his current only motive was to "save energy and reduce greenhouse emissions.".[2][6] A Carnegie Council article cited a 2004 Peking University–Richard Ivey School of Business case study on Zhang's decision and reports "the authors argue that Broad would likely have gained "a significant market share" and earned "10 times" its production cost in this product area—but in doing so it would not have been able to "stay true to the company's environmental protection principles.'" [6]
Broad has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2001[2] and in October 2008, Broad formally joined The Climate Group, being among the first group of Chinese global members.[12]