Starting from 1999, Zhang Jianyu has been working with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a leading US environmental NGO and advocacy group, as Managing Director of its China program, which focuses on the use of market based instruments (MBIs) in solving environmental problems in China.

Zhang Jianyu is a visiting professor at School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University. He is an executive board director of China Association of Non-Governmental Organization (CANGO) and a member of the Lead Expert Group (LEG) for China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED). Zhang Jianyu helped found and manage the first professional Joint Venture environmental consulting firm established in the People’s Republic of China.