Ma Jun published his book China’s Water Crisis in 1999. In 2004, he was selected for the Yale World Fellows Program. In 2006, he founded the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) and led the development and launch of China’s first environmental public database, as well as the Blue Map, a mobile app that visualizes air, water, ocean, and soil quality data that also tracks the performance of hundreds of thousands of major emitters.

In 2020, Ma led the launch of the Blue Map for Zero Carbon and collaborated with professional organizations to develop regional Carbon Peak and Neutrality Index, as well as the Corporate Climate Action Transparency Index (CATI). Major multinationals and financial institutions have incorporated the use of Blue Map data and the digital solutions into their sourcing and investment codes, motivating more than 20,000 companies to openly address their violations or measure and disclose air, water and carbon emissions data.

In 2006, Ma was awarded as China’s “Green Person of the Year” and was named as one of TIME Magazine’s “World’s 100 Most Influential People.” Ma was also honored with the Magsaysay Award in 2009 and the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2012. In 2015, he received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2019, Ma was invited as a Special Observer by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. In 2022, Ma received the Asia Game Changer Awards from Asia Society.