The meeting was attended by 14 Board of Trustees (BOT) members. Those who attended as APRCP Advisors were Mr. Niclas Svenningsen (UNEP) and Dr. Yue Lang Feng, representing Mr. Warren Evans of ADB, Ms. Conchita Silva (US-AEP), in place of Mr. Richard Sheppard, Mr. Surya Chandak (UNEP) and Mr. Tomridjo were observers to the meeting.

Just like the past BOT meetings, the usual Opening Remarks (this time given by Dr. Olivia Castillo) and the approval of the minutes of the past meeting and the Treasurer’s  Report were present. Along with these, the present and the future of the APRCP were discussed. The more relevant points include:

1) Review of APRCP Charter

·          Most information is still practical and relevant to APRCP activities.

·          The Charter should be reviewed and/or revised if the existing ones prevent or obstruct APRCP activities.

·          Minor amendment of Charters #1 and #3 were approved as below;          On Vision and Mission (#1): “ APRCP’s vision of the Asia Pacific is of a dynamic and prosperous region committed to the principles of sustainable development through Cleaner Production, which is…”                        On Roundtable Activities (#3): Revised title to “Primary Roundtable Activities”, and revised first line to “ The primary activities of the APRCP”.

·          The Charter #XII.1 is supposed to be amended by all APRCP members through internet or APRCP website. 

2) The 4^th APRCP Regional Conference Important points were proposed by Indonesian organizers as follows

·          Theme         :        Changed to CP: Harmonizing, Business and Environment

·          Venue         :        Yogyakarta

·          MOU         :        approved with change on contribution to APRCP

·          Contents        :        proposed contents were as follows;

·          Contents proposed by Mr. Niclas Svenningsen

-           CP Financing

-           Sustainable Consumption

-           Technology Transfer, including ETV, EVT and EPI

-           Link to WSSD

-           CP & Climate Change

·          Contents proposed by Mr. Eiichiro Adachi

-           Environmental Policy

-           Environmental Management Systems

-           Environmental Accounting

-           Environmental Communication/Reporting

-           Environmental Indicators

·          Contents proposed by Mr. Robert Pagan

-           Regulations

-           Risk Management

·          Contents proposed by Surya Chandak

-           CP International Declaration/Implementation Guideline

-           POPS, PICS

·          Contents proposed by Mr. Raymond Leung

-           Environmental Networking

-           Benchmarking

·          Contents proposed by Dr. Yue Lang Feng

-           CP Case Studies

-           CP Financing

·          Responsibilities of Board of Trustees

-           Find speakers and provide technical input

·          Format of organizing emphasized on:

Þ       Training workshop

Þ       Seminar

Þ       Most essential element to provide roundtable discussion in small groups.

·          Decision on Go/No go. Board of Directors must decide whether the 4^th APRCP Regional Conference will be organized by the end of March 2002.

·          Evaluation/ Marketing Team (Dr. Olivia Castillo, Dr. Yuwaree In-na, Ms. Jenny Tan) to visit Yogyagata in January 2002 in order to check readiness and safety for the venue of the 4^th regional conference.

3) Funding Committee

Proposed Funding Committee Members are;

-           Dr. Olivia Castillo (Chairman)

-           Mr. Nihal Abeysekera

-           Dr. Yuwaree In-na

-           Mr. Phil Berry

4) Board of Trustees’ tenure

It was agreed that 8 first-ranked Board members can stay in the position for 3 conferences (terms), and next 7 Board members can stay in the position for 2 conferences (terms).

5) Next APRCP Secretariat

The next Secretariat must be selected by the Selection Committee consisted of Mr. Nihal Abeysekera (chairman), Dr. Olivia Castillo, Ms. Janny Tan and Dr. Chaiyod Bunyagidj. The selection process must be completed within 3 months (by 3 February 2002). Board members will vote for new Secretariat.

6) APRCP Website

Board of Trustees agreed that;

·          The APRCP website is needed.

·          The website should be sustained.

·          Some improvement is needed

-           Number of visitors

-           User analysis

·          Board members should provide comments on design, function, content and data.

·          APRCP office in Manila needs to estimate the cost to sustain the website and recommend how to sustain it.

7) Proposal for the 5^th APRCP Regional Conference

The announcement to call for the 5^th APRCP Regional Conference is responsible by Ms. Jenny Tan.

All Issues presented/discussed were approved by the BOT.

The Government of Thailand (GoT) has decided to transform the existing Technology Promotion Department (TPD) into the Center for Transfer of Clean Technology (CTCT).  CTCT will become Thailand’s national data and web networking center for Clean Technologies and Cleaner Production (CP).  CTCT will also revitalize its Science and Technology Revolving Fund for R&D and its university grants program to provide new support for clean technologies.  

Thailand already has numerous organizations supporting CP.  The new CTCT must be designed as a strategic resource for Thailand’s national progress in CP, in close coordination with related organizations.  The GoT is open to a wide variety of possibilities for re-engineering the TPD into the CTCT to ensure that national CP capacity is enhanced in the best way.  The future of CTCT is relatively wide open.

This opportunity is enhanced by the fact that TPD already has significant capacity, including project development and management, loans and grants, database design and management, web-based data delivery, international technical networking partnerships, training and multimedia content delivery.  Now, how can these be used to help TPD become the new CTCT and add the most value to Thailand’s progress towards cleaner production?

To help the CTCT develop its strategy and new functions, the Asian Development Bank has provided a Technical Assistance (TA) grant to the GoT.  A major objective of the TA is to ensure close coordination of the Project with other interested organizations.  This Project Description provides background, issues of concern, and project status information.  Interested persons are encouraged to contact the project’s consultants to discuss potential collaboration.

Project Status, November 29, 2001:  Project was formally initiated on November 15, 2001 in Bangkok.  Consultants are now studying TPD functions and impacts, and beginning networking with other organizations.

Background

The Thailand Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE) includes the Technology Promotion Department (TPD).  The TPD was founded in 1992 to be responsible for developing and transferring technologies as well as enhancing and strengthening capability to acquire and transfer technology from both foreign and domestic sources to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and rural people.  Its main technology focus has been rural and household agricultural enterprise. 

TPD has about 40 staff organized into 8 functional departments and a clerical department.

Its main activities are:

• Organize trainings and seminars on selected technologies to the target groups
• Publish educational and training materials including audio/visual tools, newsletters, and magazines
• Provide grants to academic institutions for supporting R&D in machinery innovation development
• Provide soft loans from a revolving fund for R&D in target groups
• Provide duty reductions for selected technologies
• Stimulate innovation through a national award contest
• Set up technology databases and an Internet delivery system

The main formal delivery mechanism of the TPD is the Regional Technology Transfer and Promotion Center (RTTPC) that includes four universities.  The RTTPC is particularly important for targeting the grant funding from TPD, all of which is for university researchers.  The universities also provide outreach services to help TPD reach its audience of rural households and SMEs. 

In 1999 TPD was moved under the Division of Environmental Quality Promotion at MOSTE.  Before this, TPD had not focused on any environmental issues.  MOSTE has decided that, since TPD is now part of DEQP, it will be re-organized to support environmental promotion.  The TPD will become the Center for Transfer of Clean Technology (CTCT).  It is intended that the CTCT will become Thailand’s national networking hub for Cleaner Technology (CT) information and that the TPD functions will be re-oriented to support CT.  This will include a comprehensive new strategy that supports Thailand’s many advances in CT.  It may include re-engineering the loan program, the grant program, the award program, the databases (8 of them), the Internet web interface and delivery system, and the import duty reductions.

MOSTE requested support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to strengthen the CTCT.  It also asked for help to support the operations of new regional MOSTE offices as local resources and clients for CTCT.  ADB provided a Technical Assistance (TA) grant to MOSTE (Grant No. 3561-THA, “Capacity-Building for Regional Environmental Management”).  The TA objectives are to:

1. Help CTCT serve as the main national CP networking system;
2. Develop CTCT skills in public policy formulation and national strategies that support the adoption of CP by industry and other forms of business;
3. Enhance the professional skills and understanding of CTCT staff in the application of CP practices and developing strategies especially to reach and motivate small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs);
4. Develop within CTCT a CP network and an information management and delivery system and database that can support the needs of the regional centers and of individual industry sectors, provincial government, and other stakeholders;
5. Facilitate the operation and improving the evaluation and monitoring of the effectiveness of the Science and Technology Fund.

MOSTE has used the ADB grant to hire consultants.  The Thailand Environmental Institute (TEI) is the local consultant.  TEI (www.tei.or.th) has extensive experience with Cleaner Production promotion in Thailand.  Burton Hamner, Director of CleanerProduction.Com, is the international consultant.  The project will take place throughout 2002.

(Taken from the report of Mr. Burton Hamner. )

      Over that past few years, a lot of countries have been facing a big menace—that of pollution. Along with their rapid development and moving towards “industrialization” comes a price-- the pollution and environmental threats.

     This is why one country—Sri Lanka—has taken the initiative and is meeting the problem of industrial pollution head-on. Marking an “important milestone in Cleaner Production”, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the ministry of Constitutional Affairs and Industrial Development of the Government of Sri Lanka signed an agreement to set up a National Cleaner Production Center, with a financial grant of NOK 13,000,000 from the Government of Norway.

     To undertake this project, it has selected a host organization, namely, the Small and Medium Enterprise Developers—an arm of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka—which was selected by UNIDO from a number of institutions engaged in the promotion of CP through an extensive screening process.

     Basically, the NCPC will do the following:.

                -In plant assessment including integrated CP/EMS assessment::

                -Awareness Raising

                -Training

                -Technical Information dissemination

                -Promotion of CP Investments

                -Policy advice

     At present, industry is fast becoming aware of the need to include Cleaner Production in its operations. In fact, several sectors have already been implementing CP practices. These sectors include Chemical, Food, Metal, Rubber, Hotel and Catering, Textile and Mineral—with the Food sector having the highest compliance rate at 30 percent.

      This does not mean though that all is done. On the contrary, the establishment of the NCPC in Sri Lanka is only one of the steps being taken to “clean up” the environment. In June of 2001, the SMED assisted the Ministry of Forestry and Environment in setting up a Waste Exchange. This program is basically a partnership between the private and public sector whose greatest beneficiary is the Garnpaha district in the Western Province and will involve the collection, buying and selling of non-hazardous wastes from the various sectors.

Alongside these efforts are other “supporting” CP programs for year 2001-2002. 

These include:

• UNIDO ISO 14000 Training of Auditors/Consultants and the carrying out of a Pilot project for the certification of 10 companies.

• The establishment of a sub-contracting and partnership exchange by UNIDO at the FCCISL/SMED in line with the Waste Exchange and Greening the Supply Chain programs.

• Triple Bottom Line Project: spearheaded by UNIDO: it is being implemented in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka with the Textile Sector as the common denominator in all these countries. It basically involves testing a methodology to audit export-oriented companies, taking into account shareholder value and social responsibility. At present, five companies are being audited and results will be published during RIO + 10.

• UNIDO Tannery Development Project: involves the use of CP Technology for the treatment of tannery wastes along with the modernization and re-location of tanneries at the industrial estate being set up in Bata-atha in the Southern Province.

• National Engineering Research and Development Centre or NERD, which conducts Awareness Programs, CP awareness and Energy audits.

• Development of the “Cleaner Programme” or ISO 14000 accreditation of various companies.

To further aid these efforts, the Ministry of Forestry  and Environment has established the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) which is the basis for the relationship between development and environmental concerns whose objectives are:

¨        Development and environmental strategies at policy level interaction

¨        Steering and capacity building

¨        Formation of committees covered by the M/F&E which  include:

-Technical Environment Committees

-Sub-committees such as the Committee on Environmental Policy and Management

¨        Higher level ministerial committees

To help it meet its objectives, the NEAP plans to implement such strategies as the formation of a National Award scheme for best practices at the Provincial and National levels and the enhancement of financial and tax incentives for CP.

These projects however, require some form of funding in order for them to be implemented. Thus, there is what is known as the “e-friends scheme”. Funded by the JBIC and assisted by the National Development Bank, it makes credit available for CP projects.

These are just some of the projects being undertaken by the private and public sector partnership of Sri Lanka. A lot still needs to be done as the awareness level is still quite low. But with efforts like these, it is only a matter of time before Sri Lanka will becoming a “clean and green” place.

(Source: “Sri Lanka’s Strategies and Initiatives on CP for 2001-2002” by Nihal Abeyseker, Chairman, Small and Medium Enterprise Developers) 

Taiwan's CP Programs: 

A Brief Look

                  Although Taiwan’s environmental program is relatively new (young if you may call it) it has managed to make a significant impact on the business—and the country as a whole—in its less than two decades of existence.

       Let us take a look at Taiwan’s CP programs over the past few years.

The Beginnings: the early 1980s saw the formation of the agencies and organizations that would be responsible for implementing the CP initiatives within the next few years. These include the IPCC, which was formed by the Industrial Development Bureau in order to initiate EOP Technical Assistance. In 1987, the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA was formed. It wasn’t until 1990 however, when the CP programs really began.

The First Five-Year Program: The implementation of Taiwan’s Cleaner Production programs are divided into periods, each consisting of five-year phases. The First 5-year phase was from 1990 to 1994 and followed an Integrated Waste Management (IWM) National Action Plan. It main activities were the promotion of IWM programs through:

                -Public awareness promotion

                -Technology demonstration

                -Technical assistance

                -Information services

                -Training

                -Financial incentives

The 2^nd Phase: the 2^nd phase of the CP program was from 1995 to 1999 and focused on 1) providing technical assistance to manufacturers; 2) promote ISO 14000 and; 3) promotion of the Corporate Synergy System or CSS in order to encourage SMEs to implement CP.

                The main thrust of this phase was the promotion of ISO 14000 and CSS to SMEs in order to make them certified and thus, environmentally sound. At present, 934 firms have been certified as of March 2001 with most of these firms showing a huge improvement in environmental performance. It doesn’t stop there though as such programs as CER, EPE and EL are being introduced to take these efforts further down the line.

                As for CSS, this is basically a management system that involves forming partnerships among supply chains in order for them to improve on such factors as product quality, production cost and environmental performance among others. The larger firms generally implement these partnerships but the smaller firms, since they are part of the supply chain, are pressured but eventually rewarded upon joining. At present, 14 partnerships are in effect with more than 200 SMEs participating.

The present program: At present, Taiwan has entered into the 3^rd phase of their CP initiatives—which runs from 2000 up to 2004 and will be a continuation of what were started by the first two phases. In this phase, the focus will be on:

                -Continuing to assist SME through CSS and other means

                -Continue to promote environmental technologies

                -The expansion of ISO 14000 activities such as EMS, EPI, CER,      LCA and Green Productivity

                Through all of this, the road hasn’t been all that smooth. A lot still needs to be done and there are many lessons that need to be or have been learned along the way. A lot of firms still haven’t adapted or have not really been made aware of CP practices; national actions need to be continually reviewed and adjusted for them to be implemented properly and effectively and give more incentives for firms to join the “CP bandwagon” are just some of the things which need to be done in order for Taiwan to have a truly effective and efficient CP program.

(Source: Presentation of Dr. Shen-yann Chiu, Executive Secretary, Taiwan Environmental Management Association, Int’l Green Productivity Association Taipei, Taiwan)

“Researches on the implementation of CP”—this is the theme for a workshop set to be held later this year. Sponsored by the European Union, together with the Government of Austria, this three-day workshop will run from June5-7, 2002 at the Edsa Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City, Philippines.

In partnership with the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Cleaner Production (APRCP), the ASEM (ASEAN Environmental Management) Seminar will be participated in by some 30 delegates from both the European Union and ASEAN region who will discuss issues regarding the implementation of Cleaner Production.

The Asia-Pacific region has been one of the fastest growing regions today. A lot of the countries in the region have gone from “developing” to “developed” status in such a short span of time. Moreover, these coutires have started to relize the impact that their development has on the environment.

                This is the focus of CP Country Corner—the newest addition to the ongoing “re-engineering” of the APRCP Website (www.aprcp.org). Here, the various CP activities being undertaken by countries from the Asia-Pacific region will be featured. These include Cleaner Production and other related programs, the latest activities for CP, projects of the various organizations and sectors which are aimed at promoting CP and others.

                All these will be posted in the :CP Country Corner” of the Website and an edited version will be opublished in future issues of this Newsletter. You may email your contributions to aprcp@info.com.ph.

TNEC (read T- Nec) is the abbreviation of Thailand Network of Eco-efficiency and Cleaner Production. The network was set up in 1999, two years after the 1^st APRCP was held in Bangkok.

The first APRCP has created an atmosphere of the need to strengthen CP activity and networking in Thailand and in the region. In Thailand, a group of CP experts and CP leaders from various institutions, organizations, and government departments voluntarily joined together and created TNEC on June 1999. There are 9 members in TNEC Board. The chairperson of the Board is Mr. Sirithan Piroj-Boriboon, the Director General of Pollution Control Department, who is a proactive CP leader of the country. The secretariat of TNEC is Dr. Chaiyod Bunyagidj, Vice President of the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI)

The network has been operating on a low cost, no cost basis. Since June 1999, TNEC has arranged 9 meetings in various organizations where the owner of the organizations bared the cost of hosting. These meetings have created CP awareness and CP momentum in several sectors of the country such as tourism, agriculture, livestock, municipality, industry, and also education and research and development.

Recently, on 3-4 December 2001, TNEC successfully held its first annual conference in Bangkok. There were 230 participants, 2 guest speakers and 4 success cases were presented in plenary session whereas 10 papers were discussed in three parallel sessions. A training course on LCA was provided as well as three field trips on CP in livestock, CP in agriculture and CP in municipality.

The network also calls for members. There are members from various sectors including industry (24%), agriculture (7%), tourism and services (10%), R&D and education (29%) as well as NGOs and environmental consultant and others (30%). Today, TNEC has 560 members and several activities lined up to continue.

Aluminum Recycling:

From scraps to new products

Wrapping to keep food fresh, softdrink cans, building materials, airplanes--these are just some of the uses of one very versatile element: Aluminum. Discovered only around 200 years ago, this metal is one of the most abundant metals, not to mention its being light yet strong, rustproof and useful for a wide range of applications be it in industry, transportation, construction, architecture and the home.

There is however, one more reason why aluminum is a “favorite” of most manufacturers—especially those who are conscious about the environment—its being highly recyclable. Because of its low melting point, aluminum can easily be recycled into ingots and other materials such as extrusions, flat sheets or billets for new products. Aluminum recycling is practiced all over the world in such countries as Japan and the US. In the Philippines, only one company has so far taken the lead in recycling all the aluminum scraps—Reynolds Recycling Corporation. Reynolds Recycling Corp. is a subsidiary of Reynolds Philippines Corporation—a fully integrated manufacturer of aluminum products in the country. As the name suggests, Reynolds Recycling is responsible for recycling all the aluminum scraps, which are collected from various sources.

Started in 1997, Reynolds Recycling collects around 2,500-2,700 MT (metric tons) of aluminum scraps per year from such sources as San Miguel Yamamura Ball (formerly) and just recently, from scrap yards, traders and junk shops. These are then brought to its Dasmarinas, Cavite plant where there are two (2) remelt furnaces which are used to “melt” all the aluminum raw materials—be it virgin or secondary (used) aluminum. Having a load capacity of 24 MT each, these two remelt furnaces require a minimum of at least 25-27 MT load volume to make their operation efficient.

The process for aluminum recycling into new aluminum products is pretty much the same when using virgin material—it undergoes several steps. First is the remelt furnace wherein the materials undergo cleansing and chemical adjustments for its target alloy and is then poured into the casting unit and cast into rolling ingots. Next is the Hot Mill where the gauge of the slabs is reduced in order to produce fine grain wrought material for both high strength and good formability. After this, there is the Cold Mill which further reduces the thickness of the rolling coils from 7.0 mm to as thin as 0.15 mm sheets. The Foil Mill on the other hand (of which the Dasmarinas plant has four) further reduces the thickness from 0.34 mm to as thin as 0.0065 mm or 6.5 microns. Then there is the Extrusion Press, which makes high strength extrusions from aluminum billets.

But why recycle? For one thing, used aluminum is cheaper than buying new aluminum. Prices range from P38-P70 per kilo depending on the type and are easily available. In fact, around 70 percent of the raw materials used by Reynolds are from recycled aluminum.

All this goes without saying that recycling would definitely help reduce our garbage problem and help save the environment.

Asia e³ INVEST:

What is it?

Investments are an integral part of a country’s development. This is because investments are considered the “heartbeat” or the “pulse” of an economy—especially a market-driven economy. Not only does it bring in much needed money; it also generates employment and thus, enhances the general welfare of the country by uplifting the lives of its citizens.

                Types of investments include Domestic public and private; Foreign Direct and; Foreign Portfolio. But whatever the type, these use valuable resources. Thus, there is a need to have what is known as “Sustainable Investments” or investments that “does not result in environmental degradation and contributes to social capital and poverty reduction”. To become “sustainable”, investments must:

                -Enhance productivity by reducing wastes. Inefficiency and risk

                -Investors need to meet a triple bottom line namely,

                -Economic prosperity

                -Environmental sustainability

                -Social equity

                -Reaching out to a broader population base by meeting the “essentials”

                Examples of such investments include: healthy food, clean water and air, bio-diversity, clean and renewable energy sources, health care, closed loop industry, learning or education among others.

                Making investments sustainable however, is not all that easy. For one, the standards and specifications of “sustainability” are constantly evolving, not to mention different countries having different set of “parameters” such as level of economic development, socio-cultural values and how the stakeholders (i.e.: business, academe, government and NGOs) perceive “sustainability”.

                This is where Asia e³ INVEST can lend a hand. Asia e³ INVEST (or Asia e³= economically profitable; ecologically sustainable and; socially equitable INVEST= International Network for Vibrant and Empowering Sustainable Transformation) is basically “a new networking tool for governments, business, research bodies and civil societies to foster border-crossing dialogue and track knowledge about ‘sustainable investments’ in Asia”.

                As seen from the definition, there are a lot of opportunities for the Asian region. These include: the “leap-frogging” of Asian economies; tackling poverty; redressing past triple-bottom line imbalance and; promoting dialogue among stakeholders on knowledge exchange which are key to finding innovative, productive and sustainable solutions.

Among its activities are: forum for information and project exchange; a think tank for assessing S.I (sustainable investments); an observatory of investments in Asia; a training facility for S.I. development; support schemes for sectoral Triple Bottom Line benchmarking and; publishing of S.I. guide books and newsletters.

                To learn more about Asia e³ INVEST, you may email Dr. Philippe Bergeron, Director of the Regional Institute of Environmental Technology (RIET) at bergeron@riet.org.sg or visit their website at http://www.riet.org

(Source: Presentation of Dr. Philippe Bergeron, Director, Regional Institute of Environmental Technology)