"Doing Sustainable Business in the Asia Pacific Region"--this was the central theme for the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production Conference. The APRSCP Conference, which made its 6th run, was held at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre in Melbourne, Australia from October 10-12,2005. It played host to some 350 delegates from 24 countries.

The 3-day event--as in the past--was a series of speeches, Plenary and Panel Discussions, training sessions, and of course, talk on anything environment--particularly Sustainable Consumption and Production (SC&P). There were a roster of distinguished guests led by Australia's Minister of Environment and Water John Twaites (who gave the Opening remarks) that graced the affair.

The highlight of the 6th APRSCP Conference was of course, the various Plenary Sessions and Panel Discussions that tackled the various aspects of SC&P and Business. Among the themes and topics tackled were:

• Business Meeting The Challenges
• Models of Sustainable Regional Development
• Capacity Building
• Patterns of Consumption
• How should governments, NGOs and business work together to enhance CP/SCP
• Consumers and Consumption
• The role of finance sector, capital markets and CSR
• Going Beyond business as usual and Global Business Sustainability
• Policies and approaches to foster for SCP and CP
• Eco-Design and Eco-Innovation

Aside from these, there was a special “Post Conference” session held on the last day. This was essentially a series of discussions that focused on such topics as:

• What policy drivers can make CP happen (a CP Master Class)
• Life-Cycle Management: What does LCM mean to the Pacific region?

As with previous roundtables, it wasn’t all work. Participants were given the chance to relax and unwind at the Gala Dinner held on the first night at the Palladium Room of the Crown Towers. Gracing the event was Mr. Clive Hamilton, Executive Director of the Australia Institute.

Speaking of past roundtables, the APrSCP prior to this one, ahs already ahd 5 other equally successful conferences tucked under its belt. They are:

1. Bangkok, Thailand (November 12-14, 1997)
2. Brisbane, Australia (April 21-24, 1999)
3. Manila, Philippines (February 28-March 2, 2001)
4. Chiang Mai, Thailand (January 20-22, 2003)
5. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (March 15-17, 2004)

For more details on the 6th APRSCP, please download the 6APRSCP_Communique and the 6th APRSCP Report