Eco-Products
International Fair 2004
24 September 2004, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Mr. Morishita, Dato' Mustafa Mansur, Minister
Rafidah Aziz, Mr. Tajima, and Tan Sri Dato'
Azman Hashim
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On 2-4 September this year, the APO collaborated
with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM),
and the National Productivity Corporation (NPC) of
Malaysia to organize the Eco-Products
International Fair in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
the first in Southeast Asia and outside Japan. The
theme of the fair was "Living in harmony with
the environment--towards sustainable production and
consumption." The guest of honor and keynote
speaker at the opening ceremony was the Malaysian
Minister for International Trade and Industry, Dato'
Seri Rafidah Aziz. Running parallel to the fair were
three other events: the International Conference on
Green Supply Chains, Workshop on Green Procurement,
and National Seminar on Natural Farming. Seventy-seven
exhibitors from Japan (37), Republic of Korea (one),
Malaysia (35), Singapore (two), Belgium (one), and
Germany (one) showcased their eco-friendly products
and services covering consumer goods to materials
for manufacturing. Among the exhibitors were the three
leading automakers,Daimler Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota,and
their hybrid cars. Other renowned exhibitors included
Panasonic, Ebara, Mitsubishi, Daikin, Canon, Fuji
Xerox, Hitachi, Toray, JVC, Kaneka, Marubeni, Ricoh,
and Sirim. The Korean National Clean Production Center
also participated. The APO had a booth to promote
its Green Productivity (GP) activities. The organizers
of the fair sponsored an eco-product concept booth
that had as its main attraction an "Eco-Wish
Tree" that proved to draw crowds.
Prof. Yamamoto presenting the first copy of
the book to Minister Rafidah Aziz
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Apart from Minister Rafidah Aziz, speakers at the
opening ceremony were FMM President Dato' Mustafa
Mansur, Tan Sri Dato' Azman Hashim, APO Director for
Malaysia and Chairman of NPC Malaysia, and APO Secretary-General
Takashi Tajima. Minister Rafidah Aziz, in her keynote
address, said that the general public had an important
role in dealing with concerns facing the global environment.
By choosing eco-friendly products, consumers could
help promote environment-friendly practices and GP.
The fair, she said, would give an insight into and
showcase the variety of choices available to both
industry and consumers which could satisfy the need
to balance the consumption and preservation of natural
resources. Dato' Mustafa Mansur expressed the hope
that the fair would create and enhance awareness of
the importance of environment-friendly products in
relation to greening the supply chain among the business
community, government officials, and the public. Tan
Sri Azman Hashim in his address pointed out that the
competitive advantage of eco-products is closely related
to their level of productivity, efficiency, and market
reach. All these factors should be embodied in the
production process, from the design phase to when
the products reach the marketplace. Secretary-General
Tajima said that the industries in Asia and the Pacific,
the manufacturing hub of the world, must shift their
focus to produce more eco-friendly products and services
to strengthen and sustain their competitiveness.
The opening day of the fair also saw the launching
of the seminal APO publication Eco-Products Directory
2004. Professor Yamamoto of the University of Tokyo
and a Vice Chairman of the APO GP Advisory Committee
(GPAC) presented the first copy of the book to Minister
Rafidah Aziz.
The fair included a number of attractions targeting
younger visitors, for example, the Eco-Quiz Rally,
Recycling Awareness Poll, coloring contest, drawing
contest, Dart: Mix and Match, and 3R Contest. A special
feature was the "Organizers' Stage" where
nine exhibitors made presentations on their products.
The
International Conference on Green Supply Chains, held
on 2 September, was attended by about 250 participants,
including 28 sponsored by the APO. The conference
was inaugurated by Datin Paduka Dr. Tan Yee Kew, Parliamentary
Secretary, Ministry of International Trade and Industry,
Malaysia. The keynote address on the "Role of
Eco Products for Sustainable Development" was
provided by APO GPAC Chairman Yoichi Morishita, who
is also the Chairman of Matsushita Electric Industrial
Co. Ltd. Among the other prominent speakers were Mr.
Yoshihide Suga, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan, who spoke on
"Compatibility between Environment and Economy:
Japanese Industrial Policy," and Dr. Hiroyuki
Fujimura, Chairman, Zero Emissions Forum of Japan
and Honorary Chairman of Ebara Corporation, who expounded
on "Regeneration of Regions by Biomass Industries."
Tan Sri Azman Hashim gave the closing address.
On
3-4 September, the APO workshop on Green Procurement
was held attended by 28 participants and two observers
from 15 APO member countries. Resources speakers and
the topics they dealt with were: Prof. Ryochi Yamamoto
on "Green Procurement and Eco-products for Green
Supply Chains, Competitiveness, and Sustainable Development
in the Asia-Pacific Region"; Prof. Hideki Nakahara,
Chair, Green Purchasing Network of Japan, on "Green
Procurement in Japan"; and Dr. Chaiyod Bunyagidj,
Vice President, Thailand Environment Institute, on
"Green Procurement in Thailand: Challenges and
Opportunities."
Another major event was the Malaysian national seminar
on "Natural Farming," launched by the Malaysian
Minister for Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry,
Tan Sri Dato' Hj. Muhyiddin, attended by about 250
participants. Secretary-General Tajima also addressed
the seminar. The highlight of the program was the
release of the results of the APO GP-Integrated Community
Development demonstration project on natural farming
in Malaysia, including a mini exhibition of products
from the project.