Programme description

Title: Thai-German Programme for Enterprise Competitiveness: Eco-Efficiency Component
Commissioned by: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)
Country: Thailand
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE)
Overall term: 2004 to 2012

Context

Eco-Efficiency is a crucial factor of competitiveness. It focuses on efficient use of resources and on minimisation of negative environmental impacts. The key measures deal with resource management practices,  energy efficiency, waste management, processing technologies, logistics, market conditions and policy development. The eco-efficiency concept is gaining increased importance in the government’s policies and
legislative framework as well as within many enterprises and business associations. At the same time, concern over the environmental situation is growing and Thailand is experiencing heightened environmental stress.

Recent studies show a high potential for positive eco-efficiency impacts. As a consequence, the Thai Government is setting a clear direction and focus on eco-efficiency and sustainable development. The development of the organisational and institutional framework is to be improved and coordinated, thus enabling SMEs to review regulations and take advantage of provided services and support mechanisms.

Objective

To increase the competitiveness of SMEs for the sake of a long-term sustainable economic growth, through:

• introduction of enterprise-related and appropriate eco-efficiency principles, technologies and procedures
• improving services in selected fields of environmental protection and resource management
• strengthening the service and market-orientation of administrative interventions for eco-efficiency.

Approach

The programme approach strives:

• to create the right market conditions for more and better services to  be provided to SMEs in
  selected sectors in a sustainable manner
• to create the institutional and entrepreneurial competency for ecoefficient, good governance in selected sectors
• to cooperate with government organisations, chambers, associations and private enterprises.

The programme is initially concentrating on selected agro-industrial sectors. Special focus is on improving the products, production and value chain in the palm oil, aquaculture/shrimps, tapioca, mulberry paper, organic fruits and vegetable sectors.

Additionally, there are eco-efficiency services, which enhance the “enabling environment” for business.
These include integrated energy management, handling of hazardous materials, management information systems for pollution prevention and control, eco-efficiency advisory services and consumer advisory systems. The programme interventions are focusing either directly on SME as the target group or on the improvement of the administrative, institutional and/or legislative conditions.

This programme component comprises the following projects

• Energy and Eco-Efficiency in Agro-Industry (E3Agro)
• Management Information Systems for Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control
• Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Saa Paper