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Opening ceremony of 2017MIECF
The 2017 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2017MIECF), held from 30 March to 1 April, led to numerous exchanges and business-matching successes. During the event, 44 agreements were signed and 273 business-matching sessions were held in the Green Business Matching Zone.
The 10th anniversary of MIECF had a theme of “Innovative Green Development for a Sustainable Future”. Since the first MIECF in 2008, the elements of the exhibition have improved steadily, making the event a real green platform for those in the business.
A total of 60 forums for sectoral professionals have been held across the 10 years of MIECF, and more than 280 cooperation agreements have been signed. The exhibition area this year was about 16,900 square metres, compared to 6,900 square metres in 2008. The number of exhibitors has continued to grow since the first MIECF. The event this year attracted more than 450 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions, including exhibitors from Portuguese-speaking Countries and the European Union (EU), compared in 2008 when there were 164 exhibitors from eight countries and regions. For the first time, there were also pavilions representing Beijing and the Czech Republic. In the Macao Pavilion there was an area presenting innovative environmental protection technologies.
The exhibition contributed to Macao’s performance as a place where parts of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region (PPRD) and Mainland provinces, in particular, can cooperate and create exchanges with the rest of the world on environmental matters – the EU and Portuguese-speaking Countries included. The governments of the provinces and regions of the PPRD have been co-organisers of the annual event. Each year the provinces and regions organised highlevel delegations to participate in MIECF.
The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the Macao SAR Government Environmental Protection Bureau co-ordinated the event. MIECF is also supported by the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Environmental Protection. For the first time this year, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology joined the special supporting line-up as the fourth supporting organisation.
Green economy
This year’s MIECF saw IPIM launch its Green Exchange, a part of its Online Business Matching Service Platform. The Green Exchange is designed to bring businesses together for environmental protection projects, in particular businesses in Macao, the EU and the PPRD Region.
The Macao Government has been devoting much effort into promoting community economic development. During the 2017MIECF, it took participants in the event on a visit to the central and southern districts of the Macao peninsula, including to local shops located in tourist spots and cultural heritage sites. Ahead of this year’s MIECF, IPIM met representatives of several trade chambers in Macao, who suggested that MICE participants and exhibitors should be encouraged to visit the city’s neighbourhoods as a way to benefit the local community.
2017MIECF has – as in previous editions of MIECF – held guided tours of the event for representatives of governmental departments. The guided tours aim to enhance governmental support for environmental industries by facilitating contact between exhibitors and representatives of governmental departments. This initiative also helps representatives of governmental departments to learn about the latest developments related to green technology and products.
Satisfied exhibitors
The keynote speaker of 2017MIECF, Achim Steiner
Kashun Environmental Protection Technology Co. Ltd. Managing Director Wong Cheong Hong said his company had marked its 10th anniversary in business by having 10 booths at 2017MIECF.
The company showed off its new brand identity, along with products made with renewable resources and raw materials created from waste.
Mr Wong’s company bought advanced recycling equipment and other environmentally friendly technology from Southeast Asian countries at MIECF. Kashun has enjoyed the benefits of taking part in the Green Matching at MIECF over the years, and has signed recycling deals with hotels – deals that have increased its annual turnover.
Mr Wong said MIECF was an important green platform that linked the PPRD Region and the global environmental industries. He believes the exhibition can spur the development of the environmental industries and attract more people to join it.
At the Czech Pavilion, Smart Heating Technology took part in the exhibition for the first time. The company specialises in biomass technology and carbon reduction. Smart Heating Technology Sales Manager Stephen Pratt said the company’s equipment was suitable for large hotels. The company took part in the exhibition to raise its profile; to get to know more about the markets in Hong Kong, Macao, Mainland China and Southeast Asia; and to seek investment and production partners. Representatives of many companies attending MIECF expressed interest in Smart Heating Technology products and Mr Pratt is optimistic that they will do well.
Green Forum
At the “Green Forum”, a total of eight sessions were held, in addition to an extraordinary session involving sector specialists. A total of 55 renowned experts from the environmental sector – including activists, business leaders from multinational enterprises, and regional policymakers – from various parts of the world took part in discussions on novel green development policies, on business strategies for manufacturing, on tourism in coastal areas and on green buildings.
The keynote speaker this year was Oxford Martin School Director Achim Steiner, who is International Vice-Chairman of the China Council for International Co-operation on Environment and Development and was once executive director of the UN Environment Programme. Mr Steiner told the exhibition about public policy and incentives on environmental matters, about relevant cases, and about his own views on strategies and technologies of relevance to the environmental protection business.
Mr Steiner later told reporters that the difficulty in establishing a green economy was how to supply people with more food, services and energy without causing more pollution.
“This is where technology, but also economic policies and innovation, become a central driver in aiding us to move towards a greener economy, one in which we can provide for the current generation but not compromise the options for the future,” he said.
Mr Steiner said establishing a green economy required “the government, to set the right rules; consumers, as users of buses, electricity and food products, and as producers of waste, to be aware of why their actions would make a difference; and the private sector, enterprises and corporate leaders, to embrace their part of the responsibility by creating different services, products”.
Mainland China priorities
Mr Steiner said Mainland China had prioritised the establishment of a green economy. By making the “Belt and Road” initiative part its development strategy, the country could establish a green economy. The “Belt and Road” initiative could allow Mainland China to co-operate more with other countries in using cleaner technology, consuming resources more efficiently, in expanding their economies without increasing harmful emissions and in improving the quality of the air people breathe.
“At MIECF, it is quite clear this presents great opportunities for enterprises, businesses and new technologies,” he said. “Many businesses are today creating jobs and opening new markets, such as the recycling sector and waste management sector, building management, the tourism industry, and the financial sector.”
The next MIECF will take place between 12 April and 14 April next year.
