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APEC Project Proposal
Project title and number: / SME 02 2016S – Greening MSMEs: A Pathway towards Sustainable Economic Growth in the APEC RegionSource of funds (Select one): / General Project Account
TILF Special Account
APEC Support Fund
APEC forum: / SMEWG
Proposing APEC economy: / Thailand
Co-sponsoring economies: / Brunei Darussalam; Mexico; Peru; Philippines; Chinese Taipei
Expected start date: / May 2016
Expected completion date: / December 2016
Project summary:
Describe the project
in under 150 words.
Your summary should include the project topic, goals, planned activities,
timing and location:
(Summary must be no longer than the box provided. Cover sheet must fit on one page) / The green economy cannot be fully achieved without the participation of MSMEs. Greening MSMES will enhance MSMEs’ competitiveness and improve their market access, while also reducing carbon emissions. However, most MSMEs in the region are not aware of this issue as many of them still believe that green innovation and technology incurs higher costs and requires inaccessible technical expertise. This project seeks to:
(a) organize a self-funded APEC forum and a brainstorming workshop to share knowledge and discuss policy recommendations; (b) develop a digital handbook to disseminate the key outcomes to key stakeholders; and, (c) support the APEC Strategy for Green MSMEs as an APEC 2016 Peru deliverable. The forum and workshop will take place in June/July 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Summary of Proposed Budget (USD) : / APEC funding / Self-funding / Total
- / 55,000 / 55,000
Project Overseer Information and Declaration:
Name: Ms. Chanidabha Yuktadatta
Title: Third Secretary
Organization: Department of International Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand
Postal address: 443 Sri Ayudhya Road, Bangkok 10400, THAILAND
Tel: +662 203 5000 EXT. 14251 E-mail: ,
As Project Overseer and on behalf of the above said Organization, I declare that this submission was prepared in accordance with the Guidebook on APEC Projects and any ensuing project will comply with said Guidebook. Failure to do so may result in the BMC denying or revoking funding and/or project approval. I understand that any funds approved are granted on the basis of the information in the document’s budget table, in the case of any inconsistencies within the document.
Name of Project Overseer / Date
Project Details
SECTION A: Relevance to APEC
[Answers to questions 1–3 may be taken or adapted from the Concept Note]
1. Relevance: What problem or opportunity will the project address and why is it important? How will the project benefit APEC members and the region? Which Rank on this year’s APEC Funding Criteria does this project fall under? Briefly explain why. Is it also linked to other Ranks? If so, which topics and how?
Green economy is an important issue that APEC has been working on, in order to address the challenges of growing demand on the world’s energy and the resulting climate change consequences, which in turn, shape the new growth patterns. At the global level, the green economy is identified as a means for accomplishing the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the regional level, following the adoption of the APEC Growth Strategy in 2010, tremendous efforts have been made to achieve the green economy such as promoting low-carbon and energy efficient technologies and improving natural disaster resilience to mitigate climate-related risks in order to facilitate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) engagement in Global Value Chains (GVCs).
It is important to highlight that the green economy cannot be fully achieved without the participation of MSMEs, which account for over 97 percent of all enterprises in the Asia – Pacific region and are also the great source of innovation and employment. However, more efforts need to be made to raise awareness of MSMEs on the green economy, particularly those in developing economies. In the meantime, it is widely understood that green innovation and technology incurs higher cost and requires technical expertise. For this reason, MSMEs that face financial and human resources constraints may not be able to fully participate in greening activities.
APEC has the role to raise awareness of MSMEs on the green economy by promoting the economic benefits of the green economy to MSMEs, and proving that greening products and processes are not a cost, but a long-term investment towards sustainability. On the one hand, greening MSMEs can help reduce carbon emissions, decrease environmental degradation, improve energy and resource efficiency, as well as enhance food security. On the other hand, this process can enhance MSMEs’ competitiveness by allowing them to utilize modern technologies to develop green business models that enhance their capacity to engage in GVCs, as well as improving their market access, especially when facing emerging international environmental standards.
At the same time, APEC policymakers can create an enabling environment for MSMEs to engage in green activities, such as the adoption of green technologies, compliance to the international environmental standards and socially responsible investment, which would lead to the sustainable and inclusive Asia-Pacific. These instruments may include (a) the establishment of policy frameworks on the green economy (i.e. APEC-wide action plan on green MSMEs, mutual recognition of green certification); (b) financial and legal incentives (i.e. tax incentives, government procurement for eco-friendly products, preferential rate loans etc.); and; (c) capacity-building programs. In addition, best practices for greening MSMEs can be shared by larger to smaller firms to increase their opportunities in engaging in international markets where green standards are widely accepted.
This project aims at encouraging proprietors of MSMEs to consider the green economy as an approach to access international markets, in order to achieve sustainable growth. The expected outcome of the project will create better understanding for the proprietors of MSMEs, as well as APEC officials, on this issue and will enable them to be more adaptable to international trade and investment, as well as facilitating their integration to ‘greener’ GVCs.
This proposal directly links to: Rank 1 - MSME Modernization and integration in GVCs, including industries that promote green growth and green jobs, and implementation of the Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs and the Iloilo Initiative.
It also directly links to: Rank 2, the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth, which includes
(a) Inclusive Growth- Issues related to reducing economic disparities among APEC economies and to help members to participate in the regional trade and investment liberalization opportunities; and (b) Sustainable Growth- Energy efficiency, energy security and energy resiliency including the development of low carbon technology and alternative energy sources / Activities or issues related to safeguarding the quality of life through sustainable growth.
2. Objectives: Describe the 2-3 key objectives of the project. (e.g. to ensure workshop participants will be able to...; to create a framework...; to develop recommendations...; to build support...; to revise strategies...; to create an action plan; …improve capacity in; etc.)
· To raise awareness of MSMEs and government officials on the green economy including the benefits of green technologies, investments and standards;
· To disseminate best practices on the green economy in APEC; and,
· To explore possible means for APEC members to collaborate on creating a conducive environment for MSMEs to adopt green practices.
3. Alignment: Describe specific APEC priorities, goals, strategies, workplans and statements that the project supports, and explain how the project will help achieve them. Explain how it is aligned with your forum’s workplan / strategic plan.
This proposed project aligns well with the 2016 APEC’s theme of “Quality Growth and Human Development” as the green economy promotes inclusive and sustainable economic growth. At the same time, greening MSMEs also contributes to job creation in the green industries, and creates a resilient economy that provides a better quality of life for all people. In addition, the proposed project directly supports one of the APEC priorities for 2016: Towards the Modernization of MSMEs in the Asia-Pacific. Not only does it aim at promoting the use of green technologies, the project expects to enhance the competiveness of MSMEs through resource efficiency, the adoption of green innovation and environmental standards. Besides, it targets to strengthen MSMEs’ participation in international markets and GVCs.
Furthermore, the proposed project responds to the recently adopted Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs, and the APEC Growth Strategy adopted by the leaders in 2010. It will also contribute to the realization of the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth in 2020. The aforementioned strategy links the region’s economic growth with the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Similarly, the proposed project is in accordance with no.9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; and no. 12 Responsible Consumption and Production of the SDGs.
Most importantly, the project could be a stepping stone towards the implementation of an APEC Strategy for Green MSMEs, which was mentioned in Peru’s priorities for 2016.
In addition, the overall objective of this proposed project is to promote the benefits of the green economy to MSMEs by providing them information and guidelines on green industries, as well as pushing forward the creation of an enabling environment to enhance MSMEs’ opportunities in green markets and GVCs. Therefore, this proposed project strongly supports the key missions emphasized in the APEC SME Working Group’s Strategic Plan (2013-2016) including strengthening the participation and access to global markets for MSMEs; fostering the development of innovative and green MSMEs; and enabling policy, business and regulatory environments for MSMEs.
4. For TILF Special Account applications: Briefly describe how the project will contribute to APEC trade and investment liberalization and facilitation with reference to specific parts of the Osaka Action Agenda (Part 1, Section C and, where appropriate, Part 2).
For APEC Support Fund applications: Briefly describe how the project will support the capacity building needs of APEC developing economies, and how they will be engaged.
Not applicable
SECTION B: Project Impact
5. Outputs: Describe products or services that the project will create. This may include workshop, reports, tools, research papers, recommendations, best practices, action plans etc. [½ to ¾ page]
(1) APEC Forum on Promoting the Green Economy to MSMEs is the key deliverable of this project. The forum is expected to attract approximately 100 participants including APEC government officials, MSMEs, large enterprises, international organizations’ staff, and academia. At the forum, knowledge on the green economy will be shared by the experts (i.e. OECD, UNIDO, UNEP, etc.), whereas the representatives from APEC economies will be invited to present their best practices on greening MSMEs. The forum will also provide the opportunity for the public and private sectors to exchange views on this issue, as well as strengthen public-private partnership in achieving the green economy.
(2) Brainstorming Workshop will be held one day after the APEC forum and will be participated by approximately 25 APEC government officials. It is expected that the participants will have an active discussion on how to create an enabling environment for MSMEs’ engagement in greening activities and practices. The expected deliverables of this workshop is a set of policy recommendations to APEC Leaders which could also support the launch of APEC Strategy for Green MSMEs.
(3) Digital Handbook will be developed to summarize the forum and workshop’s outcomes, as well as the policy recommendations for APEC decision-makers. The handbook will be disseminated online (i.e. via email, website).
6. Outcomes: Describe the specific changes the outputs are expected to achieve in the medium-term. What changes in policy, processes or behaviour will the project lead to? [½ to ¾ page]
Although the green initiatives are highlighted in the APEC Growth Strategy (2010), few linkages have been made between the green economy and MSMEs. The project aims at promoting the values of the green economy to MSMEs in APEC, while recognizing the importance of creating an enabling environment where MSMEs can take part in green activities in a cost-effective manner. Thus, the outcomes of the project will contribute to the launch of APEC Strategy for Green MSMEs, as per APEC 2016 Peru’s priorities.
The aforementioned strategy will set clear guidelines for future activities on this issue in APEC such as seminars, research studies and capacity-building programs. Likewise, the project will emphasize the importance of green activities in the revised SME Working Group’s Strategic Plan in 2017, and the Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs.
Also, one of the medium-term outputs of this project would be to promote the mechanism of APEC-wide mutual recognition of green certification, which could facilitate MSMEs’ engagement in green activities, as well as their access to international markets by lowering the cost and facilitating the attainment of international standards certification.
Moreover, it is highly expected that the project will promote cross-fora collaboration in APEC. Aside from SME WG, the green economy is a cross-cutting issue in various APEC fora such as EWG, CTI, IEG, EPWG, OFWG, TWG, ATCWG, TPTWG, PPSTI, PPFS and ABAC, among others. Therefore, there could be more activities relating to the green economy in the aforementioned fora.
7. Beneficiaries: Who are the direct project participants and users of the outputs? Describe their qualifications, level of expertise, roles/level of responsibility, gender, economies represented, government departments, APEC fora involvement etc.. Explain how they will use and benefit from the outputs. Who else will benefit from the project and how?
1). MSMEs proprietors are considered as the direct beneficiaries of this project. For the forum, they will mainly engage as the audience, whereas the successful green MSMEs will be invited to share their experiences with others.
2). APEC Government Officials are also the beneficiaries and target participants for both the forum and workshop. Particularly, APEC government officials are expected to play an active role in the brainstorming workshop to discuss the possible enabling conditions to engage MSMEs to adopt green practices.
3). Large Enterprises would benefit indirectly from the project as MSMEs, which are their business partners and suppliers, would be more efficient and competitive after adopting green technologies and standards. Also, the green companies will be invited to share their best practices with the smaller firms at the forum.