Eco-Products International Fair 2005
6–8 October 2005, Bangkok, Thailand

His Excellency Sora-at Klinpratoom, Minister of Information and Communication Technology; Mr. Koichi Hirata, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan; Mr. Praphad Phodhivorakhun, Chairman, Federation of Thai Industries; Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), I would like to welcome you all to the Opening Ceremony of the Eco-products International Fair (EPIF) 2005. This fair is the first of its kind to be held in Thailand and is a very important event not only for the APO but also for Asia and the Pacific region including the host country of Thailand.

We at the APO feel honored and privileged to be a co-organizer of this landmark event, together with the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thailand Productivity Institute (FTPI). I would like to express our utmost appreciation to the Honorable [Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra] for gracing this occasion in spite of his busy schedule.

The APO has been advocating the concept of Green Productivity or GP—a strategy for harmonizing productivity enhancement with environmental protection—for some time. In 2003, in collaboration with about 40 leading Japanese corporations, the APO established the GP Advisory Committee or GPAC, whose role is to advise and support the APO in implementing GP-related activities by sharing the rich experience of those companies in environmental management. Subsequently, the GPAC identified three core activities in the field of greening supply chains, one of which was organizing an eco-products exhibition on a regular basis in Asia.

In September last year, the first EPIF was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where 77 exhibitors showcased their eco-friendly products and services covering consumer goods to materials for manufacturing. That fair was a great success, drawing sizable crowds. This year’s EPIF is a sequel to that event. Only this time, it is bigger—well over 200 booths versus 135 booths—is obviously more technologically advanced in terms of contents, and is likely to attract a much larger crowd of 30,000 compared with 12,000 last year. I appreciate the commitment and support of the many Japanese, Thai, and international companies that are participating in the EPIF 2005 by displaying their eco-products and -services.

In the industrial civilization of the 20th century, economic development inevitably increased the consumption of resources and energy as well as the discharge of substances that place a burden on the environment. In the 21st century, we must change this. For this purpose, we need to promote eco-innovations at every level, including technical, policy management, and individual lifestyle, and disseminate such innovations swiftly in society. Organizing international eco-product exhibitions is probably one of the best ways to disseminate the latest innovations and promote future ones. As we organize an Asian eco-products fair every year, I am hoping that the region will see accelerating trends in GP, eco-design, and eco-products.

Because of space and other limitations, the EPIF 2005 can cover only selected eco-products from Japan and some other Asian countries. To supplement this, we have just published the Eco-products Directory 2005 which lists numerous eco-materials, eco-components, and eco-products as well as eco-services. It is a great honor for us to take this opportunity to present a copy of the directory to Honorable Minister Sora-at Klinpratoom.

Before concluding, I would like to express my gratitude to a number of organizations and individuals who have made tremendous contributions to the EPIF 2005. I would like to record my deep appreciation to Federation of Thai Industries led by Mr. Praphad Phodhivorakhun and to the FTPI led by Dr. Phanit Laosirirat for their commitment to this historic event. I must also express many thanks to the members of the GPAC, particularly its two Vice Chairmen who are present at this opening ceremony, Mr. Masatoshi Yoda, Corporate Adviser of Ebara Corporation, and Professor Ryoichi Yamamoto of Tokyo University.

I hope that this international fair will create the momentum for similar events in other APO member countries to make an eco-friendly world a reality.

Thank you very much for your attention.

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