Part I. Summary of Findings1

PART I. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS1 Mary Schlarb Cornell University INTRODUCTION The International Symposium on Management of Industrial Estates Through Green Productivity (GP) took place in Penang, Malaysia, from 19 to 21 September 2000. The Asian Productivity Organization organized and implemented the meeting in conjunction with the Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI). The National Productivity Corporation (NPC) of Malaysia hosted the meeting. The course had three principle objectives: 1) to promote the importance of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) principles to planning of industrial estates through the adoption of Green Productivity (GP) principles. 2) To establish a linkage between the GP concept and the EMS now at the disposal of industrial estate managers and planners for improved management of estates. 3) To formulate recommendations on the actions necessary for capacity building by developing guidance documents to enable estate managers to apply good environmental management systems and tools based on the GP concept and methodology. To achieve these goals, the workshop incorporated a series of lectures, group discussions, country paper presentations, and site visits. Twenty-five participants from 14 countries participated in the workshop. The participants represented a broad range of public- and private sector organizations, all engaged in some manner with the environmental management of industrial estates. Represented institutions included national departments/ministries of environment and/or industry; private corporations; industrial estate authorities/boards; pollution control boards; boards of investment; non-profit environmental organizations; and individual industrial estate management firms. The symposium began with presentations and participant discussions of the conceptual framework for green productivity and eco-industrial development. The panel of resource persons provided summaries of new trends in planning and development of industrial estates internationally, and participants presented papers on current industrial estate environmental management from their countries. Discussions focused on the environmental management of existing states, establishing appropriate systems for new estates, and promoting and marketing environmentally friendly industrial estates. BACKGROUND The time is ripe for introducing green productivity, eco-industrial development, and environmental management of industrial estates in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past decades Asia has experienced unprecedented industrial growth, with a focus on 1 These proceedings were edited by Mary Schlarb and Judy Musnikow, Cornell University Work and Environment Initiative. the development of industrial estates and industrial zones. While this increased industrial activity has brought positive economic benefits to the region, it has caused the negative environmental effects associated with production. Pollution of air, water, and land; industrial noise pollution, and solid waste management all remain serious obstacles to environmental sustainability, human health, and economic development. In some countries industrial pollutants have been increasing, while the rate of economic development has been slow. At this relatively early juncture of industrialization, however, public and private stakeholders have a unique opportunity to build infrastructure and adopt technologies and systems that are more environmentally and socially responsible. Green productivity strategies and environmental management principles offer concrete alternatives for accomplishing these social and environmental goals. Participants grappled with the question of how to apply GP approaches adopted in the North to the developing economies of the South. This issue of application to individual contexts—both in the North and South—is an important one. It is essential that industrial estate managers adapt the GP approach to each site and its local context. Each site possesses a different set of variables, meaning each will experience an individualized range of barriers and outcomes. This Symposium allowed participants to address common issues and help individual participants develop ways to tackle special local challenges. HIGHLIGHTS OF COUNTRY PAPERS The country papers indicated that a varying degree of environmental management of industrial estates is occurring throughout the region. Each country represents a unique point in the development and application of GP principles, with clear environmental advances in each case. While some are more advanced in integrating GP principles into the industrial landscape, each country has in place a system of environmental policies and regulations to foster the sound environmental management of industrial estates. EMS infrastructure and processes are also becoming more common in most of the countries. The country papers, however, also underscored a series of challenges individual countries are facing in implementing GP and environmental principles. Policy and regulatory barriers, financial constraints, outdated and problematic management systems, socio-economic variables all hinder planning and implementation of GP and eco-industrial principles. Below is a summary of specific challenges highlighted in the country papers: Political/Regulatory • Coping with rapidly transitioning economies in a new context of trade liberalization. • The location of industrial districts is often decided by politics and regionalism, instead of from a business perspective. • Historically in some countries, legal frameworks are based on colonial laws/policies focused on exploitation of natural resources and revenue collection, rather than conservation or resource management or setting development parameters. • Limited staff and financial resources, and often corruption and week institutional support, limit capacity to enforce regulations. Financial • Unavailability of loans • Economic downturns and the Asian financial crisis have led to the closure of many businesses. • Businesses fail or hesitate to pay service charges. • Enterprises within industrial estates disagree on sharing of cost of repairs and maintenance of buildings. • Some industrial districts not running at a profit. • Lack of sufficient funds for repair and maintenance, infrastructure, enforcement, etc. • Resources available for investment are constrained by the larger need of resources for national security. Management Systems • Outdated industrial district system and a lack of clear policy on industrial district development • The relationship between management and industries is strained. Cooperation between industrialists and government in the maintenance of services in estates is problematic • Demand by tenants for new and efficient services to meet modern demands. • Industrial estates management by both public and private entities has led to confusion. Socio-Economic Conditions • Land occupancy and tenure. • Crime and the hiring of security persons • Shortage of qualified manpower • Lack of worker accommodations • Lack of common amenities • Lack of training facilities • Poor worker nutrition and healthcare • Labor/management disputes. Technology and Infrastructure • Shortage and loss of water distribution. • Limited data on pollution and other environmental indicators. • Need for proper/economical method of disposing waste. • Inadequate storm water drainage facilities. • Inadequate transport facilities. • Inadequate road network and facilities around the industrial estate. Rather than merely offering laundry lists of problems, however, the country papers offer clear direction on how to overcome these challenges. First and foremost, there was agreement that industrial management systems must integrate environmental considerations into the design and implementation of activities. Some countries are more advanced than other in this regard, while others are only beginning to think about ways to accomplish this integration. Suggested policy mechanisms include updated environmental protection acts that better specify standards, norms, and criteria for environmental protection and which require environmental impact assessments. Many countries have already instituted policies stipulating that high-polluting firms must be located in industrial estates with treatment facilities. Central and local governments can establish institutions and authorities that are responsive to challenges, act transparently, and coordinate with related agencies for streamlined and effective environmental management direction and enforcement of environmental regulations. At the same time, businesses must be encouraged to adopt voluntary GP measures through incentives and awareness raising. In many cases, business, social, and cultural attitudes about the environment must be fundamentally improved through promotion and awareness-raising programs for the public, businesses, and employees marketing the benefits of environmental improvement. Demonstration projects already exist which can educate businesses and employees about best practices for GP and eco- industrial development. Taking this new approach to integrating GP and other environmental management approaches into conventional industrial development regimes is a daunting process. It is clear that this cannot be accomplished through the efforts of one entity or sector, whether public or private. The Symposium participants therefore suggest the need to form public-private partnerships to build institutional and individual environmental capacities.

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