Asia Inc Forum wants environment conference to be business-centric
Ying Chia
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
ASIA Inc Forum wants the National Environment Conference (NEC) to tackle more “business-centric” topics, said a representative.
“Asia Inc Forum’s programme revolves around what is relevant. As such, it is difficult to say what next year’s discussion topics might be. However, we plan to be more business-centric and involve the youth in the discussions,” said Andrew Dy, general manager at Asia Inc Forum.
“We recognise that the power lies in businesses to make the change. With the Green Building Council proposed, this may lead to a whole world of new opportunities. As future leaders, the youth are important drivers in the years to come,” he said.
According to a post-mortem of the conference from Asia Inc Forum, Brunei Darussalam should be looking at developing legislation to “facilitate improvements in environmental performance, whilst acting as a framework for identifying and addressing the long-term impacts of a company’s activities” as key stakeholders also called for a holistic understanding of the Environmental Impact Assessment system that would encompass social and health considerations generally as well as within projects for development.
Asked what Asia Inc might be looking into, in lieu of this finding, Dy said the think tank would continue to raise recommendations in key forums and media, to promote greater understanding of sustainable business practices.
“In doing so, we hope this would lead to discussions in the government around incentives that will encourage businesses to embrace greener practices,” he added.
Asia Inc Forum started the environment conference in 2008 as a platform for engaging the public and private sector on the issues of environmental stewardship by encouraging people to discuss, dialogue and debate about the future of Brunei, said Dy.
He added that by bringing the right stakeholders into the conference, the National Environment Conference becomes a platform for discussing priorities for a sustainable future.
“For example, the issues of green buildings, waste management and the role of alternative energies were raised in NEC 2008 and since then have received attention and have propelled action.”
Together with corporate partners, Asia Inc has continued to “recognise the need to bring new ideas that act as a catalyst for awareness of environmental and sustainability issues. Our role is to stimulate thought around these and other key issues with the view to cultivate tangible results in support of the vision of the government,” he said.
In his opening speech at the conference, Minister of Development Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Hj Osman said a baseline and targets are essential “to chart the journey towards success and that for Brunei to plan its journey towards sustainability, it needs to know where it currently stands so that it can tell how far it has travelled”.
The Brunei Times