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* Atleast Project Title is Required.
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Project No. |
SME 05 2011A
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Project Title |
Green Initiative Study and Workshop
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Project Status |
Completed Project
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Publication (if any) |
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Fund Account |
APEC Support Fund
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Sub-fund |
ASF: General Fund
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Project Year |
2011
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Project Session |
Session 1
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APEC Funding |
80,240
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Co-funding Amount |
19,800
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Total Project Value |
100,040
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Sponsoring Forum |
Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG)
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Topics |
Small and Medium Enterprises
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Committee |
SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE)
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Other Fora Involved |
Not Applicable / Other
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Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved |
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Proposing Economy(ies) |
Korea
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Co-Sponsoring Economies |
Indonesia; Japan; Chinese Taipei
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Expected Start Date |
20/04/2011
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Expected Completion Date |
31/12/2012
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Project Proponent Name 1 |
Kun Bok Lee
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Job Title 1 |
Not Applicable
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Organization 1 |
Small and medium Business Corporation
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Postal Address 1 |
103 Yeouigil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-718, Korea
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Telephone 1 |
+82 2 769 6703
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Fax 1 |
+82 2 769 6959
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Email 1 |
kunlee64@sbc.or.kr
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Project Proponent Name 2 |
Not Applicable
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Job Title 2 |
Not Applicable
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Organization 2 |
Not Applicable
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Postal Address 2 |
Not Applicable
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Telephone 2 |
Not Applicable
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Fax 2 |
Not Applicable
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Email 2 |
Not Applicable
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Declaration |
Not Applicable
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Project Summary |
This project aims to implement the Green Initiative through a two-step process: an in-depth study into the Green Initiative and a workshop to disseminate the findings of the study. The Green Initiative is the follow-up to the highly successful Daegu Initiative. At the 2010 APEC SME Ministerial Meeting in Japan, the ministers stressed that “the Daegu Initiative has successfully completed its first cycle (2006-2010). We welcomed the “Green Initiative” as the second cycle and look forward to participation and support of APEC member economies.”
The main objectives of the study are to define the areas and elements which will be examined in the Green Initiative and to develop a Green Action Plans (GAPs) template. Korea will lead the study on the Green Initiative and create a team of two researchers and green policy experts from two economies as consultants. The project will also finance a workshop to disseminate the study finding in Sept. 2011 on the margin of the APEC SMEWG meeting in Thailand. During the workshop, results of the Green Initiative study including summaries of GAPs will be presented, and member economies will present their initial GAPs for discussion. Recommendations for further discussion will be also covered. |
Relevance |
Recent natural and political events have reminded us of the need for a paradigm shift - to incorporate rational management of the environment and sustainable growth into the concept of economic growth and welfare. This new paradigm of "green growth" includes the concept of environmental protection and low carbon emissions, but must also strive beyond these concepts - to look at sustainable growth and environmental management as opportunities for new innovative growth rather than burdens.
Many economies, including the APEC economies have incorporated the values of such "Green Growth" into its public, economic, environmental and welfare policies. For example, Korea presented 'low carbon green growth' as a new national vision for the next 60 years. Since then, Korea has been aggressively pursuing green growth through establishing and implementing new government policies and goals designed to facilitate green growth.
However, environmental issues are rarely limited to national borders. Because carbon emissions or pollution, effects of environmental degradation do not care for nationalities and have high negative externality effects, international cooperation and global response are required. APEC is uniquely positioned for encouraging international cooperation and partnership to protect the environment and initiate international green growth cooperation.
In 2010, APEC Leaders set forth the “Growth Strategy” to provide a comprehensive long-term framework for promoting high-quality growth in the region. One of the sub-strategies, Sustainable Growth, will promote green growth in APEC economies. The Growth Strategy will be implemented out to 2015. As part of the Growth Strategy, various Action Plans will be supported and promoted through specific Work Programs that involve Ministerial meetings, committees, and extensive regional networks of experts.
APEC has already begun diverse green growth projects and projects to monitor and lower carbon emissions. The Green Initiative intends to build on such foundations by taking stock of green growth policies in place or under consideration by APEC member economies, and allow sharing of best practices and experiences on green growth policies. This process would be especially helpful to developing economies as it will bring them up to date on the state of green policies in other developed and developing economies, as well as allow all economies, including the developing economies to share state-of-the-art policy information. Further, the project allows the developing economies to emphasize sustainable growth in their policy agenda, and will stimulate discussions among APEC member economies on best policy paths toward sustainable growth.
APEC economies face dual challenges of climate change and rising energy price. The latter poses particular threats to energy intensive industries while the former affects all constituents of each member economy. The study on green growth areas and elements will create a platform for sharing best policies and practices that will eventually lead to increased energy efficiency and GHG reduction as well as more competitive SMEs in APEC economies. Thus, it is highly relevant for APEC to invest significant resources into tackling this matter head on. |
Objectives |
This project aims to implement the first component of the Green Initiative through a two-step process: an in-depth study into the Green Initiative and a workshop to disseminate the findings of the study. The Green Initiative is designed to provide a framework and suggest a blueprint to incorporate "green" elements to SME policies in APEC economies, and is the follow-up to the highly successful Daegu Initiative. Daegu Initiative allowed the member economies to report their SME innovation policies in seven crucial policy areas through a framework of Innovation Action Plans. The member economies reported their policies, best practices and the Innovation Action Plan report, which was then used to draw up a summary report giving the state-of-play and best practices of APEC member economies' SME innovation policies The final report (presented to the Ministers) of the First Cycle of the Daegu Initiative will be used as a model. At the 2010 APEC SME Ministerial Meeting in Japan, the ministers stressed that “the Daegu Initiative has successfully completed its first cycle (2006-2010). We [the Ministers] welcomed the “Green Initiative” as the second cycle and look forward to participation and support of APEC member economies.” The planned modification of the Daegu Initiative framework, as well as the emphasis on green policies have been presented in workshops held before the SME WG meetings in 2010.
The main objectives of the study are to define the areas and elements which will be examined in the Green Initiative and to develop a Green Action Plans (GAPs) template. Korea will lead the study on the Green Initiative. Research team will consist of two researchers from Korea who will be responsible for selecting areas and elements for examination and determining the framework and template for GAPs. The team will also include two green policy experts from two economies to advise on the methodology and direction of the Initiative as consultants. GAP is a format and framework, similar to the Individual Action Plans of CTI and the Innovation Action Plans of the Daegu Initiative that can be used by the member economies to report their green growth SME policies.. It lists various areas and elements that the member economies should report on, and gives guidelines on how the member economies should report their policies for each element in question. To reduce burdens on member economies (a problem we found in the Daegu Initiative), GAP will concentrate on green policy issues, and will examine only crucial areas of policy, rather than strive to be a comprehensive overarching document. Tentatively, we plan on having four areas with about four policy elements in each area that asks each member economy to report on - this is roughly half of the elements requested in the Daegu Initiative. This year (2011) we will concentrate only on two areas. The individual economy GAPs will be made available publicly, and also summarized in a study, This study will be published and circulated for discussion and further use in the Green Initiative. (Two areas this year as a part of this project, and all areas next year for the Ministerial).
The project will also finance a workshop to disseminate the study finding in Sept. 2011 on the margin of the APEC SMEWG meeting in Thailand. During the workshop, results of the Green Initiative study including summaries of GAPs will be presented, and member economies will present their initial GAPs GAPs(two of the four areas) for discussion. Recommendations for further discussion will be also covered. The results of this workshop will be summarized in a second report in October. (The remaining areas will be covered in 2012. Results from the four areas of the GAP and the two workshops will be summarized and presented to SME WG and the Ministers in 2012). While the areas and elements examined in the Green Initiative has not been finalized, it is likely to include policies dealing with fostering green technologies, human resources and information sharing and capacity building. Further, when we get an idea of the current state of play for green growth policies in APEC economies, it should be easier to work out further cooperative mechanisms to promote green technologies and growth among APEC economies.
Through the study and the workshop, as well as through the wider framework of the Green Initiative, we aim to have the APEC economies share best practices on green SME policies and upgrade their SME policies to incorporate more "green" elements, so that APEC economies can strengthen mutual understanding as well as facilitate cooperation on SME-related green policy issues and green-related business cooperation. |
Alignment |
APEC has been engaged in studies of important SME related issues since 1989, and held SME Ministerial since 1994 . Examining and sharing SME related policies and discussion of SME related economic environment as well as sharing information and peer reviews through APEC have vastly improved knowledge and policy capacity of SME ministries in APEC economies, contributing to two of the three main pillars of APEC: business facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation. In addition, the SME related discussions have played a role in the other pillar, trade and investment liberalization and facilitation as well by recognizing the role of international trade and investment on SMEs.
Daegu Initiative, which examined SME innovation policies of APEC member economies between 2006-2010 contributed greatly to information sharing and improving the SME innovation policy capacity of member economies. The Green Initiative is designed as a follow up project to the Daegu Initiative, and will follow similar proven mechanism to examine green growth policies of APEC member economies.
This project, by implementing the first stage of the Green Initiative will also further the green growth agenda of APEC. Most APEC member economies have begun to pay great attention to green growth and sustainable growth policies. APEC, as seen in <Table 1>, has begun several green growth projects as well. Given the attention green growth and sustainable growth is receiving in member economies, programs encompassing the wider nature of green growth / sustainable growth is required.
<Table 1> Green Growth Projects in APEC
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I. Reduction of Carbon Emissions |
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1. To introduce and implement a peer review mechanism on energy efficiency |
EWG |
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2. To introduce and implement a peer review mechanism on non-fossil fuel energy related policies |
EWG |
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3. To promote the dissemination of low-carbon technologies through the “Low-Carbon Model Town Project,” |
EWG |
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4. To undertake activities to analyze and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful energy consumption |
EWG |
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5. To promote energy conservation activities through the introduction of more energy efficient ICT devices and systems |
TELWG |
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6. To exchange information on the impact of aviation on climate change and review systems for more effective and efficient transportation operations |
TPTWG |
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7. To highlight sustainable development as a key action area and support related projects and action plans |
ISTWG |
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8. To implement a project on Green Finance |
SFOM |
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II. Promotion and Dissemination of Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) |
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1. To implement the APEC EGS work program |
CTI |
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2. To provide the latest information on EGS through the APEC EGSIE (EGS Information Exchange) website |
MAG |
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3. To develop activities to facilitate trade of energy efficient products through work on standards and conformance to such standards |
SCSC |
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4. To conduct a mapping exercise on energy efficiency standards, labeling, and testing and measurement procedures for electric appliances |
EGEE&C |
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5. To review and promote sustainable tourism measures |
TWG |
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6. To promote ecotourism which serves to sustain the natural environment and prosperity of local communities |
GOS/TWG | |
TILF/ASF Justification |
APEC developing economies often demand to learn economic development policies of more developed countries in the region such as that of Republic of Korea and there are a number of established agencies transferring experience of its economic development in the past. However, the old policies may be less relevant today than it was, as a need for low carbon economic growth model with vastly improved energy and resource efficiency is increasingly evident. The green SME initiative project aims to draw attention of developing member economies by presenting what should be the new focus of their SME development efforts. In order to ensure active participation of member economies, a draft research report will be presented early on for feedback and researchers will provide monthly updates on progress for improvement. Then the green initiative workshop will be held on the sidelines of the APEC SMEWG Meeting in Thailand in September, 2011, where project outputs will be presented for review and discussion . Lastly, the project outcomes can be used as a template for future green initiatives following completion of the project. |
Beneficiaries and Outputs |
The direct project beneficiaries would be SME policy development officials in the APEC region. The Green Initiative would provide them with valuable information on SME policies and best practices. The information would also help them in monitoring local business environments and developing support policies conducive to green SMEs.
The end beneficiaries, however, could only be the SMEs of member economies. They would be able to reap the fruits in the form of a green business friendly environment and government support policies.
The project aims to strengthen cooperative ties between SMEs and APEC SME development officials. The APEC Innovation Conference is planned for April. In September, the Green Initiative Workshop is scheduled, where GAPs and best practices are shared for the purpose of expanding business cooperation potential and developing more advanced green policies for SMEs. GAPs, best practices and other outputs will be published on the APEC SME Innovation Center website. The framework of GAP will allow the project to be more disciplined by allowing the economies to focus their descriptions on specific policies and be more organized. Individual GAPs will also be used to draw the workshop report, which will publicize and compare various green SME policies in these Areas to other APEC economies, developed and developing. We believe such data and information sharing will be especially helpful to developing economies to see how other economies are preparing for the future green economy, and set domestic agendas. Further, the information will be helpful to APEC SME WG in setting a possible green agenda in the medium term future. |
Dissemination |
The final reports will be uploaded to the APEC website for wider distribution.
The target audience includes SME policy development officials and SMEs in the APEC region.
Media publicity as well as publication on the APEC SME Innovation Center and APEC website.
Final outputs arising from the project will be disseminated via APEC SME Working Group Members |
Gender |
There is a growing awareness that women play a very critical role in a low carbon, green growth economy. It is because businesses and production facilities can only do so much to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adopt eco-friendly practices. Indeed, committed households can make a huge difference in saving energy and reducing carbon footprint. Also, many of the entrepreneurs in green SMEs are likely to be women, Thus, green SME policies engage women as well as men. As such, the project explores ways to raise awareness of green SME opportunities for women and improve facilitate action among women.
Aware of the reality, the project will do what it can to promote women’s participation. More specifically, the APEC member economy delegation may include female CEOs of small businesses, and female participants can be encouraged to actively participate in workshops. In addition, we intend to bring together women and explore ways to promote green growth. In other words, we aim to elicit more awareness and participation in low carbon, green growth from the female circle. |
Work Plan |
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Timeline |
Description |
Output |
Remarks |
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March-April |
Step 1 Adapt the methodology of the Daegu Initiative for the Green Initiative (to be continued through April)
Ÿ Set requirements, timetables and schedules for the Green Initiative based on the Daegu Initiative template;
Ÿ Establish format for Green Action Plan (GAP) report
Ÿ Member economies are asked to recommend green policy experts capable of producing quality Green Initiative reports.
Ÿ A taskforce team on Green Initiative will be led by two Korean researchers together with green experts from two economies. Green experts will advise on the methodology and direction of the initiative as consultants. |
Preparation period |
Search for Researchers |
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April |
Step 1 : (To be continued)
Step 2 : Select areas and elements for inclusion in the Green Initiative
Ÿ Areas are the Green and sustainable growth policy areas that are to be examined in GAP;
Ÿ Elements are specific policies within each area that the GAP will query the member economies on
Ÿ Consultants are expected to select about 4 areas with 3-5 elements each
Step 3 : A preliminary Green Initiative report is prepared
Ÿ A preliminary Green Initiative report is put on the table explaining its requirements, formats, and timetables as well as areas and elements for inclusion in GAP(Green Innovation Action Plan)
Step 4: The preliminary report is disseminated to member economies for subsequent input collection.
Ÿ Input is collected subsequently mobilizing on-line and off-line resources
Step 5: The APEC SME Green Innovation Conference is held on April 19-20.
Ÿ During the conference, the preliminary Green Initiative report will be presented. |
1) Preliminary report drafted
2) Conference held |
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May |
Step 6: The Green Initiative Report is presented for approval.
Ÿ The 18th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting is held in the United States, where Green Initiative and GAP (Green Action Plans) templates – areas and elements included – will be presented for approval |
1) Green Action Plans |
The 18th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting held in USA |
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June-Aug. |
Step 7: APEC member economies prepare GAPs and best practice reports.
Ÿ Green policy experts and officials from APEC member economies are encouraged to draft Green Action Plans and best practices on designated policy areas
Step 8: National Green Action Plans are compiled and a compilation report is prepared.
Ÿ Korea compiles the GAPs submitted by member economies and drafts a compilation report, which includes summaries and recommendation. |
1) Compilation report of Green Action Plans |
Recommendations laid out on producing a compilation report |
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Sep.
- Oct. |
Step 9: The Green Initiative Workshop is held in Thailand, where each economy shares its Green Action Plans.
Step 10: Prepare a final report combining GAPs submitted by member economies, recommendations, feedback discussed during the Green Initiative Workshop |
1) Workshop |
The 33rd APEC SME Working Group Meeting | |
Risks |
· Low interest in participation or in using results
- Faced with the recent oil price hikes and nuclear emergency in Japan, member economies are increasingly interested in energy efficiency improvement and green growth model. Experts from two member economies will get involved from an early stage of research to ensure that its outcomes are both relevant and interesting enough for the majority of member economies. A draft research report will also be shared with member economies early on for feedback. In the Daegu Initiative, we found that the long term nature (5 years) of the project reduced members' participation. Thus, the Green Initiative is designed to run for only two years with about four areas and about sixteen elements (less than half the number of elements compared to the Daegu Initiative). Further, while the workshop and the report for the two areas of the Green Initiative will be held this year, the final report for the Ministers will be written next year, so the Workshop can be used to facilitate participation by member economies.
· Duplication of work of other APEC and non-APEC fora
- Chances for duplication of the green SME initiative are relatively low because research efforts on low carbon or green industry with a focus on SMEs have been relatively scarce. However, we will conduct an analysis of publications by other APEC fora and studies by comparable organizations such as the OECD to minimize duplication.
· Delays or untimely preparation Deadline for research draft has been set for mid April as a measure of ensuring timely completion of the project by the completion date of September. Researchers will be required to report research progress on a monthly basis, ensuring timely completion and quality management. Preparatory work and preliminary research has already begun with two Korean researchers. |
Monitoring and Evaluation |
· Monitoring:
- Researchers will be required to share research progress on a monthly basis to ensure timely delivery of the final output
The research progress status will be shared with member economies and feedback will be collected to ensure that the project is on track in terms of both timing and relevance to developing member economies.
· Evaluation methods
- The template for Green Action Plans, which is the end result of the study, will be submitted for approval at the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting in May. The formal approval will confer legitimacy on the report
- The Workshop in September will use the GAP template and serve as a venue for member economies to present GAPs on two of the designated areas and best practices. A compilation report will be distributed at the meeting, and published on the website afterwards
- The workshop will also provide an opportunity for member economies to comment on quality and relevance of the project outputs. - - The comments by participants of member economies at the workshop in September will be recorded and analyzed carefully to assess effectiveness of the project results.
- Evaluation will take place in form of discussion at the workshop. An e-mail survey will also be conducted for more detailed feedback on the result of the project.
- Comment by participants of the workshop and survey result will be analyzed to improve the framework with emphasis on making the project result more accessible to end users. |
Linkages |
Engagement: A preliminary stocktaking of projects relevant to green growth has been conducted and the result indicates that work of EWG, TELWG, ISTWG and SCSC could be particularly relevant. Therefore, efforts will be made for consultation with EWG, TELWG, ISTWG and SCSC organizers. An effort will be made to look into SFOM for information on more active policies that encourage green SME development. Also, the project outcomes will be shared with relevant APEC organizations to maximize benefits of the project and help other fora avoid duplication in their future projects. The link among aforementioned fora needs to be strengthened and effort will be made to communicate progress of the project in order to raise awareness on needs for close collaboration.
Previous Work: The preliminary stocktaking of APEC projects indicates that work of EWG, which focus on energy efficiency is particularly relevant to green growth initiative. Review of EWG and work of other relevant fora will be conducted in an early phase of the research. However, given the importance of green development for the future, SMEs must participate and play a role, so SME WG should take an initiative. Preliminary research results will be shared with relevant fora to minimize duplication in the final research report. Review of OECD’s recent report on green growth will also be conducted to minimize duplication and build on findings of previous studies. As for relevant projects in the APEC SME Working group, the Daegu Initiative has completed its first cycle (2006-2010) and is deemed a success. The Daegu Initiative helped create an economic and policy environment conducive to SME innovation in the APEC region and to identify cooperative measures based on voluntary reviews, and share policy experiences among member economies. Based on the lessons learned from the first cycle, the second cycle is designed for a much shorter time-frame of two years; and it will only examine green growth, focusing efforts.
APEC’s comparative advantage: APEC is the largest group of economies which accounts for almost half of global production output and trade. Therefore, impact of lessons shared and improved energy efficiency entail multiplication effects. APEC is also an organization with member economies of wide ranging economic status with strong economic and business oriented objectives including a focus on trade liberalization, business facilitation, economic and technical cooperation. Therefore, it stands a greater chance of demonstrating economic and trade benefits of green growth compared to the European Union and OECD which often focus on improved sustainability of advanced nations. With many developing member economies on board who aim to reach a higher level of economic development, its research and workshop results on green growth stand a better chance of being adopted as many members economies are not ‘locked into’ particular technologies unlike more developed economies. |
Sustainability |
The project will seek to strengthen cooperative ties between SMEs and APEC SME development officials by providing a foundation for discussion on what government can do for SMEs in which priority areas.For instance, the areas and elements defined in the project will allow government of member economies to have more in-depth discussion with the SMEs with greater focus.
The APEC SME Green Innovation Conference is planned for April. In September, the Green Initiative Workshop is scheduled, where GAPs and best practices are shared for the purpose of expanding business cooperation potential and advancing green policies for SMEs. GAPs, best practices and other outputs will be published on the APEC SME Innovation Center website.
The direct project beneficiaries would be SME policy development officials in the APEC region. The Green Initiative would provide them with valuable information on SME policies and best practices. The information would also help them in monitoring local business environments and developing support policies conducive to green SMEs. The end beneficiaries, however, could only be the SMEs of member economies. They would be able to reap the fruits in the form of a green business friendly environment and government support policies.
After SMEs of member economies taste the benefit of green growth policies, the demand for best practice in green growth areas is expected to increase, creating demand for another round of GAP sharing and exchange of experience. The research result from the project will reduce cost of subsequent meetings as a ready-made template for exchange of policy framework and green action plans. It would also be possible to use web seminars for subsequent meetings and follow up of GAP to minimize cost for future exchange among member economies.
In case, the first round of activities does not result in popular demand on green initiative, the Korea post will continue to communicate success stories in Korea and other contributing member economies, using its own resource such as web sites and newsletters to stimulate interest and demand in green initiative.
The GAPs are needed to be used and implemented in order to ensure sustainability of the project, and to give some framework and discipline to reporting by member economies. GAP allows the policy information to be more focused for the reporting economies, and be more organized for easier comprehension by the readers of the report, as well as serve as raw material for the workshop report to be written this year, and the final Green Initiative Report to be written next year. The project team will encourage use of GAP by communicating detailed benefits and success stories.
Lack of developing countries’ ability to translate the policy direction could threaten sustainability. The Green Initiative is designed as a two year program. Future activities of the Green Initiative will be designed to address such concerns. |
Project Overseers |
Project overseer is Jung-Bae Park (Tel: +82 2 769 6840, Email: pjb21c@sbc.or.kr), general manager of the Global Cooperation Department at SBC, Korea. Since joining SBC in 1980, he has acquired a wide range of experience in providing SMEs with both financial and non-financial support. As one of initiators of the International Cooperation Program in 1987, he was instrumental in laying the foundations of the program. With his extensive experiences in the international cooperation field, he has also been involved in assisting SMEs on site by working at regional offices of SBC.
The main point of contact responsible for this project is Jiae Yang (Tel: +82 2 769 6703, Email:jiaeyang@sbc.or.kr), assistance manager of the Global Cooperation Department at SBC. Since joining SBC in 2007, she has acquired diverse experience in assisting SMEs with industrial cooperation support. As an effective link to Europe at the department, she has actively promoted industrial cooperation between Korean and European SMEs. In addition to day-to-day responsibilities of the APEC SME Innovation Center, Ms. Yang runs various global cooperation programs. The APEC projects she has successfully handled include: an APEC-funded project entitled “Effective Implementation and Assessment of SME Innovation Policy (SME 01/2009A)” and a self-funded project entitled “Daegu Initiative First Cycle Assessment Workshop |
Cost Efficiency |
The APEC funding will be exclusively reserved for travel and labour costs. Other expenses incurred by the workshop and conference will be self-funded, in order to make the most out of limited resources.
This project is a follow-up, not only to the Daegu Initiative, but to the agenda set out by the Administrator of SMBA (Korea) last year. It will examine in concrete detail, how member economies use policies to deal with human resource, information and technology issues as it concerns green technology, green growth, and SMEs. Thus, it will give a better idea of the current policy environment and state-of-play in APEC economies, and not only share information, but be a valuable tool in setting the agenda for the future.
Labour costs take up a big portion of the APEC funding, as much as 60 percent. We believe it is imperative to hire experts who are well versed in the two subject matters to ensure research excellence in a relatively short span of time. The said researchers are capable of pursuing SMEs and green growth in a balanced manner. We request a waiver to allow for a non-competitive tendering for this proposal, as the researchers must have familiarity with the previous Daegu Initiative (in order to follow its template) as well as knowledge of green growth policies. The two researchers are among the very few who fit this criteria. Further, the tight time line requires that we move the project along as quickly as possible. We expect to engage two advisors in a similar manner. However, will be asking for the permission from APEC SME WG members who will be engaged in this Green Initiative Research and Workshop Project. |
Drawdown Timetable |
|
Direct Labour |
· Duties of Researchers
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Date |
Duties |
|
March-April |
1. Adapt the methodology of the Daegu Initiative for the Green Initiative
Ÿ Set requirements, timetables and schedules for the Green Initiative based on the Daegu Initiative template;
Ÿ Establish format for Green Action Plan (GAP) report; |
|
April |
2. Select areas and elements for inclusion in the Green Initiative
Ÿ Areas are the Green and sustainable growth policy areas that are to be examined in GAP;
Ÿ Elements are specific policies within each area that the GAP will query the member economies on
Ÿ Consultants are expected to select about 4 areas with 3-5 elements each |
|
April- May |
3. Prepare draft report by end of April on the Green Initiative explaining its requirements, formats, and timetables as well as areas and elements for inclusion in GAP. |
|
May |
4. Prepare final report by mid-May based on the draft report and comments by member economies.
Ÿ Answer reasonable questions by member economies and participants on the Green Initiative as set by the final report. |
|
June-August |
5. Collect GAPs of member economies and will draw up a draft version of combined report (summary and recommendations are included) |
|
September |
6. Present a combined report at the Green Initiative Workshop held at the margin of the 33rd APEC SMEWG meeting in Thailand |
|
September-October |
7. Prepare a final report combining GAPs submitted by member economies, recommendations, feedback discussed during the Green Initiative Workshop |
|
Total Hours |
960 hours ((2 researchers * 3 hrs * 20 days * 6 months) +(2 consultants * 3 hrs * 20 days * 2 months)) | § Researchers
Junsok Yang (Associate Professor, the Catholic University of Korea)
Junsok Yang has been involved in the Daegu Initiative since its beginning, as one of the initial research team designing the Initiative for presentation to SME Ministers in 2005, team leader for making Innovation Action Plans more concrete in 2008, and writing the final first cycle report for SME Ministers in 2009. His areas of research include international trade, trade policies and trade disputes; as well as regulatory reform. For APEC, he has served as expert reviewer of Individual Action Plans (IAP) for New Zealand, the Philippines, and Chinese Taipei, and has participated in peer reviews for these economies at SOMs. He has also participated in other APEC projects such as the e-IAP. Before joining the faculty of the Catholic University, Junsok Yang was a research fellow at Korea Institute for International Economic Policy where he has assisted the Korean government in forming and explaining its trade policies and participated in trade negotiations in the WTO, OECD and Korea-Chile FTA. He has a B.A, in economics from Cornell University (US) and M.A. and Ph.D from Yale University (US)
Ji Seok Kim ( Climate Change Advisor, Global Competitiveness Empowerment Forum, Korea)
Ji Seok Kim received his B.A in economics and environmental studies from Brown University, and received a Master of Environmental Management with focus on industrial environmental management at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He has served as an assistant manager of Product Environmental Strategy for Hyundai Motor Company where he was responsible for analyzing environmental regulations and policies related to climate change, air pollution and other environmental factors concerning Hyundai Motor Company. He also carried out benchmark studies of competitors for more effective regulation compliance and supply chain environmental management. Since 2008, he has been working as the senior climate change / energy officer at the Energy and Environmental section of British Embassy in Seoul, Korea.. His work focus on stimulating Korean businesses to make more investment in green growth areas. He is also serving as Climate Change Advisor for Global Competitiveness Empowerment Forum, an NGO working with industries for increased competitiveness through better CSR management. Mr. Kim also writes newspaper columns and serve as member of national environmental policy and research forums on topics including emission trading scheme. He also translated Al Gore’s book on green growth titled ‘Our Choice’.
Two consultants will also be contracted based on the recommendations of member economies. |
Waivers |
We have chosen a non-competitive process for this project because the time schedule for the project, if it is to satisfy the time schedule as listed in the project proposal is very tight, and it does not allow international or national competition and tendering. Also, due to the time constraints, the researchers have had already carried out preliminary work on the project on an informal basis. Further, the project serves as a part of the second cycle of the Daegu Initiative, which means that the researchers need to be familiar with the Daegu Initiative and the issues contained there, as well as knowledge about green growth. Our preliminary search for such people showed that there were very few qualified people who fulfilled all the criteria required. As seen in their resumes, Mr. Yang has been involved in the Daegu Initiative in some capacity since its formulation (in 2004) and has extensive knowledge of the Daegu Initiative, as well as knowledge of related trade policy and regulatory issues. Mr. Kim is an expert in green growth, and has an extensive knowledge of green policy related issues, especially how they affect SMEs, and has worked with the UK and Korean governments on SME green policy issues. As stated, they have worked on the issues related to Green Initiative informally already, and it would be impossible to fulfill our time schedule if we have to consider an open competitive bidding at this time.
We request a waiver to allow for the funding of government officials from travel-eligible member economies and speakers or experts who attend the conference because they are the main target audience of the project. |
Are there any supporting document attached? |
No
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