I was curious about the impact of Oprah's visit to Australia and enviromental development on-the-ground in China. So I checked in with the Hon. Bob Baldwin MP, (Australian Shadow Minister for Tourism) who not only helped host Oprah's visit, but also recently spoke in China on enviromental and energy issues at an APEC Summit.
Gabrielle Reilly: I was so excited to watch Oprah's recent visit to Australia highlighted on shows all over America. As Australia's Shadow Minister for Tourism, could you give us your thoughts on how her trip impacted Australian tourism?
Hon. Bob Baldwin MP: Australians prized the opportunity to host Oprah in our country. Oprah showed a real connection to our people and we so enjoyed sharing our country and our experiences, our story with her and her guests. The Australian tourism industry is buzzing about the possibilities Oprah's visit, and subsequent Australian shows, presents.
Tourism operators are thrilled at the exposure Australia received on the Oprah show, I must also point out that despite recent floods & seasonal cyclones, Australia is open for business and we look forward to welcoming our American cousins to that land down under.
Gabrielle Reilly: After speaking on your official trip at the 2010 APEC SME Summit, what is the general attitude in China today towards green innovation?
Hon. Bob Baldwin MP: China is a nation on a very rapid journey towards environmental improvement.
China's commitment to renewable energy and the development and manufacturing of energy efficient consumer products is to be applauded.
The partnerships established across the globe demonstrates that China is committed to an environmentally sustainable future. Being a nation with such a large population means that sometimes the roll out and uptake of the products is a little slower than some would like, but none the less from my experience and observations, China is determined to build a sustainable future.
My address at the 2010 APEC SME Summit outlines my personal observations and I welcome any feedback.
Address to 2010 APEC SME Summit
The Edne Resort
Yibin, Sichuan, China
11th December 2010
"What Inspires Green Innovation for SME's"
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman,
I am delighted to be back in China and to have the opportunity to address the 2010 APEC SME Summit here in Yibin, Sichuan. I would particularly like to thank my good friend from the Australia International Trade Association, Mr Michael Guo, who does so much to build business relationships between Australia & China, for making it possible for me to be here today.
Australia and China are forging many great partnerships, Partnerships between politicians; partnerships between governments; partnerships between cities and partnerships between large businesses.
There is no reason why the small and medium enterprises in each of our countries can't also be working together in partnership for the benefit of both our citizens and I hope one way our SMEs can work together is on green business innovation.
I've been asked to answer four questions as part of this plenary session today:
1. Where does the core power of green innovation come from?
2. How can enterprises break through?
3. What kind of innovation can achieve sustainable competitiveness? and
4. What are the factors that influence the green actions of entrepreneurs?
My hope is that how I respond to these questions will assist and encourage SMEs here and at home to think about green business innovation and, importantly, to think about working together on green business innovation.
Ladies & Gentlemen, our climate is changing, it has been for many millions of years. Oil, coal and gas are all products of climate change, in fact if our climate had remained constant, those commodities would not exist and we would probably still have dinosaurs roaming the earth. There has been much debate, considered opinion, and a disparity of views from a wide range of eminently qualified experts on the issue of the contribution of mankind and our emissions to climate change. Facts have been disputed; reports have been discredited; and communities have been divided over the arguments, assumptions, conclusions, and indeed, the very existence of human-induced climate change.
On this subject, I have adopted the pragmatism of the chief executive of News Limited, Rupert Murdoch, who said and I quote, "the planet deserves the benefit of the doubt." Ladies and gentleman, while each of us will have our own views about climate change, the pragmatism of Mr Murdoch is the starting point for green innovation.
Governments have many ways to bring about environmental change. One way is through legislation, by either by an Emissions Trading Scheme, Carbon Tax or Cap and Trade Scheme where the increased costs to business are simply passed on down the line and ultimately it is the end consumer pays the price. The other way is through education, incentive and direct action by individuals.
Governments, in my opinion, are making the mistake of trying to change the behaviour of consumers through a taxation designed to increase the price of the goods a consumer demands and therefore falsely reduce demand.
The simple question I ask is why aren't governments focusing on encouraging, even supporting, green innovation by businesses to reduce the energy consumption of those existing consumer behaviours rather than to tax and make products uncompetitive in a global market where its not a level playing field.
I have teenage children and they enjoy lecturing me on the importance of being green.
Yet, can I get them to turn off the TV or computer after they are done with it? No.
Can I get them to turn off their bedroom light in the morning? No.
Can I get them to turn off the heating lamps in the bathroom after their shower? No.
And their behaviour is not unique.
So to understand my children is to understand all of our community. In a supply and demand market place, they are busy creating the demand, now it is incumbent on us to develop innovative solutions which satisfy that demand . Solutions and technology that consume less energy both during the manufacture of the product and whilst it is operation that have a lower carbon footprint are the solution to the problem.
One example of how this has been achieved is with the LED, the Light Emitting Diode, The LED developed in 1962, is substantially different to the LED today. Improvements in 1993 to use a range of colours increased the range of opportunities and efficiencies. The development and market introduction of this innovation has had an amazing impact. It uses less power, provides relatively the same output and what's even more fascinating, is the consumer who purchases products with LED's is mostly not even aware of the difference. And all this was done before the discovery of "Climate Change"
For another example, just think back 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago at computers and the energy they used. A computer as powerful in processing as my iPad today, would have probably filled a room like this, consuming larger amounts of energy. Today our modern computer systems use less power and deliver more output resulting in energy savings and benefit to the environment. Therefore it goes without saying that consumers upgrading their computer, their everyday appliances, their motor vehicles are making a contribution, both through creating markets for new low carbon footprint product and for driving innovation through demand
As a self confessed pragmatist, I do become somewhat sceptical when the rhetoric does not match the actions and that is where the essence for my presentation comes from today, matching the rhetoric with the actions.
No matter where we live in the world, we all want to live in a cleaner, healthier society, we all want to leave our children a society, and environment that is in a better state than that which we inherited.
That is the demand. It is that demand, that desire, that matching the rhetoric with real and direct action that will drive innovation and investment, accordingly that innovation and entreprenerialship will have to deliver measurable and verifiable results. However it is ultimately through education and innovation that we will make a difference that will shape the future debate and acceptance that change can occur.
It is important that innovation, that research & development be supported at all levels, by government, by industry, by consumers alike. it is clear that in an increasingly sceptical society, to achieve real outcomes we must "take people on the journey" with us. In order for "people to join us on the journey" there must be real and definable outcomes, that "green Business" is not just a marketing exercise, an exercise in spin, that as I said before, that the rhetoric matches the action.
Governments the world over, too, have failed to deliver on the overblown rhetoric.
The results have not matched the rhetoric. There has been talk of much action, of green innovation by governments but ultimately we have not seen them deliver. While the excuses have been plentiful, ultimately governments the world over have failed to deliver on the rhetoric because they failed to take the community on the journey with them. That has been evidenced by the relative failure of both Copenhagen and Cancun only hours ago.
Governments need to also take the pragmatic path to addressing the problem
An opinion poll published last week in The Australian, the national newspaper in my country, found that 77 per cent of Australians believe that climate change is currently occurring. Yet only 47 per cent of those surveyed were prepared to pay more for energy sources, such as petrol, electricity and gas to slow global warming.
Clearly, the core power of green innovation must come from businesses finding ways for consumers to reduce their energy footprint without necessarily changing their behaviour and without paying more for their products and services just because they are green.
The tourism industry is very dear to my heart. Of course, I look forward to welcoming each of you to my country - there really is nothing like Australia, however Australia is a long way from here, therefore aviation is a critical component of the tourism industry. Aviation is also an emissions intensive industry. As a so-called green initiative, the British Government recently increased their aviation departure tax by 55 per cent on flights between Britain and Australia. It was an incredibly stupid move and I condemn them for it. Partly, it was stupid because at the same time the Government was increasing taxes to discourage people from flying, it was investing 340 million pounds in airplane manufacturer Airbus to, in their words, "create and sustain 6,200 jobs" in the United Kingdom. So the message the British Government sends to the world is that building planes is good, but flying on them is bad.
As this example illustrates, the power of green innovation won't come from governments who believe the only solution is to increase taxes. That's why businesses should be focusing on finding innovative ways to make planes more fuel efficient, rather than governments finding innovative ways to discourage tourists from flying on them.
Consumers want more - they want their activities to have less of an impact on the environment but they don't want to pay more for the goods and services they buy. And this is where enterprises can break through - by finding innovative ways to make goods and services greener as well as being affordable.
In Australia, the restaurant and catering industry has been particularly innovative. The association which represents their industry has developed a programme called Green Table Australia. Green Table Australia provides accreditation for restaurants, cafes and caterers in return for them meeting minimum criteria in the areas of water and energy saving, waste management and supplies. The Green Table Australia accreditation is a recognisable brand which promotes and verifies the actions of those businesses that participate. Importantly, Green Table Australia is educating businesses and consumers alike that buying green can have significant advantages,
including:
* lowering costs for some products;
* savings through the reuse of materials, products and packaging;
* expansion of the market for green and recycled products and those with reduced packaging; and
* decreased pressure on landfill and waste disposal services.
This innovative programme does not require a consumer behavioural change or increase in cost, but rather the businesses that participate can actually increase their profitability by going green. The programme therefore creates a sustainable competitiveness for green innovation in the restaurant and catering industry.
The actions of green entrepreneurs will, I believe, always be driven by the market.
Prior to being elected to Parliament I had a small business myself. I know that entrepreneurs are driven by the prospect of a return on their investment. And this is where governments can help. By investing in education campaigns and investing in research and development, governments can assist in driving green innovation. Because an educated consumer will be more likely to demand greener products, increasing product volume, reducing unit cost, which in turn will provide green entrepreneurs with a return on their investment.
In an energy hungry society, with modern innovations and products that have been driven by consumer demand It should not be forgotten that new forms of renewable energy will also need to become more efficient as it is only in the initial romance of individuals feeling that they are contributing to the greater good will they accept the higher costs for energy, it is not deniable that energy is at the core essence of all we do, new product with increased efficiencies and therefore increased demand and market share will drive price points for products.
Business will only develop products for which their is a market, a sustainable market and quality research based on consumer demand is going to have to satisfy more than the rhetoric. Only a wealthy fool would develop and market products for which there was little or no demand, both real or manufactured, but also that just satisfying a market that is currently present without leading new market direction is neither profitable nor sustainable in the long term.
So allow me to conclude by repeating my proposition that the actions and outcomes must meet the rhetoric for a long term sustainable green industry future.
Finally, my message to entrepreneurs is to make sure you take the community on the green journey with you and learn from the mistakes of governments who have failed to do so. If a business can take its customers on that journey it will capitalise on the opportunities presented through green innovation.
Again, to my friend Michael Guo, from the AITA, thank you for bringing me to Yibin to participate in the 2010 APEC SME Summit, I have thoroughly enjoyed the people I have met and the hospitality I have received
Thank You.
