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"Sustainable Development —
An Asian Perspective"
Ladies and Gentlemen. Good afternoon. It's my honour to have the opportunity to come to Melbourne to speak at this important gathering. Today, I would like to talk about sustainable development from
an Asian Business Perspective. The company I work for – the Cheung Kong Group – has launched initiatives in all of these five areas, and have also participated in a number of public-private partnerships. This afternoon, I would like to share with you some of our experience. Before I go further, maybe I will first introduce to you briefly
the Cheung Kong Group. Total market capitalization of the Cheung Kong Group is about A$110 billion, equivalent to about 15% of the total market capitalization of the Sydney Stock Exchange. We operate in over 40 countries and have more than 160,000 employees worldwide. In Australia, we have invested around A$9 billion. Businesses include gas distribution, electricity distribution, transportation and telecommunications; and they are conducted through Envestra, ETSA Utilities, Powercor, Citipower, Sydney Cross City Tunnel, and Hutchison Telecom. Private corporations can make great contributions by developing and promoting products and services which facilitate environmental sustainability. However, as private corporations are driven by commercial objectives, unless financial returns on these products are justified, investment will be limited. Governments, on the other hand, can act as catalysts to speed up the necessary reforms. Government can also generate multiplier effects in expediting the success of efforts undertaken by the private sector. Governments could assume the leadership role in providing an environment
for private corporations to operate so that their causes can be
realized. Policies, incentives and - at times – legislation
could create the appropriate playing field to ensure sustainable
efforts get to be carried out widely, efficiently and effectively.
The role of governments in sustainable development is extremely
significant. At Cheung Kong, we believe that achieving environmental sustainability should not mean compromising on quality of life. Truly sustainable means that we should not have to go back on progress made nor do we have to suffer sacrifices. We should always move forward, and contribute positively towards efficiency and human comfort. After all, sustainability should be aimed at more than just basic
survival. Sustainability should be the principle by which we work
to improve the well being of mankind. Take the example of motor vehicles, one should not ban cars on the road because they cause pollution, one should find ways to tackle the pollution problem. The introduction of unleaded fuel, and legislation on emission free vehicles in some countries are good examples of non-compromising win-win solutions. Some of Cheung Kong’s Sustainability Initiatives We have undertaken a number of environmental initiatives, and the principle we adopt for making decisions on participation follow this non-compromising, win-win, scenario. These initiatives include: The range of environmental products we have developed include eco-fertilizers,
bioremediation solutions, and animal additives. For today’s
purposes, I will zero in to talk about cases pertaining to the first
two product categories. For soil condition and water issues in Australia, one of the major causes is the over use of chemical fertilizers. For decades, chemical fertilizers have improved productivity yields of farmers. But many studies have indicated that only one third of the nutrients from fertilizers is absorbed by the plant, one third is left in the soil, and the other third gets leached into nearby waterways. Those chemicals that remain bound up in the soil cause soil degradation,
while those leached into the water cause pollution which affects
the bio-diversity of the marine environment. For these reasons (and
others), sustainable agriculture has become an urgent topic for
Australia. In this area, we definitely see great potential for public-private partnerships. Take, for example, the case of the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian government should be commended for taking a visionary role by outlining plans to tackle the Reef water quality problem in the MOU recently signed by the Queensland Government and the Federal Government. This MOU commits the two Governments to a range of joint actions aimed at halting the decline in water quality on the Reef. One activity to result from the MOU is an inquiry by the Productivity Commission, which found in its Draft Report released last week that important parts of the Reef system may be under serious threat from chemical laden sediment that flows into coastal waters every time there’s significant rainfall. Against this backdrop comes the opportunity for private sector
to step up efforts to develop appropriate solutions. One of the
challenges is to develop fertilizer products which do not cause
leaching and yet can generate yields similar to chemical fertilizers.
Currently, there are organic fertilizers in the market which are
environmentally friendly, but they do not always generate satisfactory
productivity yields for farmers. NutriSmart is an active microbial fertilizer which contains six
strains of yeasts. It does not contain pre-fixed N, P and K and
the strains are all treated to supply macronutrients by fixing N
from the air, decomposing rock phosphate into P and breaking down
K from the soil to an easily absorbable form when they are in contact
with the roots of plants, and when the plants are in need of these
nutrients. In essence, NutriSmart has three benefits. It enhances
crop quality, improves soil condition, and is environmentally friendly.
The product has been extensively tested in a number of countries around the world, with favourable results. In Australia, tests have been carried out by SARDI, a South Australian government agency, with very positive results; and currently it is being tested by BSES, a government agency in Queensland.. NutriSmart is now in use on more than 50 crops in a dozen different countries. Recently, we have participated in a programme orchestrated by the Burdekin Shire to alleviate the burden on sugar cane farmers in the Burdekin region of Queensland. The project not only alleviates the financial burden on sugar cane
farmers, it also gives them the opportunity to counter those persistent
accusations that cane farmers are the ones causing pollution to
the environment. Another multi-win scenario. However, these are all micro-level activities. A general change
of thinking is necessary to push forth sustainable farming. And
the speed of change should be considerable in order to be effective.
To accelerate adoption of such farming practice requires the active
leadership from the government on a macro-level. It is this leadership
which would create an attractive environment for industry practitioners
to develop and introduce solutions to the market, and make consumers
aware of the need to adopt the solutions. As I understand, the South Australian Government has funded a number of tests for sustainable agriculture; and the Victorian Government has been active in developing an export-oriented organic food industry. These are all commendable efforts, but it looks like this is just
the beginning and that there are still many actions to be taken
in order to ensure effective solutions are implemented expediently.
We feel very strongly that to ensure sustainable agriculture is
carried out and implemented, some sort of carrot and stick approach,
a combination of incentive and regulation is essential. The California Government has passed legislation requiring 10% of the State’s motor vehicles to be emission free within a 10 year period.. That is a clear target and a clear timeline, both essential ingredients in any effective plan designed to create an environment in which the necessary research and development is carried out and the required business support operations are developed. This is a good reference case for the Australian government to look to for ways to speed up the adoption of sustainable farming practice. The government can set the stage and get farmers and the fertilizer industry prepared for the change. Incentives and levies should all be considered to turn the concept of sustainable land use into reality. Protecting Precious Water Resources Through Bioremediation As water is another precious resource in Australia – like fertile soil - government should take a leadership role in conserving water and improving its quality. Drought has been an issue in Australia in recent years. Developing measures to encourage re-cycling of water and cleaning up polluted water would be important areas for Government activity, while it is also imperative to encourage the adoption of sustainable farming practice that will not contaminate the environment. It is understood that water problems such as those in Great Barrier
Reef, Murray Darling River System and many smaller waterways, are
very complex, and that while physical, chemical and biological solutions
have all been studied, the perfect solutions for recycling and cleaning
waste water, as well as preventing the water from being further
contaminated have yet to be identified. For this matter, government
can take up many roles – as regulator, policy maker, and in
some cases, even the end user. In this regard, the government can
work with private corporations to carry out research and develop
new solutions. WonderTreat™ contains microbes with specific pollution removal functions. It provides tailored solutions for removing bioavailable nitrogen and phosphorous and reducing odours and environmental toxins. It also reduces polymeric compounds, and suppresses the growth of algae and pathogens. Currently, in Australia, a few trials of WonderTreat have been
lined up including ones in a piggery for the treatment of pig manure
near Murray Bridge, and another in a dairy farm to treat cow manure
with the intention of solving the dairy discharge problem into the
lower reaches of the Murray River. Both of these initiatives are
to be conducted with the support of the South Australian Government.
Commercial tests are also in place. So while it is true that government, environmental NGOs and commercial
enterprises can work together for the common good of the environment,
just how to make the partnership work effectively is another key
question. 2. Be Courageous and Open Minded But for the greater benefit of sustainability, partnering with private sector organizations, especially those who have put in huge investments on R&D, can speed up progress. The key is to ensure the outcome benefits all. There are more and more cases all over the world in which Governments, private sector organisations, as well as NGOs start constructive dialogues in the form of regulatory negotiation to formulate policies inclined towards the promotion of products that will benefit both environmental protection and economic development. 3. Willing to Invest into the Future Australians Can Lead the World in Sustainable Developments Australia has a highly adaptive and innovative population which readily adopts new ways of thinking and new technologies. This quality in turn has fostered the growth of highly innovative thinking in this country about ways to tackle environmental problems. From my previous dealings with the different government departments and government agencies, and those with NGOs such as ACF, NCC, Landcare, and WWF, I can see that great expertise exist and positive actions have been taken. If there is any one country that can lead the world in sustainability development, I’d say that that country is Australia. We at CK Life Sciences are dedicated and committed to develop products and solutions for environmental sustainability. We hope that we can work closely with governments, NGOs and other industry colleagues for the eventual benefit of mankind. Thank you. |
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