Green industry started in Malaysia
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, referred to as ESCAP (ESCAP), has published a report stating that the government can indeed encourage more greening industry activities and reduce carbon dioxide emissions after lowering relevant tax rates and providing effective environmental protection subsidies. It can have a positive impact on the gross national product and the employment rate.
Don't ignore green growth
In view of this, the country must not ignore the importance of green growth while developing its economy.
The SMEs in Malaysia are the backbone of the national economy. 97% of the enterprises are small and medium-sized, and they contribute 65% of the country’s jobs, nearly 36% of the GDP, and 18% of the country’s exports. (Source: World Bank Report, Comprehensive Data from Statistics Malaysia)
The blueprint for SMEs from 2012 to 2020 is an important framework for the government to enhance this huge corporate army. By then, Malaysian SMEs will be able to contribute 41% of the GDP, and the export share will increase to 23%.
As Malaysia moves toward a high-income country, SMEs play an important role in promoting the country’s economic growth.
In the just announced 2017 Budget, the government announced that 2017 will be the launch year for SMEs. In order to develop the SME sector, the government will allocate 75 million ringgit to implement the plan under the SME Blueprint.
With such assistance, small and medium-sized enterprises themselves should also have more positive thinking, keep up with the pace of globalization, explore more emerging products and services, add value to the original industry, and have a cultural and cultural perspective. Contributed.
Lack of Greening Awareness in Enterprises
The vast majority of SMEs in Malaysia belong to the service industry. However, looking at the sub-sectors of the service industry, you will find that most SMEs are invested in more traditional service industries, such as retail, stores, and catering.
And industries related to social responsibility, such as education, health care, medical services, and social work small and medium-sized enterprises, only account for a small part of the service industry. Regardless of output value, value-added value, and number of enterprises, they only account for 1% of all service industries. %about. .
There is no clear official data to show which resources local small and medium-sized enterprises have invested in greening work, or which companies are responsible or green enterprises.
However, this also means that local small and medium-sized enterprises have a lot of space to invest in responsible companies, social work, environmental protection and greening, etc., and together make this industry grow stronger and mature. However, many small and medium-sized enterprises that want to invest in the green industry generally face several problems, including lack of environmental protection knowledge and professional information, and financing problems.
No long-term plan
Many SMEs do not know the main relationship between the company's field and greening, nor do they know the importance of greening to the company, nor do they have long-term plans, such as what kind of technology is needed for sustainable development.
The OECD believes that in addition to understanding the meaning of environmental protection, if the green industry is to grow and more companies join the ranks of responsible companies, a complete set of technologies, solutions, and systems are needed, not just clarifying strategies.
Therefore, once a small and medium-sized enterprise decides to incorporate greening factors into the operation of the enterprise, from raw materials, procurement, operation and production, to the final waste treatment, the entire recycling system and ecological design must be understood clearly. In the process of dealing with the production of the entire low-carbon system, relevant talents, technicians, and skilled labor are crucial. This is related to emerging technologies, not only relying on innovation and competitiveness, but also responding to environmental protection regulations and having a professional level that keeps pace with the times.
Financing channels are restricted and challenging
So far, not only in Malaysia, but most of the small and medium-sized enterprises in the world have been learning by doing, and they have constantly adjusted and improved their knowledge and knowledge of the greening industry based on experience and practice. In addition, limited financing channels are the most significant challenge for SMEs. Many green industries have no precedents to follow, and the insufficient financing conditions of small and medium-sized enterprises have led to many green project financing applications that have been rejected by financing institutions.
Let small and medium-sized enterprises aspiring to engage in responsible companies or green industries encounter fewer obstacles, so that the country can join the ranks of the low-carbon economy more smoothly, improve the quality of the service industry, and take a higher level in the overall market value chain. Relevant departments should successively adopt strategies to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in ecological protection and incorporate relevant elements into their products, such as design, raw materials, production processes, research and development, technology, and so on.
The standards set, including quality, measurement, definition, and conditions, are important keys to allow the industry to develop effectively and transparently.
The government provides incentives to encourage greening
In Malaysia, in order to encourage more enterprises to invest in social responsibility and green production, the government has issued many incentives for support, such as incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises.
All locally registered small and medium-sized enterprises that can use green technology for production or supply are eligible for application. In addition, some government financing guarantee schemes are also designed for the green technology industry.
For example, in 2010, the official green technology financing plan has provided assistance to more than 200 eligible green projects, benefiting a wide range of industries, including energy, water power, waste treatment, medical centers, construction, and transportation.
So far, more than 2.4 billion ringgit loans have been approved by financing institutions for the projects applied for under this plan, which has promoted the development of related industries such as biogas, biomass power, hydropower, solar farms and solar BIPV systems.
Through this plan, more than 3,000 jobs were created and 2.68 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions were avoided.
This part of the green industry is still in the immature stage in Malaysia, but it has been recognized by the government and society. In addition, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises has attracted much attention from the government. If the industry can grasp this opportunity, it can not only cater to the global trend of environmental protection and responsible enterprise, but also open up a new production path for its own enterprise, so that the enterprise can gain reputation and change. High revenue is not a win-win situation.