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Why Should Companies with Environmental or Energy Technology Apply for GVF 2006? |
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| Don't Overlook
Japan
Public Pressure
Corporate Response
Sector Growth
Soils
Energy |
In the headlong rush to access
environmental markets in Asia, companies with innovative products and technologies in such
areas as bioremediation, recycling, and "green" manufacturing techniques should
not overlook the fact that the largest market of them all is Japan. With dazzling growth rates, many people assume that the largest market for environmental technologies in Asia is China, but in truth, the Japanese environmental market is larger - much larger, it is also more diverse. As the Regional Institute of Environmental Technology in Singapore points out, large countries like China and India actually "spend the least on environmental protection – only about $1 per inhabitant per year." Developed countries spend a good deal more. Japan spends the highest in per capita income on environmental protection in the world. The Kyoto Conference gave a strong push to environmental initiatives in Japan. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has outlined a plan known as "New Earth 21: An Action Plan for the 21st Century". The program includes phasing out chloro-fluorocarbons (CFCs) by the year 2000, the development of safer nuclear power and CO2 fixation methods, and on future energy and renewable energy technologies. Their goal is simple, to put Japan at the head of pollution control technologies and environment-friendly energy programs. But there is another more important reason why Japan is pushing in this direction. That reason is an issue of public acceptance and quality of life. Several years ago, the book the "Lost Future" was translated for in Japan. It had an immense impact on Japanese society. Japanese customers who might have been known for unquestioned faith in the products made by large Japanese corporations now publicly air their doubts. This has had the result of shocking the big corporations and forcing them on the defensive. The Japanese media talk almost everyday about the adverse effects of endocrine disrupters (in Japan called "environmental hormones"). Distressed mothers appear on TV complaining about their fears living near smoke issuing from incinerators. Young mothers are looking for any way to avoid transferring potential contaminants to their babies through breast milk. Many Japanese have stopped eating one of Japanese most cherished fast foods - instant noodles, because the container may contain imperceptible amounts of dioxin. As a result, in government and at the corporate level, there is greater sensitivity to the ways of treating waste materials especially toxics on land and in water. Corporations are being challenged more than ever in a society which once lauded the good ones for being "good neighbors". Now they need to be "kind to environment" as well. This does not come at a good time for Japanese companies having to deal with nearly nine years of economic recession exacerbated by the deep financial crisis in Asia. However, many companies are not crumbling, they are proactively changing themselves to compete. For example, many firms and local/municipal governments are finding high ground in adopting ISO140001. According to the Sanwa Research Institute, it is believed that some time in 1999, the number of organizations that possess ISO140001 will exceed 2,000, the largest number for any country in the world. Last October the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun sent a survey to 875 major Japanese corporations. From that survey, the Nikkei predicts that the environmental sector will be one of the fastest growing industry sectors over the next 20 years. One of the greatest needs is for technology to decrease of NOx and SOx and this segment alone in Japan is expected to reach almost 19 billion dollars by the year 2020. Despite the current recession in Japan, soil and groundwater treatment technologies are continuing to grow in demand in Japan. For this reason, remediation technologies are major import candidates from North America. Sixty years of economic development in Japan have resulted in a wide range of problems that are now being systematically addressed from the PCB's and heavy metals of older industries to the problem contaminants emanating from the manufacture of semiconductors. Moreover, the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry has set the highest standards and regulations in the world. For companies from North America possessing state-of-the-art technology, this is an ideal time. By the year 2000, this market segment alone will reach 44.25 billion dollars, and by 2020 it will be nine times greater. The Nikkei also predicts that the main player in 2020 in energy sector will be high efficiency gas turbines whose world market size will be 646 billion dollars. R&D activities in this technology are already advanced and consist over 88.5 billion dollars market. For the new developing technology, super conductivity storage system is favored. Although Japanese companies are confident in this area, US and German companies are also strong competitors. Technologies that Japanese companies perceive as being of greatest potential in the environment and energy sectors in Japan over the next 30 years include:
In summary, excellent opportunities exist now for North American companies with state-of-the-art technologies prepared to invest the time, effort and money to understand and exploit the market. Finding the right partner and agreeing on the right kind of relationship will be the key to your company’s success. |
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