ITC supports developing and transition economies in their efforts to compete effectively in the international marketplace. We strongly believe that this contributes to sustainable development and we are committed to providing first-class technical support initiatives impacting on both trade performance and overall development.

Though hardly known to the general public, environmental technologies, products and services have, in 20 years, grown to match the aerospace and pharmaceutical industries in size — a US$ 450 billion global market in 2000. By 2010 it is expected to expand to US$ 640 billion. Developing and emerging markets represent over 15% of this total.

The overall environmental software market was estimated at about US$ 1.8 billion in 1995, of which US$ 1.14 billion for consulting and services. So what IT tools does a consulting engineer in a developing country need to compete in the market for environmental engineering services? This article provides a quick checklist.

Consider environmental issues in procurement to reduce total costs and make your enterprise more competitive.

Packaging is a vital sector of most national economies. It consumes large quantities of resources. Because of packaging’s often limited life span, these resources (of materials and energy) are viewed in some quarters as being wasted. As a result, there is increasing pressure to minimize packaging volumes and make it reusable, or at least recyclable to recover materials or save energy. Growing realization of the need to plan for a sustainable future is creating the climate for an era of dramatic change in this industry.

Historically, packaging was mainly used to transport goods, particularly foodstuffs, from their place of manufacture direct to the customer. Packaging later became prominent in the preserving of food products for longer periods. The packaging revolution has continued, catering to an ever-expanding range of consumer products that are sold through ever-widening chains of distribution.

Modern consumer packaging, designed to present well-protected and undamaged goods for display and sale on store shelves, may not be practical in countries such as Zimbabwe, where bar-code readers are as yet mostly absent from the retail system. Additional handling, with resultant damage to the product and its packaging, may therefore occur, as package units have to be individually priced before transfer to the display shelves. This means that the local manufacturers often prefer more robust packaging, which is also, as a rule, less attractive and more expensive.

India’s Department of Science and Technology, in collaboration with a public-sector unit, initiated a pilot project on Integrated Waste Management (IWM) in Mumbai. A prototype fuel “pelletization” plant was engineered, procured and erected with entirely indigenous inputs.

Waste generated in houses, apartments and other dwellings is placed in doorways for collection by garbage trucks. Before the truck arrives, however, the garbage has normally been picked over for valuable material by private “rag-pickers” searching for items they can use or sell.

Environment and trade is a challenging issue that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has to tackle. The scarcity of statistically well-grounded information makes the task even more complex. Using market analysis tools developed by ITC with data derived from the United Nations COMTRADE database and UNCTAD’s database on trade barriers, a pioneering study to be published later this year tries to put some figures into the debate.

Value-added wood exports have a bright future. The value of further-processed wood exports from producer countries of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) totalled just under US$ 4.2 billion in 1996–1997, the highest points recorded in COMTRADE statistics so far. The following year (1998) saw a 17% drop to US$ 3.5 billion. Despite the lack of comprehensive data for 1999, it is believed that exports stabilized in most countries. Some reported vigorous export growth during 1999-2000.

Voluntary forest management certification and associated wood labelling schemes are becoming accepted as a way to help markets contribute to the conservation of tropical and other types of forests.

- Sustainable forest management is “the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems”. (Definition of the Helsinki Declaration of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, 1993.)

The world’s major retailers of wood products are increasingly adopting policies which favour certified wood products, and are communicating their policies more explicitly.

For more information about certification and mutual recognition, see the following web sites:

ITC’s environment-related activities concentrate directly on the needs and concerns of our principal constituents — the business communities of developing and transition economies and the trade support institutions serving these communities. While ITC does not have a specific environmental programme, it has an amazing number of activities, publications and information services that directly relate to the environment.

WTO agreements

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has no specific agreement dealing with the environment. However, a number of the WTO agreements include provisions dealing with environmental concerns. The increased emphasis on environmental policies is relatively recent. At the end of the Uruguay Round in 1994, trade ministers from participating countries decided to begin a comprehensive work programme on trade and environment in the WTO. They created the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment. This is the main committee that discusses trade implications of national environmental measures. Issues addressed include:

Nearly 900 participants from 108 countries enthusiastically debated this question during a recent ITC electronic discussion forum (23–27 April 2001). All summaries of the discussion were e-mailed to participants in their target languages and posted on the discussion web site (http://www.tpo-worldnet.com/ediscforum.htm) in three languages.

Earlier this year we launched a new Forum magazine web site to better serve you, our readers. You have several advantages when you view the magazine on the web site. It is faster and easier for you to receive news and trends and to search for specific information. The site provides new opportunities to express your views. And it also gives you the possibility to increase the visibility of your own trade-related publications.

How can successful exporters in least-developed countries (LDCs) convert export opportunities into business? New export opportunities and trade liberalization measures have helped some LDC exporters become a success, noted 75 LDC exporters and senior policy-makers, in a Business Sector Round Table organized by ITC (Brussels, 16 May 2001).

ITC officially launched its “E-trade Bridge” programme at its annual intergovernmental meeting, the Joint Advisory Group (Geneva, 30 April to 4 May 2001). The meeting also launched its “new” web site, which was redesigned to better serve ITC’s clients.

In 2000, ITC won an award at the World Bank’s Development Marketplace competition for innovative ideas for poverty reduction (see Forum 1/2000). The winning project, “Empowerment of Rural Communities to Export Organic Spices from India” uses Export Production Villages to organize smallholder spice producers, build partnerships with local NGOs, and ultimately provide access for rural villages to higher-value export markets for organic products.

The European Union (EU) imports some 1,200 tonnes of cardamom annually for a total value of about US$ 6 million. Guatemalan exporters provide about 80% of EU requirements. Other suppliers include India and Papua New Guinea. The leading markets in the EU are Sweden, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

- Executive Forum 2000: Export Development in the Digital Economy. 125 pages. Summary of discussions held at Executive Forum 2000 on Export Development in the Digital Economy, organized by the International Trade Centre and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Montreux, Switzerland in September 2000 — focuses on the role and importance of the digital economy as a factor in building and maintaining export performance in developing countries; assesses impact of e-trade on traditional export practices; explores how developing and transitional economies have responded to the competitive challenges of the digital economy; examines conditions for a national environment that will allow sustainable and effective participation in the digital economy; discusses the short-term initiatives required to promote e-competency and e-trade capability within the public and private sectors; outlines role of national trade support institutions, and key concepts for strategy-makers addressing national response to digital economy.

ITC produces a variety of international trade bulletins which complement ITC’s books and technical papers. To subscribe, contact the relevant sections of ITC listed below.

- Major Markets for Cotton T-shirts. 115 pages (Technical Paper). Market survey on cotton T-shirts in the European Union (with particular reference to Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden), United States and Japan — discusses international textile trade in general terms and in relation to WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing; presents major markets and their characteristics; outlines documentary and shipping requirements, relevant legislation, contact specifications, quality control methods and environmental issues; contains statistical data.