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Published on November 23, 2007

The so-called Profitable Environmental Management (Prema) programme has three main objectives: to boost economic efficiency, to improve environmental performance and to create a learning culture in business organisations.

It belongs to Prema Net, an organisation operating with financial support from the German government. "This programme does not provide a finished solution, but its methods will encourage operators to find their own solutions and enable them to perform," said EIT's executive director Widhoon Chiamchittrong.

He said most small and medium-sized manufacturers paid hardly any attention to their non-product output, which accounted for between 10 and 30 per cent of their total production costs. Using the Prema programme's basic strategies, these enterprises will be able to gain profit from reducing their unnecessary costs and exploiting their wastes. Each operator will need to spend around Bt10,000 to make the improvement, but returns will be at least 10 times the investment.

The programme will take around six months to complete. It is not only for manufacturers. Service-sector operators can also apply. At present, about 40 enterprises in Thailand have joined the programme, most of them from the agricultural sector.

It is hoped that the project will attract the participation of 100 Thai enterprises next year, Widhoon said.

One of Prema Net's international trainers, Alfons Ims, said the programme was operating in nearly 50 countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and India.

"Prema offers a good chance for local SMEs to strengthen and sustain their business, thanks to its simple methods and cheap costs," he said, adding that it also boosts their awareness of the need for harmony between their businesses, their communities and their environment.

Ims suggested that the Thai government should seriously promote clean production. He said the country's environmental laws were effective, but the government should implement and enforce then in a more practical way.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul, The Nation