The press conference of the 2023 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition is held today (15 August)
The 2023 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (2023MIECF) will be held from 17 to 20 August at Cotai Expo, The Venetian Macao under the theme of “Building an Ecological Civilisation Through Innovative Initiatives”. It will continue to function as a professional exhibition dedicated to “carbon neutrality”, bring exhibitors and traders at home and abroad together to create green business opportunities, and build up a platform for green exchanges.
The 2023MIECF is hosted by the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, co-organised by the provincial and regional governments in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region, and co-ordinated by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA), with the support of the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China.
Accredited by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), MIECF reaches its 15th year in 2023, and the previous three-day event is extended to four days this year. Staying on the track of “industry + MICE”, this event will focus on the green development of leisure tourism and four key industries in compliance with the “1+4”appropriate diversification development strategy, aiming to push forward international exchanges and co-operation on environmental protection among different sectors, including “governments, industries, universities, research institutes, users and investors”.
The co-ordinators and participating organisations held a press conference today (15 August) to give an overview of the event and brief the media on the ongoing construction of the exhibition venue.
The keynote speaker shares her insight
The 2023MIECF has invited Professor Lan Hong, Deputy Director of the Eco-finance Research Centre of the Renmin University of China, Deputy Director of the Green Finance Branch of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, and Deputy Director of the Green Finance Professional Committee of the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry, to deliver a keynote speech titled “Deepen Co-operation on Green Finance, Work Together to Achieve Carbon Neutrality” on the opening ceremony.
The Green Forum helps the industry seize green development opportunities
The four-day event comprises close to 20 forums and conferences organised by professional organisations and five themed matching sessions organised by the event co-ordinators.
Among these activities, the two-day “Green Forum” has invited more than 30 experts, scholars, leaders in environmental protection-related industries, and corporate executives from Mainland China, Portuguese-speaking countries, Europe, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macao as speakers. The Green Forum comprises four sessions, covering “bleisure tourism”, “green innovation”, “innovative solutions for pollution management”, and “co-operation among the environmental industries in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region”, with discussions and exchanges on cutting-edge issues of green, low-carbon and sustainable development to inform the industry practitioners of the environmental updates around the world and help them grasp the opportunities for green development and jointly move towards a green future.
“Green Business Co-operation Day: Green Forum Session 1” on the first day is once again co-organised by the IPIM and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Themed “Green x Innovation x Business Opportunities – Empowering the Sustainable Development of Bleisure Tourism”, this session will discuss the application and practice of green innovative technology products and solutions in related value chains and industries. PwC will also release a report on the synergistic and sustainable development of Guangdong-Macao cultural tourism and MICE industries, with the hope of bringing inspiration to Macao.
“Session 2: Green Innovation Drives High-Quality Development” will be held on Day 2 of the event. This session will discuss policies and, on a macro-level perspective, explore green innovative solutions that drive high-quality development at the regional, national, and global levels for a greener future.
On the same day, the third session of the Green Forum will also be held under the theme of “Finding Innovative Solutions for Air Pollution, Waste and Wastewater Management”. It will explore more comprehensive and diverse innovative technologies and their applications, aiming to better construct the ecological civilisation and achieve sustainable development goals of the society.
Sessions 1, 2 and 3 of the Green Forum will be live broadcasted. Online and offline participants in these sessions will be issued a certificate of attendance in order to effectively leverage MIECF’s role as a platform for professional knowledge sharing.
Nearly 500 booths in seven exhibition areas, bringing together over 400 enterprises
With regard to the Green Showcase, this year’s MIECF covers an area of more than 10,000 square metres, with seven exhibition areas, including “Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Pavilions”, “Mainland China Environmental Protection Industries Exhibition Area”, “International Environmental Protection Industries Exhibition Area”, “Macao Environmental Protection Industries Exhibition Area”, “Premium Exhibitor Zone”, “Green Living Zone”, and “Green and Low-Carbon Project Zone”. There are nearly 500 booths, attracting more than 400 offline exhibitors from across the world, up by over 50% compared to last year. The number of overseas exhibitors has near trebled to 40, rebounding to 73% of the pre-pandemic level.
Five professional matching sessions offer international environmental business opportunities
To play the role of a platform for green business co-operation, the 2023MIECF will hold five themed matching sessions, covering the environmental collaboration between Macao and Hengqin governments, Portuguese-speaking countries, sustainable green projects, green finance, and large integrated resorts, to help enterprises create green business opportunities together through exchanges.
The 2023MIECF continues to attract investment through exhibitions and conferences, where investors from other places will develop a deeper understanding of Macao’s investment climate through their participation, thereby attracted to invest and develop their business in Macao. The IPIM will arrange staff to the exhibition for introduction and investment promotion while assisting enterprises to start up businesses in Macao through the Investor’s “One-stop Service”.
The environmental industry organises a number of “multi-venue events” and other concurrent activities
This year’s MIECF features a number of concurrent activities, including forums, seminars and awards ceremonies, covering topics ranging from big health, green hotels, carbon neutrality and green finance to artificial intelligence.
Among these activities, there are three forums organised by the environmental industry on its own initiative, namely the “Macao-Hengqin Big Health Industry Green Development Forum”, “Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Innovative Project Matching Session by the China Association of Plant Engineering”, and “Development of Green MICE and Carbon Neutral Seminar”. These activities will be held following the “multi-venue event” pattern in Macao and Hengqin, respectively, to strengthen the sharing of MICE resources between the two regions, help them tap into each other’s international tourist market, and generate synergetic effects. At the same time, delegations from the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region will also have inspection visits in Hengqin.
“Tan Puhui” elements, Green Public Day and other methods are adopted to encourage efforts to create a green life together
To motivate public participation, the exhibition will be open to the public during the weekends (19 to 20 August) with free admission. Free shuttle buses will travel between Central Macao, Northern Macao, Taipa, and the event venue to facilitate green transport. The Green Public Day will be held on the last day of MIECF (20 August), where a series of on-site promotional and educational activities related to environmental protection will be available to raise public awareness of environmental protection and motivate the public to practise a green lifestyle.
The 2023MIECF has also introduced “Tan Puhui” elements for the first time to bring the public on board with carbon emissions reduction. It has also set up the “Green Living Zone” and “Green and Low-Carbon Project Zone”, where an array of environmental technology products will be launched, with the highlighted display of kitchen waste systems, eco-friendly cutlery, electric vehicles, and so on.
Guided community tours and technical visits extend the effectiveness of the event
To give the participants a better understanding of the latest environmental technologies, technical visits to the recycling facilities for electronic and electrical devices and the Cotai Ecological Reserve will be arranged on 20 August. Meanwhile, traders attending the 2023MIECF will be invited to visit Macao communities and explore local stores, where they can appreciate Macao’s cultural tourism first-hand. This will promote Macao’s image as a city worth visiting and suitable for business and MICE events while further unlocking the synergy between the MICE industry and tourism.
Guests attending the press conference include IPIM President Vincent U, DSPA Director Tam Vai Man, Project Manager of the 2023MIECF Alan Ho and Mr Lam Chong In, representative of the 2023MIECF General Contractor.
