In accordance with the bilateral agreements between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Federal Republic of Germany, GTZ is implementing this Thai-German Partnership Programme on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The Programme's long title indicates its goal, and Thai SMEs as its target group:"Enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises by improving the access to business and financial services and introducing eco-efficiency in industry".

The Thai-German Programme for Enterprise Competitiveness (PEC) is designed for 8 years (2004-2012). Its main organisational units are 2 components (Business Development Service and Eco-Efficiency) with a number of projects and interventions.

Affiliated eco-efficiency related projects:

• Municipality Waste Management Phitsanulok
• Commercialisation of Biopesticides in SEA
• Environmentally Compatible Rehabilitation of Tsunami Affected Areas (finished)

Eco-efficiency related support by German Internal Experts (CIM):

• The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE)
• King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (MKITL)
• Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC)
• Pollution Control Department (PCD)
• Population and Community Development Association (PDA)
• Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC)

It is the PEC's eco-efficiency goal to increase the competitiveness of SMEs for the sake of a long-term sustainable economic growth, through:

• Introduction of enterprise related and appropriate eco-efficiency principles, technologies and procedures.
• Improving services in selected fields of resource management, energy efficiency, cleaner production and pollution control.
• Strengthening the service and market-orientation of administrative interventions for eco-efficiency.

The programme is initially concentrating on selected agro-industrial sectors. Special actual focus is on improving the products, production and value chain of the sub-sectors palm oil, aquaculture/shrimps, tapioca, mulberry paper, fruits and vegetable.

Additionally, there are eco-efficiency services, which enhance the "enabling environment" for business. These include integrated energy management, chemicals risk management, knowledge management systems for pollution prevention and control, eco-efficiency advisory services and consumer advisory systems.

The programme interventions are focusing either directly on SMEs as the target group or on the improvement of the administrative, institutional and/or legislative conditions. In order to achieve a high degree of sustainability and acceptance, the programme strives to cooperate with government, chambers, associations and enterprises.

The projects and activities are described in more details here.

The eco-efficiency activities are expected to lead to concrete results, such as:

• SMEs profit directly from the introduction of resource management.
• The market share for organic, recyclable or bio-degradable products and environmentally friendly production increases.
• Environmental and business development policies increasingly refer to eco-efficiency principles and implementation strategies.
• The public or private service structure for eco-efficiency has improved: there are more and better services available.
• The contribution of renewable energy, in particular bio-mass generated energy to the total energy budget increases.
• Industrial development policy as well as environmental policy objectives, which target at SMEs' performance, and relate in particular to the reduction of energy consumption, to pollution mitigation and to the improvement of environmental compatibility, are being implemented.