My approach to environmental businesses

I started to look at this sector in 2003. Since the early days, we established a close collaboration with the Chilean Environmental Association-AEPA and the Business Groups in UK Trade and Investment, which helped to foster communication and highlight business opportunities. In July 2006 I participated in an Industry Briefing Course in the UK that helped me to better understand the expertise and competitive advantages that the UK has.  Today we hosted the meeting of the international committee of  AEPA.  At the end of November the Association participated with a stand at Pollutec 2007 and we co-ordinated 11 meetings between Chilean and British companies which were very successful. Other areas covered during the session were the results of ExpoAmbiental 2007 which is becoming a regional fair on environmental issues and where some British companies participated with stands. New areas of opportunities where international experience will be valuable are rural water management since the government is launching a new law with more strict regulation and also waste and environmental management, CDM and renewable energy.

Transcript

(Maria Pia) Today we are here in a meeting with AEPA association which is the environmental trade association for Chilean companies and the meeting has covered the Pollutec trade fair that a group just visited and we organised meetings for companies that participate at the fair and also ExpoAmbiental 2007 which is a trade fair that is now getting well known in the region and the world so British participation at this trade fair and obviously we are touching as well on the challenges for next year and areas that AEPA and all the members would like to cover during this next financial year, such as energy, renewable energy and waste and the idea is that together we highlight the environemtnal areas and that we cooperate to get the best of this sector and with me there are members of AEPA and also the Director of AEPA and delegates from the French Embassy and the British Embassy also, so now Fernando Avila, the General Manager fo AEPA, will speak to us. Thanks.

(Fernando Avila) We have had a long-standing collaboration with the Commercial Section of the British Embassy, with the participation of some British experts in areas of water, hospital waste management, etc. The Commercial Section has been one of the founders of the Chilean Environmental Association - AEPA. One of the characteristics of our association of environmental companies in Chile is that European Embassies, plus US and Canada, also form part of it. Today we are with the international committee which meets once a month to inform about the results of the trade fair Ambiental, which is a Latin American environmental fair held every 2 years. We are already starting to work for 2009 where we would like to see the participation of British experts. We are also covering the results of the participation at Pollutec fair where Chile for the first time had a stand and 15 companies participated from different sectors such as water, waste and energy. At Pollutec we had meetings with British representatives and with representatives from UK Trade and Investment where we shared ideas to work together. We are sure that the collaboration with the United Kingdom will continue to be as close as it has been until now.

Posted at 12:14 12 December 2007 by Maria Pia Gazzella  | 

SHORT (LONG) WEEK

This week has been a week unlike all the rest. Monday was a Bank Holiday in Chile and on Tuesday my eldest son had an operation, so I took off one and a half days. I wanted to be with him to help him get better more quickly. I finally got back to work yesterday afternoon. It was an intense afternoon with a lot of general enquiries and coordination of meetings and activities.  In the evening I took part in a charity supper hosted by a foundation that some of my MBA colleagues and I are doing some free-consultancy work for.

Today I am representing the Ambassador at the Santiago Chamber of Commerce’s Business Meeting (CCS) with diplomatic delegates. Later on this afternoon, I will be participating in the International Environmental Conference at the ExpoAmbiental 2007 environmental fair. British companies will participate at the fair, and today’s event will be attended by Energy Minister and the Environmental Minister. There will also be an official supper tonight for industry and government representatives. The environment sector offers two areas of special interest in which the Embassy has been working recently: CDM and climate change, and waste and waste water (especially in the mining industry). These areas offer specific opportunities for British companies, some of which are already working successfully in the marketplace. 

Tomorrow, I am attending a meeting with the Chilean Construction Chamber (CCS) and the Technological Development Corporation (CDT). They will give me a debriefing on their visit to the UK that I helped coordinate. The visit, which took place toward the end of September, enabled Chilean government and construction industry representatives to attend the Constructing Excellence Forum on technological innovation in the construction sector. The attendees also met up with industry companies and associations such as British Expertise. Last week, in the context of the FCO’s climate change objectives, a British expert was invited to participate in the conference on sustainable construction organised by CDT. The visit was co-ordinated by the Embassy`s political section. In the same context, toward the end of 2007 we will participate in a technological delegation to the UK whereby Chilean architects will meet up with their British peers. The event is being organized by Monica Eggers from the commercial section. The aim of these activities is to promote British technologies and management models and to strengthen the trade links between Chile and the UK, via the transfer of information and knowledge.

Well, given that this has been a two and a half day week, I’ve still got a lot to do… so I’m off to the CCS meeting. 

Posted at 14:40 19 October 2007 by Maria Pia Gazzella  |  Comments[1]