If you are a regular reader of
Macau Business, you are sure to have noticed that over the past year we have increased our coverage of environmental issues. Our goal is to show what is being done by local companies to reduce their carbon footprint and to report on new business opportunities emerging in the green sector.

Arguably, the hotel industry is leading the way in environmental best practices (while also remaining one of the biggest consumers of energy and water).

There are reasons for this. First, several of the world’s biggest hospitality companies have a presence in Macau, and they bring with them international standards for saving water and energy. Besides, these international players are not short-sighted: their long experience worldwide has made them realise that being environmentally friendly can buoy up the bottom line in the long run.

Unfortunately, apart from the hotels, there are very few businesses in Macau that set a good example.

Unlike in the mainland, where the central government has put the environment at the top of its agenda, in Macau the authorities have shown a lack of will to press for stricter regulations. Here, the official line prefers to emphasise education and promotion.

But promotion alone will have a limited effect. In some industries, it will not persuade businesses to adopt greener practices. Such practices are expensive and do not necessarily entail savings. A company that adopts them is likely to be at a competitive disadvantage because its costs will go up.

Just consider the take-away eateries that are so popular in Macau. If one such outlet replaced the cheap foam lunch boxes with a more eco-friendly option it would mean extra costs. Because many small eateries already have slim profit margins, it could lead to business losses, unless the cost is passed on to customers. But since most customers are price sensitive, it is likely that they would go to cheaper competitors instead.

However, if the standard were to be set by industry regulations that all players had to comply with, companies would not have to risk being at a competitive disadvantage in trying to be more environmentally friendly.

Unplugged

Unfortunately, the government seems not to understand this basic rule of economics. Or it simply does not want to risk pushing ahead with policies that are likely to face criticism, even if they are the right thing to do.

Worse, the local authorities are unable even to regulate untapped areas of green business in which Macau could set an example to the world.

A clear case is electric cars. The government has been studying the idea for years, but so far nothing has been done. A handful of companies interested in importing such cars are still waiting for the green light.

Macau, according to several experts, would be an ideal place for electric cars.

First, the city is small, and most cars are not allowed to cross the border into the mainland. This means the battery endurance problem is a non-issue here, where most vehicles cover distances well below 100 km per day.

Second, owning or renting a private parking spot is quite common among car owners, and the city has several public car parks. This means it would not be hard to install charging stations in convenient places.

But the local authorities continue to study the electric car as if it was something completely new, failing to realise that such vehicles are already regulated in several markets. The regulators have already lost one good opportunity to make a difference: the recent public bus service tender should have included stricter provisions to protect the environment.

Emanuel Graça
Editor-in-Chief
emanuel.graca@macaubusiness.com