Latest Trends in Social & Environmental Responsibilities in Europe (LASER) is an initiative within the European Union’s Asia Invest Programme. The Asia-Invest Programme was launched in 1997 as an initiative of the European Union to promote and support business co-operation between the EU Member States and Asia. The Programme provides assistance to intermediary organizations to facilitate mutually beneficial partnerships between EU and Asian companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as to strengthen the framework conditions to increase trade and investment flows between the two regions. Asia-Invest emphasizes on three main areas of activity:
- Business to business match-making and partnership building;
- Asian private sector development, and
- Institutional capacity building, networking and dialogue
The important objectives within the LASER Project include:
To develop a decision support tool for local SMEs to understand, analyze and proactively prepare them to comply with the latest developments in environment & social responsibility requirements in EU, and thus reinforce and strengthen the existing business links with their EU business partners
Sensitize Asian business intermediaries on latest developments in EU pertaining to environment and social responsibility
Build capacity in the staff of Asian Business intermediaries to service the local business to interpret and comply with the requirements on environment & social responsibility in Europe
To strengthening networking between Asian and EU business intermediaries to enhance closure and continued exchange of experience and information on the subject area, thereby having an induced positive impact on bilateral business between the two regions
To provide a platform for the businesses in EU and Asia to identify the complying business partners – to develop the platform and criteria for the businesses to be included on such platform |
