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Green productivity, supply chain key to improving competitive advantage |
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More local firms are encouraged to green their productivity and supply chain to improve competitive advantage and create market opportunities.
Ricardo Joaquin Sison, president of the Philippine Institute for Supply Management, said green productivity is the application of appropriate productivity and environmental management tools, techniques and technologies to reduce the environmental impact of an organization's activities for products and services.
Sison explained it involves reduction of wastes and less toxic materials and production of safer products and by-products.
He said green supply chain management, on the other hand, involves buyer companies working cooperatively with suppliers to reduce environmental impact.
This initiative requires reduction of environmental impacts of waste and lower the running cost of the manufacturers, he added.
For his part, Anton Purnomo, technical assistant of United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), discussed the benefits of the Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production Services (RECPS) program to the Philippine micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
RECPS is joint program of the UNIDO and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that supports developing countries like the Philippines with capacity building and implementation of preventive environmental approaches.
Purnomo said the program provides companies with advice on production processes, assists in the selection of appropriate equipment and machineries and provides information on the availability of resources and technologies.
Apart from production efficiency, RECPS specifically works to advance environmental management and human development.
In line with this, the SMEs for environmental Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency (SMART) Cebu project of the European Union's SWITCH Asia was designed to support partner organizations in moving to clear production processes.
Thomas Ritter, project manager of EU SWITCH Asia Projects, said SMART Cebu seeks to increase the competitiveness of SMEs in the home and lifestyle industries in Cebu.
Ritter said this is can be achieved by lowering cost of operation through resource efficiency leading to energy and resource savings and reducing waste through cleaner production.
The program also aims to improve product quality through eco-design and eco-friendly materials and enhance the branding and marketing of Cebu green products, he added. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features
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