As part of the Earth Day Celebration and the worldwide effort to educate people on the environmental value of Green Business and Ecolabeling, Sta. Rosa- and Binan-based business establishment owners and company officials attended “Green Business and Ecolabeling Seminar”, organized by the Philippine Center for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development, Inc. (PCEPSDI) and the GenTwoFifteen Development Foundation, Inc. (GDFI) in coordination with the City government of Sta. Rosa on April 20 at the Sta. Rosa City New City Hall Multipurpose Room.
Participants were oriented on the ecolabelling and green procurement programs as a twin strategy to promote sustainable production and consumption. They were also introduced to the Green Purchasing Alliance Movement (GPAM), an organization of green procurement advocate, and were encouraged to partake in the green purchasing advocacy.
The seminar is a response to the increasing demand for environmental programs on products and services when the recent Typhoons Ondoy and Peping and the current El Niёo Phenomenon in the country? all born out of climate change? resulted to destruction and catastrophe. Environmental programs target business and industrial zones where many environmental pollutants come from, just like in Sta. Rosa City, an emerging business and industrial zone next to Mega Manila.
The activity oriented and encouraged participants to engage in Green Business by providing them an overview of the ecolabelling and green procurement programs. It also showcased in a mini-exhibit some green technologies that aim to lessen the alarming environmental impacts of climate change.
The seminar furthermore presented the National Eco-labelling Programme-Green Choice Philippines (NELP-GCP), a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)/ Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) programme and an ISO 14024 application that is voluntary, third party declaration, and multiple-criteria-based. NELP-GCP aims to encourage clean manufacturing practices and consumption of environmentally preferable products and services. The Green Choice Philippines (GCP) is the government’s response to the need to alter consumer preferences and practices to initiate a demand for environmental responsibility from all sectors of society. It intends to guide consumers to choose environment-friendly products and to encourage manufacturers to produce and supply products that have less harmful impacts on the
41 business owners and company officials participated in this free admission seminar.
JM Embate
