SMEs for environmental Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency

January 20, 2011

FAME Foundation invited SMART Cebu to present the Project to FAME members last December 2010. Assistant Local Coordinator Faye Sena introduced the project and its objectives, while Clean Production Coordinator Maricar Lusung outlined the benefits of joining the project and possible areas where companies can save money.

Want to know more about the SMART Cebu Project? The Local Coordinating office at ECCP welcomes all companies and interested partners who would like to know the project better. Please contact ereroma@dont-want-spam.eccp.com for appointments.

January 20, 2011

As of January 2010, the Nucleus Counsellors of CFIF, FAME and Cebu GTH have visited and conducted ‘WalkThrough’ to 64 companies, with CFIF visiting 25, GTH – 24 and FAME -15..

What is A ‘WalkThrough’?

A walk-through involves touring your organization's facility, observing different function areas or departments' activities, and talking with employees and managers about waste-producing, activities and equipment. A walk-through is a relatively quick way to examine a organization's waste-generating practices. This is to provide information for prioritization of areas to be evaluated.

Specifically, a’ walk-through’ will enable the team to:

• Have a good understanding of processing operations and build a picture of waste generation.
• Observe the types and relative amounts of waste produced.
• Identify waste-producing activities and equipment.
• Detect inefficiencies in operations or in the way waste moves through the organization.
• Observe the layout and operations of various departments
• Assess existing space and equipment that can be used for storage, processing recyclables, and other activities.
• Assess current waste reduction efforts.
• Collect additional information through interviews with supervisors and employees.

- US EPA

WalkThroughs are free and companies are invited to grab this opportunity! Companies who undergo the walkthrough will have the option of pursuing a full cleaner production audit based on the initial walk-through and will have the benefit of identifying areas for improvement and possible cost saving measures for the company. Please contact CEBU-GTH, CFIF, CEBU FAME immediately for your schedule or email maricar@dont-want-spam.smartcebuproject.com.

January 20, 2011

Nucleus Counsellors took on an active role in a Sustainability Materials seminar, organized by ECCP’s Materials R&D Project last December 10, 2010 at the DOST Lahug Building.

Materials R&D Project Manager Ingrid Haufe focused her discussions on what makes a material sustainable and Pete Delantar of Natures’ Legacy offered his experience on working with the eco-friendly company Body Shop. SMART Cebu NCs acted as moderators for the group discussions and took the chance to talk with the different companies present to discuss their concerns and problems with sustainable materials.

The Sustainable Materials Seminar is just the first of the Materials R&D Project’s series of seminars on sustainable designs, materials and technology in line with the SMART Cebu project. For more information and list of future seminars, please contact ingrid_haufe@dont-want-spam.eccp.com

October 2010

Leading Philippine banks showed keen interest in sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and the business opportunities that come with financial and technical assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during a recent executive briefing and workshop in support of SMART Cebu.

Organized by one of the Project’s Consortium Members, the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) based in Manila and, the executive briefing was attended by ADFIAP members and other financial institutions and held at the DBP Training Center in Makati City.

In attendance were 28 participants from ADFIAP members Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine Export and Import Agency (PhilExim), Al-Amanah Investment Bank of the Philippines, Queen City Development Bank, RCBC Savings Bank, Philippine Postal Savings Bank and the Coalition of Socially- Responsible SMEs in Asia (CSRSME).

Leading commercial banks such as Banco de Oro, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation and Security Bank also attended.

Bankers showed keen interest in SCP and the business opportunities that come with assisting SMEs through financial and technical assistance. They also noted sustainable development issues like SCP that balance economic, social and environmental dimensions or the so-called “triple bottom line” that provide banks and financial institutions the leverage to promote green principles and practices to SMEs.

October 2010

SCP Desks have been established by SMART Cebu in each of the Philippine business membership organizations (BMO) participating in the project, namely, Cebu FAME, CFIF and Cebu GTH.

The SCP Desks are manned by a Desk Officer who will manage the various services offered by the desk to the BMO and its members. Services include advocacy services, information services, business services, and networking services.

Advocacy services include SCP promotion, government liaison on SCP issues, preparation of BMO position papers, and coordination with local, regional, and international organizations for technical and financial support.

Read more

February 2011

A delegation from the

SMART Cebu project travelled to  Europe to update participants with the sustainable consumption and production (SCP) practices and developments in Europe. Senior representatives of the project partners together with selected policy-makers and representatives of banks visited the Netherlands and Germany to familiarise themselves with how SCP is implemented in Europe. The consultation during the tour focused particularly on  standards,  green product design and innovations, latest developments in the area of cleaner production, and trade show trends. In the Netherlands the delegation met, among others,  representatives of the Centre for the Promotion of Exports from Developing Countries, the CSR Institute of the Netherlands and the Matchmaking Facility of the Dutch Foreign Ministry. In Germany, the group saw trade fair shows such as Ambiente in Frankfurt, ZOW in Bad Salzuflen, or the KEY TO in Berlin. They also visited several retail  shops to better understand European consumption patterns. The group also paid a visit to the Centre of Sustainable Consumption and Production in Wuppertal.

June 2010

The SMART Cebu Project was launched today to help Cebu Home and Lifestyle industries switch to cleaner production processes and to help them become competitive in the green markets of Europe. Three Cebu home and lifestyle industries, namely, furniture, fashion accessories and gifts, toys and house wares, will be assisted to convert to cleaner production and develop new lines of eco-friendly products for the European green markets.

The project is financed through a Euro 1.2 million grant from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Read more