The Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc. (MACCII), Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) and the Environmental Practitioners Association (EPA) launched the “GREENPHILIPPINES, Greening the Philippines Industries with the ECOPROFIT Approach” project.

GREENPHILIPPINES is a regional partnership that is anchored on the capacity building and training program approach for industries in Central Luzon. On the other hand, ECOPROFIT is a combined cleaner production and environmental management approach which improves the ecological performance of companies while improving resource efficiency, thus creating ecological and economic benefits. Through the transfer of the ECOPROFIT know-how via high quality trainings and the implementation of best practice dissemination models, local economic and environmental development will be strengthened.

Due to the strategic location of Subic and Clark,both areas attract numerous industries and are ahead in developing a sound industrial base with several large and medium scale industries. With the rapid onset of industrialization, the degradation of the environment is increasing at an alarming rate in both areas, brought about by in- creasing environment stress especially in water and soil quality. Through GREENPHILIPPINES, the ECOPROFIT methodology will be introduced to Clark and Subic as an endeavor towards sustainable development.

During the launching, Mr. Narayanan Sreenivas, Director of ASSIST, the development arm of the ECC International, introduced GREENPHILIPPINES to members and guests of the partner organizations. Mr. Thomas Dielacher, Managing Director of Stenum of Austria which developed the ECOPROFIT model, gave the potential program participants an overview of the ECOPROFIT methodology. He cited its success in Europe and its initial implementation in India in Asia. President Juan Miguel Fuentes of the EPA, who is concurrently the Manager of the Environment Management Department of the Clark Development Corporation, apprised the participants on the environmental status of the CDC and the economic zone. The program concluded with MACCII Pres. Myra Rivera stressing the need for cooperation to promote environment-friendly and economically rewarding approaches to business processes as part of the collective strategy in dealing with growing environmental concerns.

The 3-year project is now being implemented in the target region with 15 companies in the Subic-Clark corridor selected from the members of the local partners, MACCII and EPA. A workshop on the ECOPROFIT approach was conducted last July 20-21, 2007 and representatives of the program partners conducted visits to the participating companies for initial needs assessment.

Together with MACCII, ASSIST and the EPA, the project organizers include the VSB-TUO (VSB Technical University Ostrava) based in the Czech Republic and GrAT (Centre for Appropriate Technology) of Germany. The project is being made possible through a financial aid from the European Union’s Asia Pro Eco II Programme.