A Pulse Asia survey has shown that 83 percent of Filipinos prefer to patronize products and services of brands that have environment-friendly operations and products.
Pulse Asia President Ronald Holmes presented the survey results during a forum on sustainable and strategic waste management on Thursday organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute and the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST). The survey was conducted from November 27 to December 1, 2022, and was also commissioned by Stratbase.
“The message is clear: a sizable majority of Filipinos will support enterprises that have environment-friendly operations and products…Filipinos know that there are certain things that are happening in the country that require us to be more socially conscious. The question now is whether industries or firms will be able to cater to this preference,” Holmes said.
Reports showed that Philippines is the third largest contributor to plastic waste in the world, generating an estimated 2.7 million tons of plastic waste per year.
Last month, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga signed the implementing rules and regulations for the Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR law of 2022. This measure requires enterprises to offset their plastic packaging footprint by 20-80 percent starting this year until 2028 and beyond. They are obliged to form and implement their EPR programs to divert plastic packaging waste from landfills and prevent its leakage into the environment.
Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said since the EPR was launched, more than 500 companies already registered to comply with the law.
“With many of our policies in the past, it is indeed implementation that will spell the success or failure of the waste-to-energy and of the EPR program. For our part on the DENR, we hope to make the EPR procedures as straightforward as possible, less paperwork hopefully, and focus first on the registration of all plastic producers…I am hopeful of the EPR program having heard of the willingness of the private sector to be part of the program,” David said.
For Stratbase ADRi President Dindo Manhit, addressing the waste problem in the country entails a whole-of-society approach.
“While the government plays a key role through the formulation and implementation of policies, industry players are also expected to equally contribute through their investments and programs that enable circular business models,” Manhit said.
“As a problem that drastically affects the future of all, everyone, including the public must act jointly…Discipline, especially on the part of consumers, in proper waste disposal, or simply by not littering will already drastically reduce the tonnage of garbage in our waterways,” he added.
Management Association of the Philippines Vice President Alexander Cabrera believes there is a need to provide incentives and impose taxes to businesses to effectively address the waste problem in the country.
“There must be an incentive integrated in the EPR or supplement to it when collecting your plastic or repackaging in order for your products to be more environment friendly. Meanwhile, the compulsion of taxing end-of-life plastic use will force people to reinvent their packaging because they don’t want to pay tax. It’s not a question of whether it can be done or not, it’s a question of political will,” Cabrera said.
David agreed to Cabrera’s proposal.
“The role of government is to provide incentives and disincentives towards behavior that we want to achieve…We want a deeper learning and understanding of issues. First is put in the policies, then put in the incentives for people to do the behavior that is desired,” David explained.
Environment Assistant Secretary and DENR-Environmental Management Bureau Director Gilbert Gonzales said the complex waste management problem in the Philippines is a result of a linear economic model, which follows a “take-make-dispose” process for products.
“Pursuing a circular economy offers a strategy and a pathway that could potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions emissions across the economic sectors and value chains, by transforming the way products are designed and used, and derive more value from products through better product design, increased value-retention of materials, and diversion of waste from landfills,” Gonzales said.
“It can also create new investment and job opportunities, enhance local and global competitiveness, and improve resilience and vulnerability to economic shocks,” he added.
Climate Reality Project Philippine Branch Manager Nazrin Castro said it is in the best interest of the Philippines to shift to a circular economy.
“A circular economy can help avoid excessive consumption, waste and use of fossil fuels by leasing, reusing, repairing, and recycling existing materials and products,” Castro said.
Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship Secretary General, Engr. Felix Vitangcol for his part, said that “the potential benefits of the circular economy are enormous, and they go beyond waste reduction and environmental protection.
“The transition toward a circular economy is not an easy task and requires a long-term vision and commitment from all stakeholders. It requires a change in mindset, behavior, and systems,” Vitangcol said.