Adapt to climate change to reduce business risks, MSMEs told

EVEN SMALL businesses have to adapt to unavoidable changes in climate and help mitigate their adverse effects, experts said in a forum organized by the Institute for Small-Scale Industries at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman early this month.

The afternoon-long symposium focused on how micro, small, and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) can address the ill effects of climate change, and at the same time reduce the unnecessary risks to, or even improve, business operations.

Saying climate change is inevitable, speakers from the government, private sector and the academe offered options for both small enterprises and individuals to keep climate-driven disasters at bay.

In his welcome remarks to an audience of fellow faculty, students and UP system officials, Institute Director Nestor Rañeses said businesses should “create more” by using less polluting materials in the new era of climate change. The innovative approach ensures sustainable consumption while improving the productive use of limited resources.

The local economy should not entirely be dependent on greenhouse gas-emitting resources and linked to an increasingly de-carbonized, de-materialized global economy.

Dennis de la Torre, chief of staff at the Climate Change Commission, the lead agency implementing the national framework strategy for climate change, said adaptation is the less bitter pill to take over mitigation.

Adaptation is already happening with the use of less energy-consuming light bulbs and the first wind-powered plant in the Ilocos region, he noted.

Trade and Industry Undersecretary Merly M. Cruz said the initiatives of her department are anchored on the realization that climate change is no longer just an environmental concern, and is an economic and development issue as well. A significant move in this direction was the inclusion of climate change issues in crafting the new development plan for MSMEs for 2010�“2016. Climate change responses are embedded in the plan as well as being the core development strategy behind the department’s flagship programs for MSMEs, she said.
The DTI, she said is “mainstreaming” green consciousness in the small enterprise sector in several fronts. The Incentives Code, for instance, provides clean development mechanisms and environment-friendly measures to make it attractive even for industrial start-ups to establish “green” businesses. The incentives were provided as a result of the Biofuels Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Mini-Hydroelectric Power Incentives Act, she said.

Ms. Cruz cited as an example DTI regional offices’ push to revitalize interest in the bamboo industry nationwide, citing the huge requirements for desks and chairs of the Department of Education which is only being partially absorbed by local producers. To help the bamboo industry cope with the demand, the DTI is promoting wide-scale propagation of bamboo, a carbon-sequestering plant as well as an ideal material for reforestation projects and in preventing soil erosion in watersheds.

Meanwhile, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation, better known as GTZ, provides technical experts in planning the DTI’s blueprint for green development as well as large-scale “eco-friendly” programs. GTZ is particularly seeking to improve the participation of MSMEs in economic and social development activities.

Volker Steigerwald, program manager at GTZ, said his agency’s strategy hinges on applying “green measures” to boost the productivity and competitiveness of small enterprises. Local governments are also being tapped to allow them to integrate sustainability in their planning processes. GTZ experts draw from international best practices, local experiences, global trends, and dialogues between the private and public sector, he said.

Armin Sarthou, UP system vice-president for development noted examples of technology-driven innovations in energy conservation, like the super kalan and the recycling of bottles. “Technology is the way to go even for the smallest players. Innovative products will have low competition but with comparatively higher profit margins. There are rewards to those who are able to innovate in reducing the carbon footprint.”

Mr. Sarthou said UP would soon be in discussions with the Department of Science and Technology to explore the feasibility of a locally designed monorail transport system inside the Diliman campus. There is also a proposal to install a solar-powered plant.

UP engineering graduate Anna Bella S. Manalang, director of De La Salle University’s Center for Lean Systems and Management, and panel member of the United Nations Environment Program, presented an action road map for carbon footprint that managed to encompass concerns for stakeholder inclusion, poverty alleviation, energy efficiency, and use of renewable energy sources.

Her model entails adapting in-country environment data as well as programs and policies in harmony with global initiatives in both industrialized and industrializing economies.

Ms. Manalang emphasized that at the end of the day, individual choices largely determine how well the action road map would lead to a “de-carbonized, de-materialized” economy. The simple act of influencing an individual to throw his trash properly can add up, however tiny, to the collective vision for an environment-friendly nation, she said.

The open forum yielded a number of practical as well as elaborate proposals to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change. One proposal was to take outmoded vehicles off the road. Another was to make green measures sufficiently simple to be understood by micro-business proprietors.

Still another proposed to establish a research and training institution as the hub of climate change endeavors affecting MSMEs. — Tony M. Maghirang, UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries