Cebu SMEs go green

Tuesday, 29 June 2010 23:58

SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) based in Cebu are now upgrading to green processes and products as the province bids to become a major source of eco-friendly home and lifestyle goods for the global market. Through a P75-million funding support from the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) and the German organization Sequa gGmbH, 450 Cebu-based SMEs are now getting free advisory services on sustainable consumption and production under the SMEs for Environmental Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency (SMART) Cebu project. The project officially started on Monday with the deployment of 15 energy-efficiency “counsellors” and 10 clean-production experts to guide the SMEs on how they can make their manufacturing processes cleaner and more efficient. “The P75-million SMART Cebu fund is a first-of-a-kind project in the Philippines that is aimed at launching Cebu in the global market as an upcoming source of green home and lifestyle products,” the ECCP said. The ECCP expects the project to provide a new foundation for Cebu’s future industrial growth and secure a new image for Cebu as the green export capital of the country. Direct beneficiaries of the project are SMEs in the furniture and furnishing business; fashion accessories; and gifts, toys and houseware. The project is expected to help Cebu industries enter new and fast-growing markets in Europe focused on green and sustainable-living products.