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By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, December 11 2018; Business World
Image Credit to National Economic and Development Authority
THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC and Development Authority (NEDA) said it has completed a strategy for the agency to reduce its ecological footprint.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia on Dec. 6 signed the Declaration on Climate Change that contains a four-part initiative to reduce NEDA’s energy and water consumption, per capita greenhouse gas emissions, and maximize productivity.
“This Declaration is a call to action for the present generation to live sustainably and help reduce the detrimental effects of climate change, so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations,” Mr. Pernia said in a statement.
“It will also provide the much needed framework that will guide and enable NEDA to implement concrete actions that ensure the protection and conservation of our environment and natural resources,” he added.
The first component includes the dissemination of promotional videos on climate change. The second component involves mainstreaming sustainable consumption practices in the workplace like water and energy conservation, efficient use of resources, reducing the use of plastic, waste reduction and recycling, and workplace greening through rooftop or vertical gardening.
NEDA will also seek to introduce ride sharing or point-to-point shuttles for its employees, and explore alternative transport service schemes, as the third part of the strategy.
The fourth component is the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework that assesses the overall effectiveness of NEDA’s initiatives to cut its carbon footprint. It may also feature a reward system that incentivizes good practices among departments.
“With this initiative, we hope to set an example among our stakeholders and encourage other government agencies to follow suit. Together, we can all make a big impact in reducing the effects of climate change,” said Mr. Pernia.
“The NEDA Management Committee officials reaffirm our commitment to conserve our environment and natural resources and addresses climate change, and call upon all NEDAns to take a proactive role in adopting and implementing concrete actions toward greenings NEDA’s systems and process which will contribute in reducing NEDA’s carbon footprint,” the declaration read. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
