Greening Growth Through HRD Interventions - United...

Greening Growth

Through HRD Interventions

Sub-Theme: Strategic Human Resource

Development in an Era of "Green Growth”

ROLANDO L. METIN

Career Executive Service Board, Philippines

Green Growth as National Strategy

Reconciling environmental protection and

conservation with social and economic activities

Adopting good environmental governance for local

and national productivity, to stimulate livelihood

activities, alleviate poverty and even address

serious developments like climate change and its

impacts.


Adopting green growth policies and strategies is

urgent in the Philippines where huge economic

losses arise from environment degradation.

World Bank estimates (2003) - P17 Billion Pesos

(US$340 M) annually in fishery sector. Foregone

tourism revenue - at US1 Billion while health costs

that could have been avoided amount to US$60 M

annually

All because of water pollution.


Other environmental and pollution problems such as

in the air sector entailing s huge health costs and

decrease in individual and national productivity

Rapid loss of forests results in massive soil erosion

and sedimentation of the water ways and coastal

areas

Country being archipelagic faces constant threats

from the effects of climate change.


Other forms and sources of pollution – such as air –lead to higher health costs and lower productivity.Controlling pollution – to mitigate climate changeand adapting to the impacts of climate change.Country being archipelagic and located in typhoonbelt – highly vulnerable to effects of climate change.

Greening Growth Thru HRD

Interventions

Greening growth and reversing unsustainable use

of resources can be facilitated by HRD

interventions.

Five cases of HR inventions in selected Philippine

government agencies present approaches to green

growth

Take off for developing a national program for

greening HR and implementing green HR programs

Greening Growth Thru HRD Interventions

of Five Philippine Government Agencies

Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR)– on coastal resource management -on

training local government units and coastal

communities

Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) – on

pollution control among industries thru collaboration

with non-government organizations

Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA)– on

environmental compliance thru the establishment of

Compliance Assistance Centers, using the industry

associations of two highly pollutive industry sectors


of Five Philippine Government Agencies

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) – on

improving environmental performance of ecozones

and locator enterprises – thru periodic ecological

forum and recognition of best environmental

performance

Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) – on

training industry sectors develop environmental

management plans as vehicle for waste reduction

and achieving operational efficiency.

Greening Growth Thru HRD Interventions -

DENR

DENR - principal government department charged with

the sustainable management, conservation, protection

and development of the country’s environment and

natural resources.

Forests, environment (air, water, land) biodiversity,

protected areas, mapping, land management, mining

and geological sciences, and ecosystems research.

Also tasked to manage and protect the coastal zone

where more than 60% of the Filipinos live.

Greening Growth Thru HRD Interventions -

DENR

Limited livelihood options have driven many coastal

residents to destructive means of fishing and clearing of

coastal vegetation for the construction of fish ponds and

for fuel. All this, for short term gains, which has

progressively rendered the fishermen with less catch per

unit of effort and dip further in poverty.

Coastal communities extremely vulnerable to the

impacts of climate change, the Philippines being

archipelagic. Strong waves, which are constant threat to

the coastal villages, are not uncommon in many islands

and shorelines.


– DENR Coastal Resource Management

DENR in Region VIII (Eastern Central Philippines)

developed and implemented training modules for coastal

communities in Northern Samar particularly on planting

of mangroves and sea grasses, establishment and

management of marine protected areas and fish

sanctuaries, on economic losses from short term and

destructive livelihood practices, and how proper

coastal management can mitigate the impacts of

climate change.

Easy-to-understand written materials on the various

aspects and elements of coastal resource

management


– DENR Coastal Resource Management

Municipal officials, barangay leaders, coastal

communities and their local organizations are main

targets of HR interventions.

DENR training team - composed of three to five

technical staff from the regional, provincial and

district offices. Their work is largely on coastal resource

management research and extension.


– Environmental Management Bureau

Two major mechanisms and activities of the EMB may be

considered HRD interventions for green growth:

- The EMB website as information and training

platform, and

- working with non government environmental

management organizations such as the Pollution

Control Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PCAPI)

as venue for promoting green growth among

industries.



PCAPI is a private organization of pollution control

officers in industry (and in some cases, in

government offices).

Among its objectives are to promote cleaner

production, waste minimization and pollution

prevention among top managers, decision and policy

makers and workers of industry and the general

public, and serve as a forum for the exchange of

ideas and formulation of strategies to address

pollution and environmental issues.



In majority of the regions, the EMB works in tandem with the PCAPI

in disseminating environmental laws, regulations and best practices,

and best available technologies to industries and other

establishments.

Training new PCO’s is a regular activity of PCAPI. EMB provides

resource persons in this training and other PCAPI discussions.



The EMB Website (www.emb.gov.ph) provides the PCAPI and its

members a wealth of information on environmental laws and

regulations, including downloadable training materials.

The Website itself is a HRD resource, containing such topics like

Health and Economic Impacts of Air Pollution; The Earth is a

Greenhouse; What can we do about Climate Change? Alternative

Fuels: A Key to Reducing Air Pollution; What is Environmental

Management System (EMS)? Environmental Education: Maintaining

the Quality of Life and Sustaining Development; Clean Development

Mechanism; and Industrial EcoWatch.



The collaborative work between the EMB and

PCAPI (and other environmental organizations) have

resulted in progressively increasing compliance with

environmental regulations, which has the effect of

incorporating green considerations in company

operations.


– Philippine Economic Zone Authority

(PEZA)

PEZA supervises the operation of economic zones in the

Philippines. While PEZA’s principal mandate is

investment promotion, it has taken environmental

protection within the economic zones.

One major activity – conduct of Ecological Forum (Eco-

Forum) with operators, locators and managers of

economic zones as venue for discussion of

environmental and other economic and related social

issues, environmental laws and regulations and

implementation procedures for improved compliance.



(PEZA)

More than just a forum - aim is to promote growth and

contribute to local and national productivity while

incorporating environmental considerations in the

operations of the various locator firms.

To sustain acceptable and beyond-compliance

environmental performance of ecozone operators and

locators, PEZA has been giving an Annual Environmental

Performance Award.



(PEZA)

To qualify for the PEP Awards –

- Implemented and adopted ISO 14001-based Environmental

Management Systems (EMS) or other systems employing the

Plan-Do-Check-Act framework;

- Documented sustained compliance with environmental

regulations appropriately,

- Continuous improvement in waste management, energy,

materials or water use, air pollution prevention,

preservation/restoration, water discharges, accidental

releases, etc.; and

- executed environmental projects or outreach programs.


– Laguna Lake Development Authority

(LLDA)

LLDA - specialized government agency tasked with

sustainable management of the 90,000 hectare

Laguna de Bay Lake and its watersheds, including a

big part of Metro Manila involving about 50 local

government units.

Some 20 million people live around the lake and in its

watershed, in addition to the thousands of industries

and commercial establishments.

Highly industrialized. Huge volumes of untreated

wastes drain to the lake which impacts on the

ecological integrity and productivity of the lake.


– LLDA

Major HR intervention is the establishment of Compliance

Assistance Centers (CAC) for two industry sectors: hog

raising and slaughterhouse operations on the need to

control pollution and to help their member farms and

outfits comply with environmental regulations and

standards.


– LLDA

Compliance assistance also includes training the CAC on

“beyond-compliance assistance”, e.g., adoption of clean

technologies, good housekeeping, ecosystems

relationships, environmental management systems, etc.,

which the CAC also uses in training its target/ member

establishments.



(PEZA)

Highlighting this initiative is training the industry

associations themselves to serve as the CAC for their

sector.

LLDA embarked on capacity development of the

associations of hog raisers and slaughterhouse operators

on environmental laws and standards, best available

technologies and compliance procedures.


– LLDA

The CAC may be considered a form of training the trainor

approach. As a result of the capacity building and

learnings that the CAC has received, the hog raisers

association, for instance, has been meeting with

individual members to evaluate their own operations and

plan for improvements and to meet environmental

standards.

An increased understanding of environmental laws and

standards among the hog raisers and slaughterhouse

operators have resulted in specific plans and actions

towards compliance.


– LLDA

Most significant element of the CAC as HR intervention is

the realization by the two sectors that actions and

investments for improved environmental performance

need not be a big dent on their profitability.

The CAC approach can be replicated almost anywhere in

the country and for almost all industry sectors.


– Development Bank of the Philippines

(DBP)

The DBP is a government-owned universal development

bank.

In 1986, tasked to participate actively in implementing the country’s

industrial restructuring program to introduce increased efficiency and

productivity within the industry sectors.

Complementing the program was addressing the environmental aspects

of various industrial operations. DBP embarked on working with and

training several industry sectors, through their associations in

formulating and implementing environmental management plans or

EMP.



(DBP)

Among the sectors trained on EMP: cement, pulp and

paper, furniture, electronic, ship repair, vegetable and

fruit canning, and cocoa which were traditionally identified

as highly pollutive industries.

DBP developed training modules on pollution

identification, waste reduction strategies and addressing

pollution problems through the preparation and

implementation of Environmental Management Plans that

were appropriate to the industry sectors.



(DBP)

DBP also produced several manuals on waste and

pollution reduction for specific sectors.

Many members of the industry associations assisted and

through the EMP embarked on ISO 14001 certification

which indicated their willingness and ability to manage

their emissions and effect continual environmental

improvements. Such impact may also be considered

change in corporate behaviour.



(DBP)

Side by side with providing assistance to industries on

environment, the DBP also embarked on training its own

staff on the basics of environmental management.

Analysis of how a prospective project for funding would

potentially affect the water, land, air and environment and

the community has become a regular process in

evaluating applications for loans.



(DBP)

DBP’s own experiences on extending training assistance to

industries have resulted in its own internal changes:

- adoption of ISO 14001-based Environmental Management

System, and being certified as such,

- adopting efficient lighting initiatives

- coming out with annual Corporate Environment Report,

- giving preferential treatment to renewable energy projects,

and

- policy that loan projects must satisfy environmental tests such

as being able to control or abate pollution that may arise from the

project’s operations.

Summary of HR Interventions ofFive Selected Government Agencies

Imparting knowledge and skills is done using non-

traditional approaches, i.e., less of the classroom/

workshop type but more on practical exercises.

Use of stakeholders themselves as the HR providers as

demonstrated in the EMB-PCAPI, the LLDA CAC and the

DBP-Industry Associations for industries, and the LGU

and Local Leaders, in the case of the DENR coastal

resource management interventions.


All emphasize environmental protection and conservation

but within a context that sustained growth can be

achieved.

The HR intervenors are not the professional HR staff.

They are technical persons who understand their

expertise stuff but also have the motivation of teaching

others on how operations can be undertaken more

efficiently.


All are government agencies and while three of them

(DENR, EMB and LLDA) are mandated to undertake

environmental management work, the two others pursued

environmental protection interventions outside of their

mandates as deliberate actions towards green growth.

All agencies could have stuck to their principal mandates

avoid the task of teaching their regulated stakeholders on

improving environmental performance.

Taking Off From the HR Lessonsfrom the Five Selected GovernmentAgencies

The remaining part of the paper proposes in broad strokes,

taking off from the lessons and approaches from the 5 cases:

- the development and implementation of Greening HR Programs

within the bureaucracy, targeting initially and largely the local

government units.

- identification of green growth HRD modules and how training

materials would be developed

- institutional structures and arrangements for Green HR Programs

- implementation strategies.


An initial 5-year greening the HRD program is proposed.

The first two years will be devoted to developing curricula

and modules, organizing and training teams and identifying

HRD targets.

Training contents will focus on waste reduction and

minimization in all sectors, in households, industries, offices

and all economic and social activities; on adaptation and

mitigation vis-à-vis climate change, and on conservation of

natural resources, particularly water.


Other focus on the training programs will be on emergency

preparedness for natural disasters like typhoons, sea surge,

flooding and landslides as adaptation measures for the

impacts of climate change.

Local government officials, including members of the local

legislative councils, will be main target of Green HR

interventions.


The Philippine bureaucracy, consisting of the agencies at

the Central and those at sub-national level, including local

government units, remains as potent vehicle for promoting

and implementing Green Growth HR interventions.

Investing in Green HR or Greening the HRD Programs is

expected to yield highly significant economic and

environmental benefits for the general and continuing

welfare of the citizenry.

Greening Growth

Through HRD Interventions

THANK YOU

MARAMING SALAMAT

DR. ROLANDO L. METIN, DPA

Career Executive Service Board, Philippines

Greening Growth Through HRD Interventions - United...

Documents

Transcript of Greening Growth Through HRD Interventions - United...