SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the province have a huge role in achieving green economic development, said Lea Gonzales, provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Occidental.
Gonzales said that being “green” does not only mean using solar energy, but also as simple as changing lamps into light-emitting diode (LED) to reduce electricity consumption, saving water through rain-water harvesting, and proper waste segregation.
“These simple practices can already impact the environment positively and should also be applied by enterprises in their respective business-place,” she added.
DTI-Negros Occidental has been partnering with different organizations like the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Negros Economic Development Foundation Inc. (NEDF) in implementing various pro-green economic development (ProGED) initiatives.
Gonzales said the forum on green technologies and practices held at the Planta Hotel in Bacolod City Wednesday, which is in partnership with NEDF, is part of the agency’s efforts in letting more SMEs know about the pressing importance of greening.
Aside from environment protection and conservation, ProGED practices also impacts the business operations.
“Most enterprises have not yet realized that even small reduction to electricity bills will contribute to decreasing production cost which will eventually result to increase in their income,” she stressed.
The DTI official further said that Negros Occidental in general is a ProGED province given its strong initiatives on organic agriculture and renewable energy generation, among others, thus it is attractive to foreign investors.
There is also a growing market for local enterprises with products that are produced using green technologies and practices, Gonzales added.