2 industry groups sign up as partners of DENR

Two more groups have signed up as association partners of the Department of Natural Resources (DENR) in its effort to strengthen environmental management and protection.

The two groups which signed an environmental consent agreement (Econa) at the DENR office last June 4 are the Polystyrene Packa-ging Council of the Phils. (PPCP) and QSR Manage-ment Link Association.

Signing for the DENR were Secretary Elisea Gozun, and Environmental Manage-ment Bureau (EMB) Director Julian Amador, Albert Tam-limco and Antonio Casac-lang, president of the PPCP and QSR Management Link Association, respectively, signed for their organiza-tions. The signing was witnessed by officials of the DENR and support agencies of the PEPP, namely the Development Bank of the Philippines, Laguna Lake Development Authority, and US Agency for International Development, and H.E. Ambassador Annika Markovic of Sweden.

Gozun said "the DENR is optimistic that opportunities await our new partners in their formulation and imple-mentation of respective Environmental Management Plans and in effect, dramati-cally improve their environ-mental performance. And, rest assured that DENR will assist in the best of our capa-city. Partnership, after all, is the major pillar of the PEPP."

As signatories of Econa, member-industries enjoy incentives, in the form of technical and logistic sup-port and reward mecha-nisms as a result of improved environmental performance. This is in support to the promotion of industrial self-regulation under the provisions of the Philippine Environmental Partnership Program (PEPP) which was launched in June 2003.

One of the commitments under the Econa is the preparation of Environ-mental Management Plan (EMP). The EMP sets goals for the future and proposes a stepwise environmental improvement program. Furthermore, the EMP serves as a guide for individual establishment specific EMPs.