THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) vowed to “continuously promote” more sustainable practices in production and consumption to help achieve sustainable development goals.
In a statement on Monday, DTI-Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo noted that the DTI has always been an “advocate” of the advancement of the United Nations SDG, particularly SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production.
“We will continue and tirelessly push for increased consumer awareness and education on [sustainable consumption and production] SCP, until everyone in the country becomes a sustainable consumer, practicing sustainability and exercising mindfulness for the planet in their daily consumer practices and behaviors,” Castelo stressed.
According to the UN ESCAP report which analyzes the progress toward achieving SDG targets, the Philippines is the leader in the Asia-Pacific region in achieving SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production.
However, Unescap Statistics Division Director Rachael Beaven said in a hybrid briefing last Wednesday that the rate of progress in achieving the sustainable development goals within the region is slowing down. In fact, Beaven said “we can see clearly that we are not on track to achieving any of the 17 goals by 2030.”
The Unescap official also noted that “we should expect to achieve the SDGs in another 42 years.”
Still, the Trade department said it is one of the agencies in the country that push for implementing programs and initiatives that will assist consumers in shifting to more sustainable practices.
Among these initiatives, DTI noted, is the development of the Asean Sustainable Consumption Toolkit. The agency said the toolkit aims to guide consumer protection authorities in Asean in promoting sustainable consumption by looking at best practices and models of public policies that will support sustainable consumption.
“It comprises five modules – it looks into the concepts and principles of sustainable consumption, best practices, and approaches to policies, tools, and instruments used in influencing consumer behavior, among others,” DTI said in a statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, DTI said the development of standards and eco-labeling, supporting legislative proposals, creation and broadening of awareness on sustainable consumption are also among the agency’s initiatives.
In terms of policy supporting the SDG 12, DTI said it has supported the various SCP-related legislative proposals including that on single-use plastics and their regulation. Moreover, DTI said it partnered with the Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX) which it said is an organization that implements “plastic offsetting,” and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which allows businesses or companies to invest in environmental projects to “neutralize” the carbon footprint they produce.
As to awareness, DTI’s Consumer Protection arm said it strives to “create and broaden” the awareness of consumers on sustainable consumption through Consumer Welfare Month (CWM), Konsyumer Atbp. Radio program, and weekly Consumer Care Webinar Series, among others.
