US-AEP Countries - The Philippines - Accomplishments

WEAP seeks to: (i) reduce the negative environmental impacts of poorly trained or inexperienced wastewater treatment plant personnel by publicizing successful and applied innovations in wastewater treatment plant operations, (ii) strengthen the relationships among WEAP, Indiana Water Pollution Control Association, and WEF, (iii) conduct specialized technical training to secure WEAP’s position as a leader in disseminating training in wastewater treatment operations, (iv) obtain visibility from the technical workshops to increase WEAP memberships and strengthen WEAP as an environmental professional association, and (v) obtain visibility from the technical workshops to assist WEAP in its task of bringing wastewater treatment and water quality issues to the attention of the Philippine government.

WEAP conducted five technical seminars in 2002:

• Seminar on Wastewater Treatment Technologies and Updates on Environmental Rules and Regulation
• Alternative Technologies for Water Purification Processes and Wastewater Treatment Methods and Safety Concerns
• Domestic Wastewater Treatment Technologies and Updates on Relevant Environment Regulations
• Equipment Selection and Operators Training Course for Wastewater Treatment Processes
• Best Practices in Wastewater Treatment Processes

WEAP also conducted a workshop entitled “Technical Seminar on Alternative Technologies for Water Purification and Wastewater Treatment Processes and Safety Concerns” in 2002 in Baguio City. Through this workshop, treatment plant operators and personnel gained important information for improving operations. The skills, knowledge, and abilities of wastewater treatment plant operators often are significant environmental issues in countries with little experience in this sector. Operators lack information on how to improve, optimize, or upgrade their operations.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has embarked on a Greening Program aimed to integrate environmental concerns into DENR operations. DENR will not only set the tone and embrace a proactive approach in environmental management and consistently aim for a sound and improved environmental performance but will also lead and influence other government agencies to embrace a similar advocacy.

The DENR Greening Program is an offshoot of a US-AEP and DENR project on greening the supply chain in 1999-2000. US-AEP helped DENR design and develop a phased program on green procurement or supply chain environmental management for DENR suppliers and contractors. With the integration of environment concerns into DENR’s purchasing and supply system, the DENR is set to institutionalize the green program into all of its operations.

To disseminate the idea within the DENR system, a DENR Greening Program Workshop was held in Subic, Pampanga in late 2001. During the workshop, the central office shared its plans and guidelines with the regional offices and attached bureaus and agencies. US-AEP assisted the program by funding a resource speaker who provided insights to U.S.-based green operations. The workshop resulted in the creation of action plans for the greening of the central, regional offices, and attached bureaus and agencies focusing on water and energy conservation, paper and materials conservation, solid waste management, air pollution management (anti-smoke belching), and emergency preparedness.

With the signing of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Treaty at Stockholm, Sweden for the proper management, reduction, and elimination of twelve POPs, the Philippines must effectively comply with the provisions of the treaty. However, the Philippines’ capabilities for dioxin, furan, and dioxin-like compounds management are just beginning. Unlike neighboring countries with inventory data, the Philippines is still in the process of starting an inventory for dioxin releases nationwide.

Recognizing the need for the country to develop local expertise on dioxin, furan, and dioxin-like compounds management, reduction, and elimination, US-AEP fully funded a U.S. study tour on dioxin, furan, and dioxin-like compounds for the Industrial Technology Development Institute and the Philippines Department of Science and Technology. The study tour, held in 2002, was an initial activity in the development of a scientific approach in the management of dioxin releases in the Philippines to include sampling, analysis, treatment, destruction, source reduction, and elimination of releases of more than 200 of dioxin-like compounds. The study tour aimed to address the effective enforcement of the treaty and assist the DOST to come-up with a comprehensive implementation plan for dioxin management, reduction, and elimination.

The study tour participants received practical training and traveled to dioxin specialized industrial and service facilities, analytical laboratories, and U.S. government agencies which introduced current management practices for the treatment, reduction, and elimination of dioxin and furan and the standard procedure and protocol for dioxin sampling and analysis adopted in the U.S. The study tour likewise provided opportunities for the establishment and strengthening of linkages with U.S. organizations, industries, and government agencies on dioxin management. It is also through the study tour that the Institute and Department of Science and Technology have strengthened their capability for the establishment of a dioxin laboratory in the country.

Activities undertaken by the Institute and Department of Science and Technology on the dioxin, furan, and dioxin-like compounds include hosting the first National Workshop on Dioxin, Furans, and Dioxin-like Compounds where the methodology for the source inventory of these by-products were introduced and the conduct of source inventory of dioxins and furans nationwide. Future activities include the establishment of a dioxin laboratory and the second National Workshop on Dioxin, Furans, and Dioxin-like Compounds.

With US-AEP’s support, four representatives of the Philippines Department of Health (DOH) participated in a U.S. study tour on Health Care Waste management in April 2002. The study tour was conducted in response to the Philippines Clean Air Act, which stipulates that medical institutions and hospitals must phase out their use of medical waste incinerators by July 2003. The tour to California, New Jersey, and New York was designed to introduce viable alternative technologies to treat medical waste and provide information on policies and infrastructure needed to manage medical waste.

The participants saw first hand demonstrations of autoclave and microwave technology, the two most widely used non-burn technologies. They also gathered information on various medical waste management technologies. DOH expects to replace their current technologies based on the knowledge gained from this study tour.

The DOH also calls for the establishment of common waste management facilities for hospitals within clusters. US-AEP’s assistance in coordinating visits to Stanford University Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Hospital enabled delegates to learn about the formulation of regulations and practices governing the transport, packaging, and handling of medical wastes at these clusters. Stanford University Medical Center served as a good model for the Philippines because it illustrates that a single facility can cost-effectively service a cluster of hospitals, clinics or laboratories.

Meetings with the California Department of Health Services, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and EPA Region 2 provided an understanding of legislation, enforcement, and monitoring. Exposure to U.S. laws and regulations governing medical waste management both at the federal and state level will help the DOH revise their health care waste management manual. The revised manual should be completed in June 2003 and will be distributed nationwide.

Since 2001, US-AEP has promoted the adoption and implementation of an ISO 14001-based environmental management system (EMS) to three pilot cities in the Philippines: Iloilo City, Mandaue City, and Tagaytay City. US-AEP provided a series of training programs on EMS for the pilot cities which consisted of a seven-day, three segment EMS training course. The first three-day session was an EMS awareness training in which participants were introduced to EMS concepts and applications. Initial Environmental Reviews were conducted for the chosen fenceline of the cities. The succeeding two sessions were working sessions where participants developed the EMS that fit their specific fencelines. Tagaytay City chose the public market and slaughterhouse; Mandaue City considered the public market and city hall; and loilo City chose the public market as fencelines for their Initial Environmental Reviews.

The goal of the US-AEP project is to provide a comprehensive framework that will sustain the environmental initiatives that have been started by these cities. The EMS will serve as the framework for the management of air and water pollution, solid waste generation and disposal, and hazardous waste generation and disposal of the pilot cities. The EMS training provided by the US-AEP has resulted in the development of a Level 1 document for Mandaue and Tagaytay Cities. The training not only promoted environmental awareness to the local government participants but also included the various stakeholders in their respective fencelines.

US-AEP developed and provided an EMS model for cities based on the experiences of the three pilot cities that can be used by other cities and municipalities in the Philippines.

Under the leadership of Mayor Jerry Treñas, Iloilo City is slowly emerging as the new green city in the Philippines. He volunteered his city to be a pilot city to the Mayors’ Commitment Program, Pilot Phase launched in August 2001. This program, under the initiative of Mayor Harris of Honololu, Hawaii, is tied with the Mayor’s Asia-Pacific Environmental Summit to help mayors understand water and wastewater issues in their respective cities.

Under the auspices of the US-AEP, five local chief executives and representatives of three mayors were sent to the Asia-Pacific Urban Institute (APUI) Executive Seminar on Integrated Water Resources Management in 2002. With Mayor Treñas were the Mayors from Naga, Cebu, and Cabanatuan, the Provincial Governor of Palawan, and the representatives of the mayors of Caloocan, Mandaluyong, and Muntinlupa. In this forum, the Philippine mayors, along with other Asian counterparts, formulated a plan of action for the management of water and sanitation in their respective municipalities.

Mayor Treñas promised to come up with a sustainable development program for the rehabilitation of Iloilo River and the establishment of an effective water supply and drainage system for the City of Iloilo. He committed to: (i) establish a structural framework that would institutionalize the project through enactment and enforcement of local ordinances that would enhance its early implementation, (ii) promote a multi-sectoral arrangement for the protection and sustained development of the projects; (iii) provide adequate and quality water for the city’s sustainable growth; and (iv) provide for an adequate drainage system.

Mayor Treñas’ commitment and plan of action include working with a multi-sectoral group to establish a master plan. Baseline data will be collected for the river implementation program and drainage system during the first year, an integrated improvement and development plan will be formulated in the second year, and in the second year to the fifth year the master plan will be formulated. He is also set to establish an additional water supply facility for the first one and a half years and the expansion of its conveyance system to cover areas with no or inadequate supply for the next two years. Areas to be covered are three subdivisions in the Northeastern portion of the City and three depressed areas in central Iloilo City.

The immediate improvement of the Iloilo River is currently one of the most important environmental management concerns of the Iloilo City Government. This concern is embodied in the city’s 1998-2010 Comprehensive Land Use Plan where policies and strategies on river rehabilitation, protection, and development have been defined through the environment sector. With its limited logistics and resources, the city government managed to pursue its initial preparation for river improvement planning with the creation of ad-hoc work structures. The city has already established the City Environment and Natural Resources Office. The city has also managed to introduce development measures that included the partial relocation of informal settlers around the river, enforcement of protective zoning, organization of Barangay Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils, construction of the promenade, and the finalization of the City Environment Code which partly deals with waste management and pollution control along the critical water resource. IEC campaigns, dredging activities, annual river clean-ups, and removal of sunken debris, fish corrals and other obstructions have also been made to arrest the deterioration of the river and its immediate environs.

The city has recently organized a multi-sectoral council that would help oversee the planning and management of initiatives for the Iloilo River. Through an executive order approved in 2002, the Iloilo River Development Council and the Iloilo Business Club were mandated to prepare a Master Plan. All short term and long term initiatives relative to the river’s immediate protection, rehabilitation, and development will be coordinated and carefully implemented. US-AEP and The Asia Foundation will help facilitate the preparation of the Iloilo River Development Master Plan and Urban Design.

The Philippine Business for the Environment (PBE) waste exchange program, which was established in 1994, recently launched regional nodes to expand its industrial waste exchange network. The new partners include the Laguna-based industry estates and Laguna Lake Development Authority (Laguna Node), Pollution Control Association of the Philippines Region VII (Cebu Node), Davao City Chamber of Commerce (Davao Node), and the Association of PHIVIDEC Industry Estates (Cagayan de Oro Node).

The establishment of regional nodes is an outcome of a US-AEP-funded Industrial Waste Exchange Study Tour held in late 2001. The tour was designed to familiarize the PBE and its partners with practices on waste exchange, resource recovery and recycling programs.

From this experience, the PBE, with support from the Ayala Foundation and Ayala Center, then organized a recyclables collection event to coincide with the Earth Day Celebration in late April. At the same time, the Laguna Lake Development Authority/Laguna Industry Estates set up their collection stations at the Light Industry and Science Park I in Cabuyao, Laguna. The Davao City Chamber of Commerce held its event at the Victoria Plaza in Davao City. The focus was on the collection of recyclables generated by industrial facilities, hotels, government agencies, and schools. Buying stations were setup to redeem recyclables such as paper, old computers, electronic equipment, used lead car batteries, aluminum cans, and plastic polyethylene terephyhalate bottles for cash.

The PBE reported that the recyclables collection event was able to collect 243.7 tons of recyclables to include paper, used lead-acid batteries, aluminum cans, PET bottles, and polystyrene. The three-day event thus diverted about 5,321 m3 of recyclable waste from the landfills and helped to prevent 168 tons of toxic substances from being released to the environment.

Located east of Metro Manila, Laguna de Bay is the largest fresh water lake in the Philippines with 21 tributaries flowing through six provinces, ten cities, and 66 municipalities. Over sixteen million people use the resources of the lake including residents, farmers, fishermen, industries, and businesses. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and population pressure in the Laguna de Bay region had led to the serious degradation of aquatic and forest resources of the lake and its watershed.

Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) is a regional regulatory authority that has jurisdiction over water pollution control, flooding, rapid population expansion, and conflicts over jurisdiction and control of the lake. In carrying out this mandate, LLDA has implemented innovative policies that served as important models for environmental management in the Philippines.

Of the 24 sub-basins around the lake, 18 have independent River Councils with separate charters and missions aimed at promoting awareness and undertaking clean-up and other activities in their communities. These councils have now come together to create a Federation of River Councils and have established an environmental army drawn from the communities and mobilized by LLDA for clean-up around the lake.

LLDA has currently embarked on a three-year restructuring and strengthening plan that will improve its capability to manage the Laguna de Bay watershed through enhanced regulatory, technical, and management programs. The World Bank, under its Laguna de Bay Institutional Strengthening and Community Participation Project will extend a Learning and Innovation Loan to test the effectiveness of LLDA’s regulatory and incentive-based tools including the promotion of an enhanced community-based environmental management program.

In support of the World Bank’s project, US-AEP has been working with LLDA and the World Bank to expand the Authority’s capabilities in community-based environmental management. In 2002, US-AEP and EPA implemented a series of integrated activities that enabled LLDA to strengthen its capabilities in community-based environmental protection through partnerships with agencies and organizations from the Chesapeake Bay. Also in 2002, six LLDA officials and representatives from river councils representing a community group, local government, and industry visited counterpart agencies and organizations from the Chesapeake Bay to exchange ideas and experience on community mobilization, action planning, funding options, grant-making, inter-governmental coordination, and watershed management.

Building on the observational program, LLDA, the Federation of River Councils, and US-AEP organized a two-day international conference and workshop in August 2002 to further share experiences between Laguna Lake and Chesapeake Bay and develop an action plan for strengthening river council capabilities. Through exchange with experts from the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and Friends of Rappahannock, LLDA and river council representatives developed core strategies for improving interagency coordination, outreach, and sustainability.

Government counterparts from the Hanoi Department of Science, Technology and Environment, and Thailand’s Pollution Control Department also attended the workshop, and will implement similar activities with the support of US-AEP in their countries. In fact, a representative from LLDA and an industry-based river council visited Thailand in September to share experience in support of the restoration of the Tha Chin River.

In addition, as a result of the workshop, the mayor of a municipality on the lake and his staff plan to visit the Friends of Rappahannock in Virginia to continue exchanges on best practices in community-based environmental management, funded completely by the LGU itself.

A number of Philippine municipalities have undertaken successful bond projects, including Urdaneta, Boracay, Puerto Princesa City, Caloocan City, Tagaytay City, and Iloilo City. However, these projects are generally smaller revenue generating projects and floating municipal bonds for environmental infrastructure projects in the water, sanitation or solid waste sector are difficult.

To address the need for understanding and utilitizing bond markets, US-AEP, USAID, and their partners sponsored a February 2002 workshop “Environmental Infrastructure Finance for Local Governments: Tapping the Local Currency Bond Markets.” The workshop introduced key financial and technical principles necessary for the development of viable projects in solid waste, energy, and wastewater sectors. There were over 60 participants, representing national government, private investment banks, government financing institutions, local government units, local government unit associations from Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and other financial institutions.

Four priorities for developing domestic capital markets to support municipal bonds were discussed: (i) developing sound environmental policies, (ii) developing an institutional support structure, (iii) identifying, designing, and implementing projects, and (iv) implementing sound financial policies.

As a result of the workshop, the following activities are planned to promote the development of capital markets in the Philippines: (i) address the issue of local government unit unfamiliarity and low appreciation of municipal bonds as an option for financing environmental projects, (ii) conduct detailed training/workshop on project development, feasibility study preparation, and packaging of solid waste management projects, (iii) collaborate with various capacity building projects on urban environmental management, (iv) develop technology guidebook on appropriate technologies for all types of environmental infrastructure projects, and (v) conduct an US observation tour for national government representatives, financial advisors, and other relevant players to study the US experience in order to formulate policy and institutional reforms needed to develop the bond market in the Philippines.

With the rapid growth of the bottled water business, the volume of polyethylene terephyhalate (PET) recyclables in Metro Manila has increased tremendously. In response to the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which identifies the development and use of biodegradable plastics and plastics recycling as Philippine government priorities, the PET Recycling Development Foundation was established in February 2000. The foundation, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the National Solid Waste Management Commission, plans to invest in a PET recycling plant and to establish, manufacture, and use new packaging products such as biodegradable plastics.

In support of the Foundation’s plans, US-AEP sponsored a Study Tour on PET Bottle Recycling and Natural Bio-Polymers in Biodegradable Plastics in March 2002. The objectives of the tour were to assist in the establishment of a national PET recovery and recycling center, identify technologies for PET recycling, and to gain knowledge and information on new technologies that use natural-based polymers to develop biodegradable plastics.

US-AEP’s assistance in coordinating visits to National Association of PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) and the Georgia Recycles Coalition enabled the delegates to learn about the PET industry in the U.S. and to develop innovative programs or educational components towards the goal of increasing recovery of PET plastics. The PET Recycling Foundation and NAPCOR signed a Memorandum of Understanding for future collaborations.

The Foundation has also formulated future plans and programs, including the development of a database on PET use and recovery; using Materials Recovery Facilities to increase PET recovery rates and to maintain communications with recycling organizations to promote PET recycling. The Foundation’s long-term goals include the establishment of a PET Recycling Center and the search for technical and financial assistance for laboratory equipment and analysis, suitable sorting technology, suitable washing technology, and suitable flake to pellet or flakes to finish product technology.

In November 1999, US-AEP and the USAID-funded Governance and Local Democracy (GOLD) project assisted a number of mayors, professionals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to formally create the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines (SWAPP). This initiative grew from a US-AEP-sponsored U.S. Solid Waste Management Study Tour for Philippine mayors in 1998. The mayors visited the office of the Solid Waste Association of North America and concluded that a similar organization could greatly help address solid waste management problems in the Philippines. In the three years since its creation, SWAPP has 200 members representing LGUs, professionals, NGOs, and academia.

In July 2000, Metro Manila’s garbage crisis was capped by a tragedy that killed more than 150 scavengers when the Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City collapsed due to heavy rains. That event escalated the challenge among local government units to provide a sustainable solution to the garbage problem to avoid future tragedies. The resulting Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 provided a legal and technical framework for local government units to implement a solid waste management system. The law provides for the establishment of an integrated solid waste management system for all local government units, including the closure of existing open dumpsites and shifts to controlled dumpsites and eventually to sanitary landfills. With over 1,600 municipalities and cities in the Philippines, the enactment of the law provided an opportunity for SWAPP to assist local governments in developing solid waste management programs.

In order to cope with the growing demand for technical assistance from local governments and other organizations, US-AEP supported the development of SWAPP as a resource center on solid waste management and related topics. Initial materials on good practices by various government units were provided by the USAID-funded GOLD project and SWAPP had begun compiling materials on local initiatives or good practices on solid waste management during the first two Solid Waste Management National Conferences. These materials were developed into a Resource Booklet for reproduction and distribution to the local government units and other interested solid waste management practitioners.

The GOLD project has also provided SWAPP with 14 modules on integrated solid waste management. SWAPP translated the documents into a manual that will serve as a helpful guide to the local governments and other institutions in the country. Information about the available technologies in the U.S. will also be made available to SWAPP members by tapping the existing network and databases of US-AEP. The information will be made available through the SWAPP website and SWAPP will proactively gather brochures of American technologies. SWAPP had developed a web-based database on solid waste management that will facilitate information exchange, inter-local government unit collaboration and mutual help in solid waste management.

To be able to address the growing demand for trainings from the local governments, SWAPP had expanded its existing pool of experts from 10 member volunteers to 60 trainers. US-AEP supported the training of 50 SWAPP scholars who are now a part of SWAPP’s pool of experts. After training, each SWAPP scholar was required to conduct a training seminar once every quarter for the next 5 years. Specifically, the scholars conducted training seminars at least every quarter as part of their commitment to US-AEP. They are also involved in other capability building activities of various donor agencies such as the USAID-EcoGovernance Project, among others.

A regional training workshop on environmental compliance inspection was held in Manila, Philippines in May 2002 as part of US-AEP’s ongoing efforts to promote capacity building through regional training and professional networking. The workshop was hosted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in coordination with the USEPA and US-AEP. Participants included inspectors and investigators responsible for conducting environmental compliance inspections for the following agencies: the Philippine DENR’s central and regional offices; Vietnam National Environment Agency, Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment; Thailand Pollution Control Division, Ministry of Science and Technology; the Philippine Department of National Defense; and the US Department of Defense.

The training was designed to teach government regulatory inspectors to perform compliance evaluations and collect evidence of violations in preparation for potential legal action. This initiative is part of an approach in which a first training will be delivered in one Asian country to include multi-country participants, and a follow-up training is to be held in a second country, to include an additional training-the-trainer component for a selected cadre of regional trainers selected from the first course.

Before the workshop, a training session for facilitators was conducted by representatives from USEPA. A manual on the key points and general instructions for facilitating served as a guide for introducing the course.

By drawing heavily on group participation, the workshop itself generated tremendous exchange of experiences particularly in collecting evidence and sampling analysis by participants from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and United States. A field trip to three industrial sites at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Mabalacat, Pampanga provided the participants valuable experience in on-site compliance inspection. The class was divided into three teams for different inspections and each of the team made a presentation to the class the following day for critique and recommendations on technique.

As a result of the training workshop, the senior management of the Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR will utilize the course manual and handouts to develop a Philippine version of an Environment Compliance Inspection Manual. In addition, one of the Philippine regional directors of the DENR conducted a similar inspection training workshop for her staff.

In support of the Philippines’ Clean Air Act, US-AEP had supported various activities to promote for a cleaner air for Filipinos. With the Asian Development Bank, US-AEP hosted a videoconference on “Industrial Air Emissions Project Opportunities in The Philippines” in June 2002. U.S. participants gathered to learn about the Asian Development Bank’s $25 million loan program for the purchase and installation of equipment to reduce air emissions in the Philippines. The U.S. companies also learned about specific project opportunities and technology needs aimed at furthering compliance with the Philippine Clean Air Act.

The Philippine participants included Land Bank of the Philippines, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Air & Waste Management Association Philippine Section and various local firms. Over 25 Filipino participants attended the videoconference and met the six U.S. suppliers of state-of the-art industrial pollution emissions control equipment and other reduction technologies. As a result of the videoconference, 15 of the Filipinos and all U.S. companies confirmed participation in another US-AEP-supported activity, the Air & Waste Management Association’s Annual Convention in Baltimore in June 2002.

A total of 28 delegates from the Philippines participated in the Annual Conference and Exhibition. All delegates took advantage of US-AEP’s pre-arranged one-on-one meeting service which resulted to over 100 arranged meetings between U.S. suppliers and the Philippine delegates. The one-on-one meetings was an effective tool in matching the Filipino’s needs for air pollution control equipment, air filters, treatment for solid and hazardous wastes, and pollution control prevention technologies with U.S. suppliers.

The Committee on Ecology of the House of Representatives is presently drafting the “Philippine Clean Water Act” whose purpose is to prevent, control, and abate water pollution by applying both command and control regulatory methods with economic instruments. As drafted, the new statute provides for a water quality management system, institutional mechanisms, incentives program, and liability and penalty provisions, including citizen suits.

In June 2002, US-AEP organized an observational program to the U.S. to strengthen the understanding of the Committee on Ecology in water pollution control law at the U.S. federal, state, and local levels with an emphasis on the Clean Water Act and its legal and institutional framework, standards, technology solutions, enforcement, and compliance programs.

Based on meetings with the U.S. Congress, EPA Office of Water and Office of Enforcement, Maryland Department of Environment, Natural Resources Defense Council, George Washington University Law School and other relevant government agencies and organizations, the Committee modified their draft law to incorporate U.S. best practices applicable to Philippines pollution control regulatory systems. One example of the U.S. regulatory approach adopted by the Philippines is the incorporation of total maximum daily load, which is a regulatory strategy for ensuring that a receiving body meets water quality standards.

The Philippine Clean Water Act is expected to be passed into law by 2003.

US-AEP provided vital support to the Greening the Supply Chain program of Nestle Philippines, Inc., thus becoming one of the sources of knowledge capital on environmental management systems for Nestlé’s environmental officers and its pioneering groups of business partners. US-AEP trained Nestlé’s environmental officers and about 100 technical and management personnel of its suppliers on environmental management systems concepts, development, and applications. US-AEP has also been significantly involved in the initial environmental reviews in the facilities of Nestlé’s business partners.

In addition, US-AEP contributes technical materials and is often a resource presenter at the company’s quarterly environmental forum. US-AEP has shared materials on waste minimization in food processing industries and energy management and conservation practices at the quarterly environmental forum, as well as updates on trends in greening the supply chain and energy auditing concepts and practices.