Puerto Princesa City recently forged ties with FirstCarbon Solutions, an industry leader in environment and sustainability solutions for business, to boost its development goals, including balancing economic growth and sustainable development.
A subsidiary of Adec Group, FirstCarbon Solutions will team up with the city’s local government offices to rate how these offices use natural resources, including power, fuel, land and water, according to Adec Group Chief Executive Officer James Donovan.
A memorandum of agreement was signed between Donovan and Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn during simple rites in Makati City on Sunday.
Puerto Princesa is home to the Puerto Princesa Underground River, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. It is the largest city in the Philippines in terms of land area, 60 percent of which remain covered with lush forests.
In an interview with the Business-Mirror, Hagedorn underscored the need for Puerto Princesa to sustain the gains of the collective effort of the people of the city under his administration, saying Puerto Princesa boasts of being the cleanest and greenest component city in the country.
“Puerto Princesa is very active when it comes to environmental protection. When it comes to sustainable development, we don’t want to lose that No. 1 spot. But we also have our own limitations. We can’t do everything. That’s why we are asking the help of organized groups like FirstCarbon,” he said.
Hagedorn added that the local government is eyeing how it can benefit from carbon trading, considering its status as the first carbon neutral city in the country.
According to Donovan, FirstCarbon will also partner with Puerto Princesa to prepare for ISO 14001:2004 or Environmental Management System (EMS) certification.
An EMS certification means that Puerto Princesa is able to meet the requirements of ISO 14001:2004, a management tool that enables organizations to identify and control the environmental impact of their activities, services and products; improve environmental performance; and employ an organized method that will set and achieve environmental objectives and targets.
Puerto Princesa is also upgrading from ISO 9001:2000 to ISO 9001:2008 certification for Quality Management System and Technical Information Technology Support. The upgrade requires compliance with guidelines for developing the city’s official web site.
