To identify lessons learned by all stakeholders involved in SMART Cebu project, Mr. Julio Andrés Rozo Grisales, a consultant of the UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) visited the ADFIAP Secretariat on October 17, 2011 and met with ADFIAP Secretary General, Mr. Octavio B. Peralta, ADFIAP Consulting (AC) Group Head, Ms. Cora  Conde, AC Head for Programs, Ms. Arlene Orencia and Development Bank of the Philippines’ AVP Ms. Anita Salayon and Ms. Leonore Tianco.

The meeting was organized through the SWITCH-Asia Network Facility https://www.switch-asia.eu/ which is being managed by CSCP as a platform to generate knowledge and to share experiences that enable the promotion of sustainable consumption and production (SCP), the development of social, environmental and economic impact benchmarks, and to propagate the replication of good practices. The network is funded by a grant from the European Union (EU) through its SWITCH Asia Programme that aims to promote SCP patterns among Asian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

ADFIAP is part of the consortium of organizations undertaking the 3-year EU grant-funded SMART Cebu project https://www.smartcebuproject.com/. Other partners include SEQUA and NfW of Germany. SMART Cebu stands for SMEs for Environmental Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency in Cebu. The project is aimed at increasing the competitiveness and productivity of Cebu SMEs through their respective chambers of industries in three sectors, namely, furniture and furnishings, fashion accessories, and gift, toys and house wares by instituting sustainable consumption and production (SCP) related processes and practices in, among others, cleaner production, energy and resource efficiency as well as to contribute to an overall greener environment.

ADFIAP’s main role in the project is to advocate for SCP through training, technical assistance and potential lending programmes by DFI-members to these sectors in their pursuit of environmentally-responsible, economically-viable and socially-oriented projects which are within the scope of work and advocacies of the Association. The Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines, both ADFIAP members, have green financing programs and are looking at opportunities in developing lending programmes for the SMART Cebu SMEs.