Flagship Programs

Since the introduction of environmentally sustainable economic development at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, environmental issues have evolved from being an intellectual pursuit of the few to a core business concern of the mainstream. With the closure of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, more than 178 governments adopted Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of Principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests. The time to move from rhetoric to results arrived. However, it is in the operational meaning of this defined phrase where much debate has ensued. The matter of ecological integrity, as well as social and economic equity, must become the focus of innovation. Just as human systems adopted agriculture and the use of fossil fuel as the first and second transitions that completely changed the way global society operated, the third transition that humans must address is to operationalize sustainability. To be successful, we must transform these three factors into meaningful policies, supported by unified social action, and show evidence of our success in our respective corporate triple bottom-line results. The APO believes that we have found a track that moves us from the evocative to where we have evidence of results. Here, we offer an introduction to Green Productivity (GP), its history, its methods, tools, and techniques.

GP is a strategy for simultaneously enhancing productivity and environmental performance for overall socioeconomic development. Its aim is well-rounded socioeconomic development that leads to sustained improvement in the quality of human life. It is the combined application of appropriate productivity and environmental management tools, techniques, and technologies that reduce the environmental impact of an organization’s activities, products, and services while enhancing profitability and competitive advantage.

Why GP?

Innovation is a primary driver of economic growth. GP greens the process of innovation.

The starting line was productivity as a cost-reduction strategy. By picking up the baton of quality, productivity has metamorphosed to incorporate environmental protection and community enhancement as a means to increase prosperity. Under the umbrella of GP, innovation, a key engine of economic growth, becomes part of a holistic strategy to move toward a sustainable future.

Productivity is essentially a marathon without a finishing line.

Just as productivity was the essential strategy that enabled Japan to rebuild after the Second World War, with other Asian nations being attracted to the lure of its success, the 19 member economies of the APO have rallied behind a more broadly defined concept of productivity to race in the marathon for sustainability. In “The Concept of Productivity and the Aim of National Productivity Agencies” formulated in Rome in 1959, the Productivity Committee of the European Productivity Agency defined productivity as follows:

“Productivity is above all a state of mind. It is an attitude that seeks the continuous improvement of what exists. It is a conviction that one can do better today than yesterday and that tomorrow will be better than today. Furthermore it requires constant efforts to adapt economic activities to ever-changing conditions and the application of new theories and methods. It is a firm belief in the progress of humanity.”

GP starts with an intellectual dare: to shift from a monochrome bottom line to a more colorful triple bottom line.

What makes GP so attractive?

Previous approaches to environmental protection have tended to ignore economic performance. Regulators were tasked with the dubious honor of having to monitor closely those with the deepest pockets and most suspect of the greatest wrongdoing sparked by the events such as Chernobyl, Bhopal, and the Exxon Valdez. This surveillance has led to substantial reductions in single point-source pollution in most countries. However, it has left the seemingly trivial individual contributions of day-to-day inefficiencies in other larger and smaller enterprises and public organizations unattended.

Essentially, the practice of GP results in using material resources and energy more efficiently and sustainably, doing better with less. We know spurring innovation for products and services enhances economic development; therefore greening innovative minds enables development with less risk of socioeconomic and environmental degradation.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Year 2000 Report, the ability of a nation to improve its competitiveness is measured by its environmental performance in addition to more traditional economic criteria. Central to improved competitiveness is productivity. This makes the concept of GP a simple but elegant solution: make environmental protection a core business attractor instead of an isolated cost contributor.

The recognition that the environment and development are two sides of the same coin came in response to the need to link economic development strategies with environmental preservation. Between 1993 and 1994, a number of APO member economies were involved in research focused on applications and opportunities for cleaner production as the cornerstone for guiding Asian countries toward a more environmentally friendly industrialization. While the tools, techniques, and methods have expanded over the years, the goal has remained the same: balance environmental and economic needs. In doing so, we improve the quality of life for society as a whole. This balance is achieved by keeping a focus on quality (representing the voice of the customer), profitability (determined by how well you do with what you have, or factor inputs), and the environment (our natural capital).

In the current scenario of globalization, business volatility, and constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of GP methodology can help enterprises improve their competitiveness and maintain profitability, leading to overall greener growth.

There is growing enthusiasm for the power of GP as a strategic driver for innovation. GP will help Asia-Pacific region and we hope others to innovate for a sustainable future.