PEZA To Launch Sustainability Reporting This Year

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) aims to launch a sustainability reporting initiative as part of its signed commitment with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to make sustainable actions and consistent reporting.

“Voluntary compliance to the GRI’s Sustainability Action and Reporting and the UN SDGs can be a source of competitiveness for the country in attracting more FDIs and enhancing regulatory compliance. Many advanced and developing economies subscribe to these principles to measure the impact of FDIs on the host countries toward inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development,” PEZA OIC Tereso Panga said.

Affiliated with the United Nations Environment Programme, GRI is an international independent standards organization that helps businesses, governments, and other organizations understand and communicate their impacts on climate change, human rights, and corruption.

PEZA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with GRI in March 2022 was one of the topics discussed by Panga during the recent Philippine-Switzerland 5th Joint Economic Commission (JEC) held in Bern, Switzerland.

“This MOU aims to contribute to the acceleration and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the advancement of sustainability reporting in the Philippines, especially within the ecosystem of export-oriented locations in PEZA,” Panga said.

“This partnership is delivered within the framework of the GRI’s Sustainability Reporting for Responsible Business program and is funded by the Switzerland State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO),” Panga added.

Panga also said the objectives of the signed MOU are to raise awareness of sustainability and sustainability reporting, create specific sustainability reporting guidelines among the export-oriented industry, and build capacity for the industry to communicate its impacts to the economy, environment, and society.

Part of its efforts will include issuing a PEZA memorandum circular on sustainable trade and investment guidelines for the compliance of locators and registered enterprises. 

In line with this, a roundtable discussion (RTD) will be held in the first quarter of 2023. The PEZA and the GRI will also establish a technical working group (TWG) composed of various locators and industries.

“As for the prospective TWG members that will be formed for the sustainability reporting, GRI has already provided PEZA a proposed list of chosen industry locators and partners. PEZA and GRI are also inviting the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the PhilExport to be one of our potential TWG members,” the PEZA said.

Source: Philstar