Baguio City stakeholders from the local government, academe, and civil society gathered for a productive work planning session last November 7, 2024 at the Baguio City Hall. Key outputs from the local inception workshop and the recent project-wide Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning (MERL) Workshop were further refined into concrete and actionable workplans for the duration of partnership under the Green LGUs Project co-led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), which is one of the strategic objectives of the EU Green Economy Programme in the Philippines spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). 

The session was attended by Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who underscored the importance of waste-to-resource initiatives as core elements of Baguio City’s pursuit to sustainability by sharing invaluable insights to guide the local stakeholders in identifying low hanging fruits for implementation. Architect Donna Tabangin, City Planning, Development and Sustainability Officer and the Action Officer of the Local Circular Economy Action Team, also highlighted the significance of this collaborative effort, noting that the outcomes of these discussions will play a pivotal role in shaping the lives and lifestyles of Baguio's residents. Through this exercise, more refined work plans for the city’s priority portfolios on plastics circularity in communities, green tourism, sustainable food systems, and circular economy education were developed and actively consulted and validated with key sectors for implementation in the succeeding years.

Funded by a €60 million (P3.67 billion) grant from the European Union, the Green Economy Programme of the Philippines (GEPP) will run from 2023-2028 in collaboration with the national government, local government units (LGUs), and the private sector. The Programme links European and Filipino partners to foster a circular economy and the reduction of plastic waste. It also aims to improve energy efficiency, promote renewable energy use and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Using a whole-of-nation approach, the programme is focused on sustainable and inclusive growth through investments, technology transfer, and job creation. GEPP is implemented by UNDP Philippines, Germany’s development agency GIZ, Expertise France with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. [E]