Startups urged to go green to remain competitive

PHILIPPINE STARTUPS should start adopting sustainable practices if they want to remain competitive amid a push to reduce the world’s carbon footprint.

Filipinos are also becoming more conscious about their choices and would patronize products and companies that use sustainable methods, according to a Manila-based waste solution startup.

“This is the time when sustainable technology and products are getting a boost,” Jobby D. Maniacop, sales director at Ecological Solid Waste Solutions, Inc., told BusinessWorld in Filipino.

In the 2024 Philippine Startup Week, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) said more startups are going green, particularly in their use of bioplastics and other sustainable business practices.

“There is a trend on sustainability and one major field of this is making sustainable products or solutions,” DoST- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development Executive Director Enrico C. Paringit said.

He said the agency sees decarbonization as a “good ingredient” for the future of Philippine startups amid a global push to reduce carbon footprint.

He added that recent typhoons have made more businesses realize the importance of climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction management.

Mr. Maniacop said Ecological Solid Waste Solutions, which helps local governments manage their waste, has come a long way since it was set up in 2017. “Communities are now more welcoming.”

“Although this type of business is not profitable, it helps the environment a lot,” Mr. Maniacop said. “We have to do something. We can’t let all our waste end up in landfills.”

The startup’s eco-innovation called Biowaste Converter Technology converts thousands of kilos of biodegradable waste into soil conditioners within a day. More than 50 local government units (LGUs) nationwide have received help in handling their community waste.

“LGUs know better now, they are now more open to this technology,” Mr. Maniacop said, adding that he is hopeful that more policymakers would push sustainable practices. “If our leaders don’t have an advocacy on sustainability, how can the community learn more about it?” — ALSM