Green Productivity in Asia and the Pacific Region

Abstract

The Asian Productivity Organization ( APO ) is promoting the Green Productivity ( GP ) concept – a strategy for enhancing productivity and environmental performance for overall socio-economic development in its 19 members economies in the Asian Pacific region. This paper introduces the APO’s GP concept on the background of the global sustainable development movement, and the changing paradigm of productivity. GP is implemented by following a step-by-step methodology comprising of six steps and 13 tasks. Implementing the GP methodology requires integrating and applying a number of key environmental management and productivity improvement tools and techniques. GP tools and techniques provide clues and directions for the generation of options and enable their systematic implementation. Different tools and techniques are used at different step of the GP implementation process. Further, importance of the energy management issues in the context of GP is discussed with the help of a case study from a Green Productivity demonstration project in Changi General Hospital in Singapore. This case study shows how GP can be successfully implemented for continuous improvement in energy management thus leading to resource productivity and environmental performance.