The Green Industry Platform’s I-GO initiative and the GEF ISLANDS Programme kicked off their ‘I-GO for ISLANDS’ collaboration by hosting the first ‘I-GO for ISLANDS: Training workshop for SME stakeholders in SIDS’. The workshop introduced the concept and practical steps to resource efficiency to SME stakeholders based in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) across the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean regions.
This collaboration was motivated by the visible appetite among the SIDS-based private enterprises to enhance environmental sustainability and concurrently, market competitiveness, which have not yet been met with effective solutions. The training workshop gathered audience spanning government entities, business associations, Chamber of Commerce and other SME intermediaries. This workshop had first targeted SME-supporting organizations to help familiarize themselves with the core features of the I-GO initiative, who can in turn closely assist and train SMEs in their respective network.
The workshop first set the scene by acknowledging the business climate in SIDS – involving key industries such as manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism and hospitality, and other service sectors – and how the stakeholders are impacted by the management of cross-cutting resource types including chemicals, waste, energy, water, and materials. “In overcoming typical business challenges associated with availability of resources, operational capacity, and cost of production, SMEs can focus on more efficiently using those resources, which contributes to a circular business operation”, explained Mr. Jesse Ojobor, the Managing Director of Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Production (RESP) Solutions.
Mr. Hannes Mac Nulty, the Manager of the Green Industry Platform then introduced the I-GO Assistant, a free-of-cost resource efficiency self-assessment and navigation tool. Through a live demonstration, the participants were able to submit relevant information based on their business sector, location, and size and retrieve their current resource efficiency status. The results were complemented by tailored knowledge and list of support services. Additionally, the workshop introduced the I-GO Network where SME-supporting organizations come together to collaborate on providing more efficient resource efficiency support to SMEs.
During the Q&A session, the participants relayed personal experiences conveying practical challenges they face on the ground. One attendee from Kiribati highlighted the impact of insufficient power supplies and the necessity to transition to renewable energy sources. A participant from the Marshall Islands raised a similar point, linking their concern on the costs related to installing solar panels and disposing of solar batteries. They also shared how the businesses experience water scarcity, leading to an acute demand to save rainwater and import the other amount.
In response, the speakers highlighted the importance of reducing consumption, as well as increasing recycling and reuse of the resources before bringing about a large-scale infrastructure shift. In a longer-term, they outlined how the I-GO for ISLANDS collaboration can explore technical support options to address the practical energy and water-related concerns, ultimately paving ways to an overall resource efficiency.
Starting from this workshop, the I-GO for ISLANDS collaboration aims to return to the SIDS-based SMEs and SME-supporting organizations with capacity building workshops – on better utilizing the I-GO initiative’s support structure – and technical ‘Ask the Expert’ sessions where they can interact with topical experts, namely on chemicals, waste, renewable energy, and water management.
By promoting an overarching resource efficiency via the Green Industry Platform’s I-GO initiative, the I-GO for ISLANDS collaboration is anticipated to accelerate the progress at the GEF ISLANDS Programme on chemicals and waste management, which are inherently interlinked with energy, water, and materials management.
