Green productivity workshop begins

A two-day workshop on "Green Productivity" began at Cleaner Production Centre here on Wednesday. The National Productivity Organisation (NPO), Cleaner Production Centre (CPC) in collaboration with Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) had jointly organised the workshop.
International experts; Dr Professor Tay Joo Hwa and Dr Suporn Koottatep deputed by APO Japan would give presentation on the green productivity concept, methodology, and green productivity techniques in tannery industry, problem identification and setting objectives and targets during the two-day programme.
In his welcome address, Chairman Pakistan Gloves Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PGMEA), Sheikh Abdul Waheed Sandal said that leather and leather products industries were representing one of the most important sectors of the national economy.
The leather industry was now facing challenges in global market to produce products in accordance with the international pattern as well as to achieve environmental standard devised by WTO. Waheed Sandal said that Cleaner Production Centre Sialkot was a joint project of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Norwegian Agency for Co-operation and Development (NORAD) under the management of PGMEA.
The objective of the CPC was to control the indiscriminate discharge of potentially harmful solid waste and heavily polluted wastewater and to improve working condition in tanneries with the implementation of in house cleaner production techniques.
CPC had developed and introduced cleaner production technologies like established environmental and physical testing laboratory, established info centre for dissemination of technical information and set up Chrome Recovery Plant, due to which pollution load had been reduced to 30 to 40 percent.
Speaking on the occasion Ashfaq Sheikh of NPO said the concept of green productivity was drawn from the integration of two important development strategies including productivity improvement and environmental protection.
The productivity provided the framework for continuous improvement while environmental protection provided the foundation for sustainable development, which was the driving force for the green productivity, he added.
The project manager CPC Muhammad Atif also spoke on the occasion and highlighted various achievements CPC.