Online (top to bottom): Dr. Athisarn Wayuparb (Thailand), Dr. Esmaeil Fatehifar (I.R. Iran), and Aftab Khan (Pakistan).
Seated (L–R): Eric Raymundo (Philippines), Dr. Chun-Hsu Lin (ROC) (TWG Chair), APO Secretary-General Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata, and Alex Yap Yun Fung (Malaysia).
Standing (L–R): Md. Zainuri Juri (APO Secretariat), Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam (Vietnam), and Jittin Kapoor (APO Secretariat).

The 2nd Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting for the Development of Green Productivity (GP) 2.0 was held in hybrid modality, 28 and 29 June, in Tokyo. Director and Research Fellow Dr. Chun-Hsu Lin, Center for Green Economy, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, ROC, chaired the meeting. Resource persons from Malaysia, the Philippines, and one from Vietnam attended in person, while those from I.R. Iran, and Pakistan connected online.

APO Secretary-General Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata delivering opening remarks.

APO Secretary-General Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata delivered the opening remarks. He referred to GP as a key strategic thrust area in the APO’s Vision 2025 of “Inclusive, Innovation-led Productivity Growth” and as complementing the UN SDGs. Secretary-General Dr. Indra emphasized the need to consider new sustainability concepts such as the circular economy along with technological advances, shifts in consumer behavior, and formulation of policies on integrating environmental factors in design processes in developing GP 2.0.

TWG Chair Dr. Lin presented the mapping steps following the Delphi method, which is a structured approach used to gather information and reach a consensus among a group of experts. The initial step was to analyze the needs of APO member economies, prioritize them, and formulate the approaches to be implemented. The structure was based on the three parameters of regulations/programs, financial mechanisms, and operational and technology upgrades on the production and consumption sides. The analysis also included feedback between production and consumption in opinions and behavior changes.

The group will continue work and reconvene for the third meeting in August and September to finalize the draft roadmap as well as recommendations to the GP Advisory Council Members by the end of the year. This development project is funded by a special cash grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.