The Organization of American States (OAS), through the Department of Sustainable Development of its Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI), and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago today signed a cooperation agreement to implement a project aimed at promoting the use of biodegradable packaging materials.

The OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Sherry Tross, underscored the role of the hemispheric institution in the design of joint policies between the public and private sectors in order to foster sustainable development. “The OAS is a thought leader and facilitator in bringing together the right partners from the public and the private sectors,” so as “to develop initiatives to propel economic growth and improve sustainable development.”

Tross said that this initiative was first implemented in Ecuador where it has been highly successful, and added she expects the program to work in the same manner in Trinidad and Tobago.

The agreement on the evaluation of the design and development of sustainable packaging as an alternative to the Styrofoam packaging of food using primary materials of domestic origin will benefit, among others, to the food and beverage industries of Trinidad and Tobago. The agreement aims to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of the Closed-Loop Production (CLP) design and manufacturing methodologies in the productive sectors, as an innovative business development tool to improve the industrial sector’s energy efficiency and environmental performance.

The Minister of Planning and Sustainability of Trinidad and Tobago, Bhoendradatt Tewarie, emphasized that the CLP program “seeks to find an alternative packaging to replace Styrofoam containers produced within the printing and packaging industry of Trinidad and Tobago.” “The power of education, vision and human will is the key as we move towards greater competitiveness and sustainability,” added Minister Tewarie.

For his part, the OAS Representative in Trinidad and Tobago, Riyad Insanally, noted that the CLP program “is a practical expression of one of the key aspects of the OAS development agenda, whereby the OAS acts as a vehicle of hemispheric cooperation and as a bridge for the transfer of technology and know-how among its member states.”

The agreement was signed in the framework of the VIII Americas Competitiveness Forum that concludes today in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and whose central theme is “The Human Imagination at Work: Driving Competitiveness, Powering Innovation.”

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.