THE Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism (EAST) model that has been defining the “greening” of the Jamaican hotel industry for the past three years has been adopted by several local manufacturers with the aim of making their operations more environmentally friendly and cost efficient.

EAST is being implemented by PA Consulting Group (formerly Hagler Bailly Inc.), a United States based consultancy firm.

Following environmental audits of 10 companies by an EAST team led by project co-ordinator, Hugh Cresser and project manager, Bill Meade, the manufacturers who are all members of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA), have begun implementing recommendations and are already reaping benefits.

EAST is credited with helping several Jamaican hotels to enjoy the benefits of improved environmental management both in terms of cost efficiency, environmental health and related marketing advantages and is seeking to do the same for the manufacturers, Cresser said.

“We’re working to consolidate and expand the application of sound environmental management in the manufacturing sector in much the same way that we have done in the hospitality and tourism industry and we are aiming to create linkages between both industries,” he said.

Cresser said that EAST’s success in the hotel industry had seen Jamaican hotels being the first in the world to be certified by the prestigious United Kingdom-based certification body, Green Globe International and a host of environmental champions in that industry were helping to encourage adoption of best environmental practices industry-wide.

EAST he said, will in phase two of its work with the JMA, be conducting audits of more manufacturing companies while providing technical assistance to the first 10 to achieve Green Globe certification.

The programme is also designed to develop closer linkages between the manufacturing and hospitality and tourism sectors by identifying and encouraging production of goods required by hotels and allied businesses.

Cresser noted that Jamaican hotels have for the past three years been benifitting from a programme in which their “environmental champions” have been exposed to the green programmes of Canadian Pacific (CP) properties in Canada.

A similar exchange programme will be instituted for manufacturers he said.

EAST is a project designed to conduct environmental audits in selected Jamaican hotels and to promote environmental consciousness across the hospitality and tourism and manufacturing industries in particular and is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association and the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association respectively.