Green LGUs: Cleaner Communities, Brighter Futures for the Philippines

Empowering local governments and stakeholders as circular economy champions to reduce waste, promote sustainable growth, and protect the environment, with strong community partnerships.

Pioneering Green Change in Local Communities

Local government units (LGUs) across the Philippines are at the heart of the "Green LGUs" Project—an initiative under the broader Green Economy Partnership with the Philippines (GEPP), supported by a €60 million (approximately P3.67 billion) grant from the European Union. This project focuses on empowering local governments and stakeholders, including the often marginalized groups, to adopt and scale up circular economy practices—finding smart ways to use resources efficiently, reduce waste, and treat materials as valuable assets rather than disposable items.

A core principle is collaboration – working closely with local businesses, community organizations, and GEDSI groups, particularly youth and women are central to these positive changes. The Green LGUs Project is co-led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

A core principle of the Green LGUs Project is collaboration – working closely with local governments, businesses, and community organizations, while ensuring that the youth, women, and other marginalized groups are central to driving circular economy solutions. The Green LGUs Project is co-led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

A Recipe for Local Green Success

The Green LGUs project uses a multi-faceted approach to support communities:

  • Enabling Better Local Rules: Helping create policies that support the circular economy.
  • Facilitating Green Funding: Making it easier to finance eco-friendly projects.
  • Advocacy and Inspiring Change: Raising awareness and encouraging greener habits.
  • Building Knowledge and Skills: Enhancing the know-how of LGUs and local groups.
  • Driving Innovation: Promoting new ideas and technologies for a circular economy.
  • Ensuring Fairness for All (GEDSI): Making sure that Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion are at the heart of all efforts.
  • Supporting a Just Transition: Helping communities shift to a circular economy in a way that is fair and benefits everyone.

Sparking Green Transformation Across Communities

Here’s how the Green LGUs project is helping communities make a real difference:

Boosting Local Skills & Strategic Planning:

  • Local "Circular Economy Action Teams" have been established in the initial 10 partner LGUs to lead local planning and action.
  • Workshops have brought together community members, local leaders, and experts in these LGUs to identify priorities for managing organic waste and plastics, and for promoting green tourism. This teamwork has helped create a tailored list of circular economy solutions covering policies, new ideas, technology, business models, and ways to encourage greener habits.
  • Detailed studies (Material Flow Analyses) are currently examining how plastics and organic materials are used and managed, guiding LGUs to find the best circular solutions.
  • Initial designs for local systems to track data and monitor progress on circular economy initiatives are being developed.
  • A "Mayors' Fellowship Program" has been launched under DILG leadership to encourage learning and sharing among different LGUs.
  • A special publication is being developed to showcase successful green initiatives from the first group of LGUs, helping other communities learn and replicate good practices.

Empowering Inclusive Community Action & Innovation:

  • In the first 10 partner LGUs, efforts have been made to identify and involve key community members in circular economy activities. This includes informal waste workers, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, women's groups, and youth.
  • Inspiring local green projects led by these groups have been documented, such as an enterprise led by persons with disabilities in Caloocan, an initiative by Indigenous women in Baguio, and an inclusive waste management model in Ormoc.
  • A Community Grants Programme was launched on April 4, 2025. This program provides funds to enable community groups, especially those led by women, youth, and persons with disabilities, to lead their own circular economy projects.
  • Innovation Grants, developed with UNDP's Accelerator Lab, are set to be launched in mid-2025 to support new and creative circular economy ideas driven by local businesses and innovators in the first 10 LGUs.

Developing Supportive Local Environmental Policies:

  • The basics of "Circular Economy" (CE 101) and "Extended Producer Responsibility" (EPR - making manufacturers more responsible for their products' end-of-life) have been introduced to the first 10 partner LGUs.
  • In collaboration with national government agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the DILG, model local ordinances are being crafted. These will help LGUs put national environmental laws into practice locally, covering circular economy rules, EPR, and "green public procurement" (helping government offices buy more eco-friendly products and services). Selected LGUs are receiving personalized support to develop these ordinances.

Unlocking Green Finance and Partnerships:

  • Initial discussions have started on creating public-private partnerships (PPPs) and developing "bankable" (financially viable) green projects.
  • Two joint training workshops on PPPs are planned for April and July 2025 with Expertise France (another partner in the broader GEPP). Collaboration with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) (also a GEPP partner) will support the development of bankable projects starting in September 2025.

Promoting Green Habits and Awareness:

  • On April 4, 2025, grants for CE education and behavioral change were launched, targeting the initial 10 LGUs.
  • Support will also be given to develop communication strategies specific to each LGU, aligned with national messages about the circular economy.
  • Learning modules about the circular economy are being created for use in schools and training programs for small businesses.

Ensuring Effective and Inclusive Progress:

  • The project is strengthening systems for knowledge management, monitoring progress (MERL), ensuring gender equality and social inclusion (GEDSI), and putting safeguards in place to help LGUs successfully adopt circular economy practices.
  • Specially customized capacity building and alignment programs are being provided for LGUs and local stakeholders, some of which are carried out in partnership with other technical partners from the GEPP.

Real Change for People and Planet

Less Waste in Landfills: Reducing the amount of waste that ends up in disposal sites.

Fighting Climate Change Locally: Lowering harmful greenhouse gas emissions with EU support.

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Smarter Waste Systems: Helping at least 20 communities establish "circular economy" models, where waste is valued as a resource, including better ways to collect and sort materials.

Eco-Friendly Local Businesses: Increasing the number of small businesses and community groups (especially those involving women, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized sectors) that use sustainable, eco-friendly methods.

More Green Jobs: Supporting the creation and continuation of environmentally friendly jobs.

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Better Local Rules, Community Input: Developing or improving at least 20 local government policies for a greener environment, with active participation from community organizations.

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Tracking Climate Action & Benefits: Assisting at least 15 communities in reporting their contributions to national climate goals, including better data on how these actions benefit women and youth.

Greener Habits: Seeing a positive shift in how people think about and practice resource conservation and waste reduction.

Implementing Partners

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

For over 50 years in the Philippines and across 177 countries, the UNDP has been working to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. In the Philippines, its work focuses on improving governance, helping communities adapt to climate change, and building resilience. The UNDP champions a circular economy approach that tackles pollution by improving policies, fostering innovation, and building local skills.

Key contributions include supporting the National Plan of Action on Marine Litter, the Extended Producer Responsibility Law, and leading the National Plastic Action Partnership. Through projects like ACE (Accelerating Circular Economy) and EPPIC (Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge), the UNDP has been enhancing local abilities to create circular economy models that also advance climate goals and ensure social inclusion. The EU-funded Green LGUs Project, described here, is a way of scaling up these successful solutions to build sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient communities throughout the Philippines.

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Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)

As a co-lead for the Green LGUs project, the DILG plays a crucial role in guiding and supporting local government units across the Philippines. Its involvement ensures that circular economy initiatives are well-integrated into local governance structures and development plans. The DILG's leadership is also vital in programs like the Mayors’ Fellowship, fostering learning and exchange among local chief executives, and in the development of model ordinances that help LGUs implement national environmental policies effectively.

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