Erin Devanadera 

The Philippines dropped from its 12th place in the newly produced Sustainable Trade Index (STI) to 13th, as reported by the Hinrich Foundation in association with the Institute for Management Development (IMD) on October 23.

Photo Courtesy of AFP.

The 2024 Sustainability Index highlights three key models or pillars that signify a country’s sustainability status: economic, societal, and environmental. In the Philippine report, the country scored an overall rank of 13 and 54.8% out of the 30 countries listed on the scale measuring its sustainable security, relations, and efforts. 

Other factors contributing to the recent ranking are attributed to the Sustainability Index’s pillars, with economical and societal ranks and scores of 19 and an overall environmental rank and score of 3 and 93%, highlighting the country’s satisfactory performance in ensuring accommodative growth and solutions for the environment. 

“The country ranks first in environmental standards in trade and shows solid performance in ecological footprint (fifth), renewable energy (sixth), share of national resources in trade (seventh), and transfer emissions (eighth),”  stated the report showcasing the country’s commitment to the betterment of environmental ethics, innovations, and awareness. 

“Challenges for the Philippines include wastewater treatment (12th), air pollution (18th), and deforestation (19th),” it added.

The report also underscored the country’s decreasing levels of ecological and societal cultivation and attentiveness, such as consumer price inflation and educational inequality, compared to its respective levels in 2023. 

“The STI captures these critical dimensions providing a comprehensive view of how economies can balance economic growth, societal well-being, and environmental responsibility within an increasingly complex global trade environment,” The report concluded. 

The Philippines has long been a part of the Sustainability Trade Index ever since 2016, succeeding the establishment of the Hinrich Foundation by Merle A. Hinrich in 2012. It previously ranked and scored an overall of 8th and 55.9% in the international index in 2020.