PH rises to 10th spot in sustainable trade index

THE Philippines reached No. 10 in the 2018 Hinrich Foundation’s Sustainable Trade Index, which uses economic growth, environmental protection and social capital pillars to measure the readiness of the United States and 19 economies in Asia for sustainable trade.

In a recent report, Hinrich said the country’s ranking this year—up three notches from No. 13 in 2016, beating Southeast Asian neighbors and middle-income economies Malaysia (12th) and Thailand (13th)—was “connected to significant progress on social indicators measured in the index (on educational attainment and income inequality reductions in particular) and to a steady and strong environmental performance, as compared to other Asian economies.”