Asia Brewery Inc. of tycoon Lucio Tan and Shell Energy Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., signed a renewable energy supply deal as part of the former’s sustainability efforts.
Under the agreement, Shell Energy will supply the diversified beverage company with 15 megawatts of RE for its manufacturing facilities in Luzon.
ABI president and chief operating officer Michael Tan and Shell Energy president and chief operating officer Bernd Krukenberg signed the agreement.
The agreement strengthens ABI’s sustainability thrust as it steps up efforts toward reducing its carbon footprint through the use of more sustainable materials, including RE.
ABI said it took steps toward a more sustainable way of doing business consistent with LT Group’s environmental, social and governance initiatives.
ABI opted for cullet, recycled, broken or waste glass in producing glass bottles instead of using newly-made glasses. The company used 72,000 metric tons of cullet, accounting for 61 percent of the raw materials used in 2018.
Another material used in manufacturing bottles is lahar, which comes from the 1990 Mt. Pinatubo eruption. The company said about 56 percent of feldspar used in glass manufacturing was replaced by lahar, equivalent to 3,500 MT in 2018.
ABI said it also ensures that nothing is wasted and thrown, even powdered glass wastes, which are utilized in pavements and walkways within the Cabuyao, Laguna plant premises.
ABI regularly conducts tree-planting activities, which started in 2016, as part of its sustainability initiatives. Its mission is to plant one million trees annually, with a cumulative target of 8.4 million trees planted by 2020 in Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur.
The company said that with the help of local farmers, it planted fuelwood species for traceability and sustainability of wood for curing tobacco.
Shell Energy is a 100 percent Shell-owned power marketing and trading company. It has decades of experience as a power trader and wholesale supplier globally.
The Department of Energy, under the latest Philippine Energy Plan, aims to increase to 35 percent the share of renewables in the country’s power mix by 2030 to 50 percent by 2040, which requires an additional renewable capacity of 73.9 gigawatts.