Metro Pacific Investments Corporation group and Meralco revealed expansion targets of their sustainability agenda in a recent virtual forum on multi-sector integration of through Environment, Social, and Governance principles for green economic recovery.
The online event, organized by Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute in partnership with the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship, brought together environment advocates from government, business groups and civil society which clamored for stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors in addressing climate change and urgent environment issues.
“Our mantra is sustainability more than just compliance, and we’ve been putting this in all the things that we do. We’ve up the ante and we’ve actually committed to adhere to global sustainability standards and frameworks,” said June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla, Chief Finance and Chief Sustainability Officer of MPIC.
“In terms of carbon footprint, we’ve stayed flat at 460 metric tons.
For PLDT, we’ve done marine protection, mangos preservation, and reforestation as nature is the foundation for economic growth. It is our responsibility to restore and manage the natural resources that we have,” she added.
According to Raymond Ravelo, Meralco Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, “We are starting to gain momentum in our shift
towards cleaner and greener energy. In the next five years we look to “greenify” our supply portfolio by securing 1,500 megawatts (MW) of clean energy contracts. As well through our company MGreen, which is our platform for investments in the renewable energy space, we will build 1,500 MW also in renewable energy projects through 2027.
PBEST Convenor, Dr. Carlos Primo David (PhD) strongly encouraged the private sector to expand their sustainability efforts, work with the government, and directly address the sustainability of the country as well as the entire planet.
Dr. David said “The largest sustainability issues we currently face are COVID-19 and Climate Change. During these highly unusual times, the role of business and CSOs are most needed.”
“Businesses possess the very same characteristics required to address societal and environmental problems. These are its inherent efficiency in procedures, the deliberate use of monitoring and evaluation and key performance indicators (KPIs), putting in risk assessment in business processes, and embracing technology and innovation,” Dr. David said.
In response, Ludwig Federigan, Executive Director of the Young Environmental Forum, said, “CSOs and NGOs play a major role in key areas such as information collection, dissemination, and analysis, policy development consultation, policy implementation, and lastly, assessment and monitoring.”
The need for the coalescence of inclusivity with sustainability was emphasized by Renato Redentor Constantino, Executive Director for the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities. He stated that “Climate issue is the biggest that we have ever faced. But it is also equally important for the people to address challenges related to poverty, health, jobs and hunger.”
“We need to do far more because the threats are far greater than us,” Constantino said.
ADRi President, Prof. Dindo Manhit stressed that “The government, and with the help of civil society’s lenses, should set the much-needed responsive policies and frameworks that are conducive to doing business while ensuring compliance with ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) principles.
“We believe that the private sector, through ESG, plays a vital role in advancing the country’s sustainable development. The interconnected challenges in public health, the economy, and the environment cannot be ignored,” Manhit said.