Amid the increasing global call for sustainability in business, Philippine enterprises may still be faced with challenges on how to transform their companies and concretely attain positive environmental and social impacts in their own respective operations.

In order to help gear Filipino companies toward attaining these, Lopez-owned First Gen Corporation (FGEN) and its pure renewable energy arm, Energy Development Corporation (EDC), spearheaded a workshop and seminar titled, “Climate Change and How to Address It Within Your Business” participated in by more than 50 representatives from 26 EDC partner companies and contestable energy customers.

A highlight of the event was a talk by one of the world’s most prominent experts on the environment and sustainability issues, Matthias Gelber, also deemed the “Greenest Person on the Planet” in a global online survey. He obtained a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science at Brunel University in the United Kingdom and co-founded Maleki GmbH, a German company specializing in high-performance, low-carbon footprint construction materials.

Gelber illustrated how it is very much possible for big scale companies to assess and reduce their own carbon footprints without compromising business performance. The participants further engaged in a dialogue on how the private sector can help address climate change through simple but meaningful steps such as utilizing renewable energy and implementing other sustainability measures in everyday operations.

According to Oddy Velarde of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, the knowledge and best practices gained in the seminar will help them plan for future energy-related projects of the manufacturing company. “It’s good to know that we can contribute to CO2 reduction at zero cost,” he said.

“The workshop gave us learnings to reinforce our sustainability road map, to place more focus on CO2 footprint and climate neutrality,” said Knowles Philippines vice president and managing director Joseph Emmanuel Liwag.
EDC is the Philippines’ largest vertically integrated geothermal developer, delivering 1,457.8 megawatts (MW) of clean and renewable energy to the country.