By MANILA, PHILIPPINES, September 25, 2023 – While much of the global economy has committed to reaching net-zero emissions, a closer look has yet to be done on how Philippine businesses can take concrete actions and veer away from potential greenwash, according to the Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA), a pioneering consortium of Philippine enterprises committed toward collective net-zero carbon in local business.
Thus, accelerating the Philippines’ private sector net-zero journey is the focus of NZCA as it holds a conference in celebration of its second anniversary this year. Initiated by First Gen-owned renewable energy leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the alliance aims to engage with corporations in the Philippines to achieve carbon neutrality as a transition to net zero by 2050.
The event was organized in partnership with Eco-Business, Asia Pacific’s largest media and business intelligence organization dedicated to sustainable development and ESG performance, with the theme: “Zeroing in on Net-Zero: From Corporate Pledges to Action.”
The conference features a panel of company and industry resource speakers who will delve into the challenges and opportunities for Philippine corporations embarking on a net-zero journey, as well as the available solutions for hard-to-abate and carbon-intensive sectors.
Additionally, an analysis released in June found that almost half of the 2,000 largest publicly listed companies in the world have committed to a net-zero strategy. However, the report also revealed that many of these companies either do not count emissions produced by their supply chains, or depend on unreliable strategies to offset their carbon production.
NZCA is guided by the carbon neutrality framework that it designed in partnership with Dr. Rodel Lasco, Executive Director, OML Center for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. The framework that mainly espouses carbon reduction and removal for Philippine businesses begins with the partner’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 at the latest, followed by measuring its climate resilience and carbon footprint, coming up with its roadmap, implementing it, tracking, disclosing, and validating its progress over time.
The alliance likewise developed a Zero Carbon Gateway to help partners track their progress, including computing their Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions.
“As always, climate action is a matter of urgency as we continue to experience the ever-increasing impacts of our warming planet around the world, most especially in the Philippines. NZCA aims to contribute practical measures toward decarbonization that Philippine businesses can take, starting with interventions such as renewable energy,” says Allan V. Barcena, NZCA Executive Director and EDC Assistant Vice President and Head of Corporate Relations and Communications.
Visit https://netzerocarbonalliance.ph/ for details on joining the Net Zero Carbon Alliance.
EDC is First Gen Corporation’s 100 percent renewable energy subsidiary with over 1,480MW total installed capacity that accounts for 20 percent of the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity. Its almost 1,200MW geothermal portfolio comprises 62 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity and has put the Philippines on the map as the 3rd largest geothermal producer in the world.