First Philippine Holdings Corporation, subs to draw up low-carbon roadmap

MANILA, Philippines – Two subsidiaries of Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH) will spearhead decarbonisation efforts of the group’s non-energy subsidiaries by eventually sourcing all their power needs from low-carbon sources.

The two subsidiaries – Rockwell Land Corporation and First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) – are drafting roadmaps, under which all their power needs will eventually come from low-carbon energy suppliers. The low-carbon preference will serve as guide in future power supply contracts to be signed by Rockwell and FPIP.

The instructions reinforce the earlier declaration of its Chairman and CEO Federico R. Lopez that the FPH Group will not build, develop, or invest in any coal-fired power plant as part of global efforts to combat climate change.

Scientific studies have identified the power generation industry, especially carbon-intensive coal-fired power plants, as one of the main reasons behind adverse weather patterns associated with climate change, such as floods, droughts, as well as more destructive and more frequent typhoons. (READ: #ClimateActionPH dilemma: Cutting carbon emissions from coal)

FPH also counts among its subsidiaries First Gen Corporation, the country’s leading clean and renewable energy company with an installed capacity of 2,959 megawatts as of the end of 2015. These power plants run on clean, renewable and/or indigenous fuel sources, such as natural gas, geothermal, hydro, wind and solar.

Lopez’s declaration, which he announced during the annual stockholders’ meeting of FPH on Monday, May 23, means that coal-fired power plants will remain outside of the portfolio of power facilities of First Gen and another subsidiary Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the world’s largest vertically integrated geothermal company.

After Lopez issued his declaration, top officials of FPH and subsidiaries gathered for a meeting and agreed to ratchet up their campaign versus climate change.

“We at FPH and subsidiaries not only support the declaration of our Chairman and CEO, but we will also challenge ourselves to hurdle a higher bar in support of our Chairman’s declaration. This means drawing up additional low-carbon measures for integration into our various operations,” said Ricky Carandang, FPH vice president for corporate communications. 

Along this line, FPH and subsidiaries have agreed to develop roadmaps that will include internal policies and procedures for the further reduction of their own carbon footprint. 

The subsidiaries likewise have committed to adopt and subscribe to standards set by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). They also pledged to use GRI standards in monitoring their carbon footprint. 

An independent international organization, the GRI has developed its own standards that serve as guide for businesses, governments and other organizations in preparing their sustainability reports. These reports include a reporting organization’s impact on issues such as climate change, human rights and corruption.

“Almost no one today doubts that climate change is exacerbated by human activity. Global average temperatures are rising and this is leading to more severe weather occurrences throughout the world,” Lopez told FPH stockholders during their annual gathering.

 “Now, more than ever, the world needs to rapidly switch to a new energy paradigm if we want to keep the planet inhabitable in the near future and for centuries to come,” Lopez added. – Rappler.com