COCA-COLA Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) has tapped solar-power provider Buskowitz Energy for the installation of nearly 10,000 solar panels in two of its bottling plants, bringing to nine manufacturing sites utilizing renewable energy (RE).
The bottling arm of Coca-Cola in the country said some 7,000 solar panels, with a capacity of 2.8 megawatts, will be put up in Misamis Oriental. The second facility, located in Bacolod, will be made up of nearly 3,000 panels, totaling 1.1 MW. The installation will be completed next month.
To date, Coca-Cola sources over 60 percent of its total energy requirements from RE. Seven out of its 19 manufacturing sites use RE—particularly, geothermal energy—in the following areas: Laguna (Santa Rosa and Canlubang), Ilocos, Pangasinan (Calasiao), Cebu, Pampanga (San Fernando), and Bulacan (Meycauayan).
Moreover, since 2010 in its Calasiao, Pangasinan Plant, Coca-Cola has been using a biomass boiler which utilizes rice hulls instead of petroleum for fuel, in order to address a significant portion of its power requirements.
These efforts form part and parcel of Coca-Cola’s Cleaner Energy 2.0 initiative, the company’s comprehensive energy road map toward its goal of becoming best in class in energy use ratio and clean energy use in Southeast Asia by 2023. The road map is among the company’s anchors for continuously working on responsibly managing its environmental footprint and sustaining efforts to improve operational efficiencies across the value chain.
“Our strategies in growing the business have always been aligned with our comprehensive sustainability efforts—this means growing the business the right way,” said Atty. Juan Lorenzo Tañada, CCBPI director for Corporate and Regulatory Affairs. “Looking for ways to maximize our renewable energy use is one of the important components of our road map. We are determined to reduce our carbon emissions and environmental footprint, alongside improving our capabilities to produce more beverages and refresh more people.”
Especially in a tropical country like the Philippines, solar energy is a very feasible RE to harness. It can produce electricity to power machines and equipment without the need to access other sources in the energy grid.
“As we move closer toward fulfilling our company’s targets regarding clean energy use, it is vital that we partner with entities who champion the same advocacies. And we are proud to have found one in Buskowitz Energy,” added the official.
James Buskowitz, CEO of Buskowitz Energy, has expressed his eagerness in being Coca-Cola’s partner in this project, as well as their support for Coca-Cola’s clean energy programs. “I believe this is a testament to Buskowitz Energy’s international standards of management and operations. We are looking forward to a long-term partnership with Coca-Cola Philippines as we strive for a greener Philippines,” Buskowitz said.
Coca-Cola’s energy efficiency initiatives have contributed to a 30-percent improved energy use ratio from 2014 to 2018, this means the company has been utilizing less power even as it produces more beverages.
The company has also mapped out a top 20 Energy Savings Initiative which covers all aspects of energy consumption, to leave a more positive environmental impact. These efforts, and several other projects in the pipeline, are the initial steps to a wide-reaching transition to using clean energy more prevalently in CCBPI’s operations.
In addition to pursuing renewable-energy initiatives, Coca-Cola in the Philippines has delivered strongly on its environmental stewardship across the business and the value chain through its two other sustainability pillars: water and waste.
It has achieved 100-percent water replenishment in the Philippines, via its water-saving programs and waste water treatment in its operations, in addition to providing far-flung communities access to potable water through the Agos Program.
In 2018, Coca-Cola announced its World Without Waste global goal of collecting and recycling every bottle and can sold, by 2030. In the Philippines, Coca-Cola’s packaging footprint is 50-percent returnable glass bottles, while its PET bottles and aluminum cans are 100-percent recyclable. In June 2019, it launched the Viva! Eco-bottle, the first beverage bottle in the country made from 100-percent recycled plastic.