De La Salle Philippines goes greener as EDC’s new BINHI partner

De La Salle Philippines (DLSP) lives up to its green legacy through its new BINHI partnership with geothermal leader Energy Development Corp. (EDC).

BINHI is EDC’s greening legacy program that aims to bring back to abundance our endangered Philippine native tree species. It is also the only corporate-led forest restoration initiative that has been bridging forest gaps

using these native tree species for over 10 years now. DLSP will build its first botanical garden in its 34-hectare property in Porac, Pampanga, that will be a platform for understanding and identifying potential environmental solutions through scientific research, biodiversity conservation, education and recreation.

DLSP has tapped EDC to provide technical assistance in propagating, sourcing, collecting and transporting seedlings of threatened Philippine native tree species under the latter’s BINHI greening legacy program.

EDC will also provide selected threatened Philippine native tree seedlings from the flagship 96 native tree species that it has identified and collected, and is currently propagating.

The company has already done an initial assessment and given its recommendations on the native tree species that are suitable to the botanical garden, but the actual project kickoff will be this year for DLSP.

“The EDC partnership will be a key point as the La Salle Botanical Garden develops its programs, formulate its master plan and phase to establish the different thematic gardens,” said Warren Joseph D. Dollente, director of DLSP-Lasallian Institute for the Environment.

“We are honored to have DLSP as our 177th BINHI partner,”  expressed Atty. Allan V. Barcena, head of EDC’s CSR-PR group. “Ours is a greening legacy partnership that will benefit not only our current generation, but even future generations as we save endangered native trees from extinction.”

EDC’s 1,475-MW capacity accounts for 37 percent of the country’s total generated renewable energy, making it the country’s leading RE company. Its 1,181-MW geothermal portfolio accounts for 61 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity, and has put the Philippines on the map as the third-largest geothermal producer.