Achieving a net zero Philippines, let alone the planet, has been the dream of several Filipino scientists and experts who know that it is crucial to limit global temperature to 1.5°C and have a livable Earth. It can’t be done, however, by just a few people and organizations. There is a need to work together to decarbonize the country because no one will be spared from the detrimental effects of the worsening climate.
This realization and its mission to forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future pushed renewable energy leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC) to establish the Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA), the country’s first private sector-led movement towards carbon neutrality, in September 2021.
The alliance aims to encourage as many companies and organizations in the country as possible to commit to carbon neutrality on or before 2050. Its pioneer partners were Arthaland Corporation, Drink Communications, First Balfour, Knowles Corporation, Silliman University, and Unilever Philippines. Just recently, more partners were added to the roster, including Converge ICT Solutions, Ecolab, INAEC Aviation, Linden Suites, Menarco Development Corporation, and SGV-Ernst & Young.
During its first anniversary celebration held last month, alliance partners were able to meet for the first time in a face-to-face event. It was also the perfect occasion to launch the NZCA framework, which was formulated based on the experiences of EDC, as well as recommendations from the pioneer partners and third-party experts, particularly from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).
The framework that will serve as the compass for all partners was thoroughly reviewed by Dr. Rodel Lasco, a pioneering and multi-awarded scientist with over four decades of experience and was a co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He is currently the Executive Director of the Oscar M. Lopez (OML) Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.
Framework
The NZCA framework begins with “Commitment,” where partners should assess their readiness, ability and commitment to go through with Net Zero emissions. What follows is “Measurement,” where partners have to quantitatively measure their greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint because it all starts there. Without credible measurements, you won’t know how much you need to reduce, and you won’t know whether you are achieving your targets or not.
What follows next is “Planning” where partners must plan the solutions, how emissions should be avoided and reduced, how to offset emissions that can no longer be reduced and how it can be removed from the atmosphere. NZCA’s basic strategies are avoidance and offsetting of carbon emissions.
Then there is “Action,” where partners need to be able to implement what they planned, and this involves the actual implementation of reduction, avoidance, or elimination of emissions, as well as offsetting. But these actual emissions must be tracked so “Tracking” should be done in the process. Partners should also be able to measure what they are doing vis-à-vis the targets. The final part is “Validation,” preferably through a third party or independent validator. They should be able to say or assess that partners have complied with their targets and certify that the emissions have been avoided or reduced.
“The cycle goes on so we invite others to spread the word and hopefully, others will commit and will follow the same cycle,” according to NZCA Executive Director and Head of Corporate Relations and Communications of EDC, Atty. Allan Barcena.
“I think the most significant achievement of the NZCA over the past year was the development of the framework. It was not easy because we came from different situations and perspectives. However, we managed to agree to come up with the framework in the development of the action plans,” Barcena admitted.
Climate vulnerabilities
The partners were able to share their experiences through its NZCA assemblies on how not only to become net zero and decarbonize but also to assess their climate vulnerabilities. NZCA is likewise partnering with enablers that can help the partners craft their respective roadmaps and action plans.
According to EDC Senior Vice President, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, and Head of Enterprise Commercial Group Jerome Cainglet, one of the biggest challenges was recruiting partners committed to do something about the environment. “For the past year, the partners worked hard to show that the framework is not just talk; we are ‘greenwalkers’ who take action to set out how we are going to achieve our goal of getting to net zero and make it targetable and measurable.”
In terms of the importance of alliances in achieving a bigger drop in carbon usage, Agnes de Jesus, Chief Sustainability Officer of First Philippine Holdings, said that according to the last report of the IPCC, they estimated that behavioral change can help reduce carbon by 40 to 70 percent. “With groups like NZCA leading the way, companies big and small, their employees and families, the general population, that translates to hundreds of millions of action so everyone has great potential of becoming movers.”
For his part, Rondell Torres, Unilever’s Senior Manager for Sustainable Business, said that in their case, the goal to reach net zero by 2030 has required the work of many teams and many years. Joining the NZCA put the spotlight, he said, on what they have been doing in the Philippines. “Thanks to the partnership with First Gen and NZCA, the successful transition to 100 percent renewable electricity across all our sites in the country and even globally has been achieved. But that doesn’t stop there. We’re still finding new low-carbon ingredients for our products, expanding our plant-based product ranges, and finding fossil fuel-free ingredients for our laundry and detergent products.”
Varying levels of net zero readiness
NZCA meets its partners where they are in their journey towards carbon neutrality. What’s necessary is that they are all working towards the same goal.
For Drink Communication, the company admitted to being hesitant at first about joining because they did not have a concrete plan to take the correct steps to become carbon neutral. They just had the desire and heart towards that path while also upholding social responsibility to its employees. The company also commented that it’s good to be added to a group with big companies that Drinks Communication can also learn from them.
With The Linden Suites, General Manager Ma. Celeste Romualdo said that through First Gen, they have taken the first step by switching to renewable energy sources through their participation in the Green Energy Option Program. When they launched the switch, a lot of other hotels followed suit. “That inspired us to join the alliance. We hope other tourism stakeholders would do the same. We want to be more sustainable and be guided on how to do it and eventually, be a carbon-neutral company.”
For Crystal Aleli Cornell, Climate Change and Sustainability Services Senior Director of SGV, the main change for the company in joining NZCA was that several actions have been taken in the journey towards net zero like reforestation and greening the supply chain. “We also implemented a flexible working arrangement to help reduce carbon emission among our employees.”
Finally, INAEC Aviation Quality and Safety Officer Ian Alvarez said they have already participated in sustainability efforts and said their consciousness in climate change made them aware that the aviation industry contributes to global warming and climate change, which in itself is a challenge for aviation companies and the industry. It takes decades to create a perfect aircraft and now there’s a need to make it environment friendly, which will take more time, Alvarez explained. “We joined NZCA because we want to influence our aviation industry partners and hopefully gain more strategies so they can join NZCA as well.”
Visit https://netzerocarbonalliance.ph/ to know more about being a partner.