PH firms builds innovative projects for resiliency and sustainability

PH firms champion green spaces, sustainability standards

Inquirer.net

09 January 2024

As the world grapples with the urgent threat of climate change, the creation of sustainable spaces has become an imperative to protect the environment from waste and pollution and to conserve vital resources.

Thus, the green industry is experiencing significant growth, driven by the growing demand for eco-friendly solutions such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, green building, and waste management.

In the Philippines, a wave of innovative building projects is setting the standard for climate resilience and sustainability. These efforts are spearheaded by the Philippine Green Building Council (PHILGBC) through its “educate, advocate, and rate” campaign, which plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable building practices across the country. Local companies are not only adapting to climate change but are leading the charge by integrating robust adaptation and biodiversity strategies into their development projects.

PHILGBC and the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) have established the Green Building Sector Skills Council (GBSSC) through A Future that Works, a program supported by the Australian Government that aims to bridge jobs and skills gaps by organizing industry leaders and experts through Sectors Skills Councils, and communicate labor market needs to align them with education and training.

Projects like NEO’s BERDE-certified buildings and Aboitiz InfraCapital’s Lima Estates showcase the integration of green building principles, from energy efficiency to biodiversity conservation. The BERDE program was established by PHILGBC to develop the Philippines’ own national voluntary green building rating system to spur green building projects in the country.

Lima Estate | Lipa City 

Residential developments such as Mandani Bay Suites and Botanika Nature Residences are also leading the way in this field, blending urban living with nature through innovative designs and sustainable materials.

Mandani Bay Suites | Cebu City

Botanika Nature Residences | Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Beyond Metro Manila, projects like HTLand’s Mandaue development and Cebu Exchange are setting new standards for regional sustainability. By incorporating features like stormwater recycling, energy-efficient technologies, and urban agriculture, these projects contribute to climate resilience and promote a greener future.

Cebu Exchange | Cebu City

Meanwhile, developments like Latitude Corporate Center and Parqal are redefining urban spaces by prioritizing green infrastructure and community engagement. These projects demonstrate that sustainable development can go hand-in-hand with creating vibrant and livable cities.

Parqal Mall | Aseana, Paranaque City

The future looks promising for green building in the Philippines, especially as the GBSSC ramps up its education activities. This initiative is expected to catalyze even more green building projects as more professionals are trained in sustainable construction practices, ensuring that the next wave of buildings not only meet current standards but set new benchmarks in environmental responsibility.

Under the guidance of the PHILGBC, these initiatives highlight how integrating biodiversity and sustainable practices into building and operational strategies not only addresses the immediate impacts of climate change, but also ensures long-term environmental health and sustainability.

As these companies lead by example, they forge a path that hopefully many others will follow, securing a resilient and sustainable future for the next generations of Filipinos.

PH green investment soars

PH 2023 green investments up by 57%

Story by The Manila Times
18 March 2024

THE Philippine private sector's investment in the green economy reached $1,464 million in 2023, rising by 57 percent when compared to the previous year. The country continues to make an upward trajectory in the 2024 Green Index Score, rising by three ranks to reach 39 out of 100. However, an investment gap exists and significant efforts must be made to meet the required capital investment of $16.6 billion.

This was the assessment made by the 5th edition of "Southeast Asia's Green Economy 2024 Report: Moving the needle," which was published by Bain & Co., GenZero, Standard Chartered and Temasek. The report studies the progress made by Southeast Asian countries in transitioning toward a greener economy, and then breaks down the achievements, challenges and outlook for each country.

It mainly says that Southeast Asia has a clear opportunity to leverage the coming transition for competitiveness and economic growth. Unlocking its green economy could be worth another $300 billion annually by 2030. The current models that investors often consider include green fuel sources, process optimization, improved farming practices, nature-based solutions and decarbonization.

In the Philippines, domestic investors' support of infrastructure for green energy has been "brisk." What is notable is the significant increase in waste management investment while investment momentum continues in the solar sector in 2023. For example, the Manila Water Co. has put in $682 million in investments in waste management while electricity distributor Meralco has acquired $285 million worth of shares in the solar sector.

Meralco has also invested in the Solar Power New Energy Corp., a developer of solar farms that intends to carry out "the largest solar project in the world." This planned solar project in Luzon is expected to develop 3,500 megawatts (MW) of solar panels and 4,000 MW hours of battery energy storage.

Other movements have spurred investment rise. The Renewable Energy Act was amended in 2023 to enable full foreign ownership of renewable energy projects. "Green Lanes" have also been established to expedite processes for investors and their companies to obtain licenses and permits.

The Philippines Rural Development Project significantly enhanced farm and fishery productivity by supporting smallholders. The Organic Agricultural Act provides tax incentives to organic agriculture entities and explicit support for the deployment and development of organic fertilizer.

An additional annual report on sustainability, including greenhouse gas emissions reporting, has been made mandatory for all publicly listed companies.

One persistent major challenge is the continuing deforestation, which happens because of commodity-driven forest loss from mining, forestry and other urbanization activities.

For the Philippines to accelerate the development of its green economy, the report recommends working toward successful blended finance cases, further developments in renewables regulations and strengthening regional collaboration.

Mike Samson, Standard Chartered Bank's chief executive officer and head of client coverage for the Philippines and the Asean, names three key areas where Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, can synergize: first, technological transfer and co-innovation of clean technologies; second, cross-border investment in areas like the greenification of manufacturing and processing of nickel for batteries; third, "finding shared agreement around key standards across many platforms — in batteries, climate taxonomy, recognition of carbon credits and joint papers on climate positions."

Indonesia and Philippines lead green investments in SEA

Indonesia and the Philippines contributed bulk of US$6.3 billion green investment hike in Southeast Asia

But it is Singapore and Vietnam which have made the most progress in reaching climate goals over the past year, as the region grapples to meet US$1.5 trillion required to achieve 2030 emissions targets.

By Hannah Alcoseba Fernandez
Ecobusiness.com
17 April 2024

Indonesia and the Philippines contributed most of the US$6.3 billion in green investments made in Southeast Asia over the last year, according to a study released on Monday by consultant Bain & Company and Singapore state investor Temasek.

The ongoing construction of  a wastewater treatment facility which is just part of Manila Water’s Three-River System Masterplan. Image: Manila Water 

The 2023 outlay was a 20 per cent increase on 2022, due to the rise in investments in solar and wind projects as well as spend on renewables-powered data centres. 

Despite making sizeable increases in green investments, the Philippines and Indonesia lagged in terms of how their national targets cascaded down to policies and businesses, according to the report’s index, which provides a snapshot of how each country is progressing towards their decarbonisation targets relative to their peers.

The Philippines is the only country in the region which has yet to announce a net zero goal, although it has pledged to the United Nations that it will reduce harmful greenhouse gases by 75 per cent by 2030.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is currently pursuing a 2060 target for emissions neutrality, but has been struggling to receive favourable funding terms from foreign financiers to phase out coal power.

Singapore and Vietnam were not able to lock in large-scale renewable energy deals unlike in previous years, but remain regional leaders in terms of national targets that are sufficiently aligned with the Paris climate accord, which aims to cap global warming at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. 

The Philippines and Indonesia make up most of the US$6.3 billion in private investments towards decarbonisation goals in 2023. Malaysia and Laos have made the most significant increases in climate-friendly investments compared to 2022, at 326 per cent and 126 per cent, respectively. Image: Southeast Asia Green Economy 2024 report

“While we do see relative differences in the progress different countries in the region are making, each one is moving forward in different ways. The idea of the index was to try to be transparent around what more needs to be done to be able to close the gap to move faster,” said Dale Hardcastle, director of global sustainability centre, Bain & Company. 

Indonesia raised US$1.6 billion, mostly for a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic recycling facility in Java. The Philippines attracted investments worth US$1.5 billion, almost half of which will go on the construction of a wastewater treatment facility across the municipalities of Marikina, San Juan River, Pasig, and Laguna.

Malaysia made the most significant increase in climate-friendly investments compared to last year, with US$530 million spent on data centres in Johor and Kulai to be powered by solar, while a large-scale project to unlock Laos’ renewable potential is being carried out by foreign investors.

Vietnam invested less than US$1 billion, as it awaited direction from its Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8), an ambitious masterplan currently being finalised to detail how it would reach its committment to net-zero emissions by 2050.

Singapore made no large solar deals of more than US$100 million. Its total green investment last year was US$900B, almost half of which included data centers of SingTel that rely on clean energy power. 

‘Shareholder activism’ lacking in Southeast Asia

While climate investments increased in 2023, Southeast Asia has an investment gap of US$1.493 trillion to fill by 2030 to reach its decarbonisation goals.

A key reason for this is a lack of shareholder activism pushing Southeast Asia’s corporates to decarbonise, Hardcastle said at Ecosperity, a climate conference held in Singapore.

“Our region lacks some of the shareholder activism that we see in other places that are taking action. Despite the growing pressure that anyone in the financial sector can attest to today, that is still not translating into the investment that we require,” he said.

In Europe and the United States, shareholders have pressured corporates to pivot towards sustainability. 

Shell faced a shareholder rebellion in January, as large investors including the United Kingdom’s biggest pension scheme prepared to back a climate activist resolution.

Twenty-seven investors that own about 5 per cent of the company agreed to back a resolution filed by the Amsterdam-based shareholder activist group Follow This that called for the oil and gas major to align its medium-term emissions reduction targets with the 2015 Paris agreement.

Follow This likewise sought a vote on ExxonMobil’s climate strategy at its annual shareholder meeting in May.

However, the investor group up dropped its petition for Exxon shareholders to vote on whether the company should set emissions reduction targets after the United States oil company legally challenged their plans.