IN 2021, the First Gen Group through its 100% renewable energy arm, Energy Development Corporation (EDC), undertook the daunting but much-needed task of spearheading collective corporate climate action in the Philippines, largely spurred by its commitment to its unequivocal mission—to forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future.

The Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA) was thus first convened as a humble coalition of seven companies with shared commitment toward enacting the statutes of the seminal Paris Agreement at COP 21—which aimed to cap the increase of global warming at 1.5°C— primarily through alignment and support for the nationally determined contributions or NDCs of the Philippine government.

Five years on, and amid an even heightened menace of climate change and geopolitical energy insecurity, the country’s journey toward net zero pushes forward with unrelenting passion and renewed commitment, with NZCA’s network achieving a landmark of more than 50-strong partner enterprises and organizations.

Strength in numbers

“At its heart, NZCA’s ideology is simple—a movement toward real-world contributions in mitigating the disastrous consequences of global warming, and a belief that the most powerful force for this change begins with the private sector, which is a critical multi-sectoral juncture where enterprises interact with their consumers, government agencies and regulators, media and civil society,” said NZCA executive director Atty. Allan Barcena.

“No single company, government, financial institution, technology provider or academic institution can deliver a net-zero future alone. Each brings different strengths. Our task is to bring those strengths together in ways that none of us could achieve alone,” stressed First Gen president Giles Puno.

To this goal, the alliance welcomed eight new partner-doer companies this year—Enderun Colleges, Eton Properties Philippines Inc., International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), Instep Carbon and Sustainability, MacroAsia Corporation, Philippine Airlines, Philippine Trade Training Center and Universidad de Zamboanga.

These companies pledged their commitment to net zero at NZCA’s annual Philippine Net Zero Conference held at the Philippine Trade Training Center, Pasay City, on Sept. 15-16, 2026. Being one of the major annual activities of NZCA and the country’s much-awaited conference for corporate decarbonization, the event has been bringing together corporate decisionmakers, sustainability practitioners and climate advocates in discussions with key opinion leaders and subject matter experts covering net zero concepts and strategies.

Small steps, big wins
This year’s conference also unveiled NZCA’s first-ever Net Zero Champions Awards, which serves to recognize the genuine efforts of every member advancing along their decarbonization pathways. Each partner-doer’s overall assessment is calculated across three climate maturity pillars: engagement, or measuring their active participation, collaboration and contribution to the alliance’s activities; reporting, or evaluating the data transparency and milestone progress of the partner through the structured NZCA framework; and net zero interventions, which assess the specific, impactful decarbonization and sustainability projects the partner has implemented on the ground.

Through a points system corresponding to data on activities submitted to NZCA’s Net Zero Gateway from 2021 to 2025, the resulting award tiers are Gold (partners with 250+ points, celebrating exceptional performance, comprehensive implementation and exemplary leadership), Silver (partners with 150 to 249 points, highlighting sustained effort, consistent data updating and ongoing dedication over time) and Bronze (partners with 65 to 149 points, recognizing foundational progress and early momentum along the framework).

The winners of this year’s inaugural Net Zero Champions Awards are SGV & Co. (Gold); Arthaland Corporation, First Balfour, First Philippine Industrial Park and Monde Nissin Corporation (Silver); and Calibr8 Systems Inc., Cebu Pacific, Drink Sustainability Communications, First Philec, GHD Pty. Ltd., Knowles Electronics (Philippines) Corporation, Philippine Airlines and Unilever Philippines Inc. (Bronze).

In addition, special awards were presented to recognize notable achievements in specific technical and collaborative areas. Cited as Net Zero Collective Progress honorees were Eastern Communications, OCS Philippines, Philippine Trade Training Center-Global MSME Academy and Weave Solutions Inc.

Named Net Zero Champions for Data Stewardship were Ecolab Philippines Inc., People360 Consulting Corporation, BSI Group Philippines Inc., Hocheng Philippines Corporation and ICTSI.

Other Net Zero Champions were Arthaland Corporation for Decarbonization Interventions, First Balfour for Power Optimization, SGV & Co. for Climate Impact, Basecheck Carbon Management Services and Oscar M. Lopez Center for Knowledge Transfer, Razza Consulting Group Inc. for Technology and First Gen’s EDC for Collaboration.

An encouraging net zero future “We deeply thank all the new NZCA partner-doers for their valuable commitment to net zero, and we warmly congratulate all the winners of our first Net Zero Champions Awards. We hope these organizations serve as an inspiration for all other enterprises in the Philippines that climate action is practical and possible,” said Barcena.

The PH Net Zero Conference this year on NZCA’s historic fifth anniversary brought together over 400 multi-sectoral attendees across plenary and breakout sessions under the theme “Bridging Gaps: Radical Collaboration for a Net Zero Future,” which tackled topics such as climate governance, mandatory sustainability disclosures, carbon footprint tracking and mobilizing climate finance.

NZCA also delivered its landmark five-year report outlining their achievements and plans, both among individual members and collectively as an alliance.

“The success of this alliance will not be measured by the achievements of any one member, but by what its members make possible together—not by the conversations we have, but by the partnerships we forge; not by the commitments we announce, but by the projects we deliver; not by the ambition we declare, but by the progress we enable,” said Puno.

Giles Puno, president and chief operating officer of First Gen Corporation, sets the conference theme, drawing lessons from the engineering of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway to emphasize that accelerating net zero requires long-term persistence and cross-sector partnerships

Atty. Juan Miguel Cuna, secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, outlines the national road map under the enhanced 2026 nationally determined contribution, urging the private sector to invest in clean technologies, nature-based solutions and high-integrity carbon market frameworks

Atty. Allan Barcena, NZCA executive director and Energy Development Corporation AVP and corporate support functions group head, welcomes delegates and shares key takeaways from Day 1 as he opens the second day of the conference

Sec. Robert Borje of the Climate Change Commission delivers his keynote message on ‘Beyond the Pledge,’ emphasizing that bending the national emissions curve requires moving beyond voluntary corporate targets into capital allocation, standardized reporting and concrete asset transition plans

Industry leaders driving tangible climate action take center stage at the Philippine Net Zero Conference 2026: SGV & Co., Monde Nissin Corporation, Philippine Airlines and Oscar M. Lopez Center showcase their cross-sector commitments to advancing decarbonization, climate resilience and sustainable development

Representatives from eight new partner-doer companies sign the Pledge of Commitment to Net Zero: Enderun Colleges, Eton Properties Philippines Inc., International Container Terminal Services Inc., Instep Carbon and Sustainability, MacroAsia Corporation, Philippine Airlines, Philippine Trade Training Center and Universidad de Zamboanga

By Frances Ariola