Frances Ariola (leftmost), NZCA lead convenor and EDC corporate communications head and Atty. Allan Barcena (2nd from left), NZCA executive director and EDC head of corporate relations and communications, award plaques of appreciation to NZCA member companies, including the Lopez Group’s First Balfour, represented by strategic business planning and corporate communications head Macky de Lima (3rd from left), and INAEC, represented by quality and safety head Glenn Perez (6th from left)The Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA), a pioneering consortium of Philippine enterprises aiming for carbon neutrality as a transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, marked its second anniversary this year with the addition of nine new partners in its network.

The British Standards Institution, CEMEX Holdings Philippines, ECC International, EV Mobility Ventures, First Philippine Industrial Park, Holcim Philippines, Mondelez Philippines, Monde Nissin Corporation and the People360 Consulting Group signed a pledge of commitment to carbon neutrality at the annual NZCA conference in Ortigas Center last month.

The meet, with the theme “Zeroing in on Net-Zero: From Corporate Pledges to Action,” was organized by Energy Development Corporation (EDC) in partnership with Eco-Business, Asia Pacific’s largest media and business intelligence organization dedicated to sustainable development and ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance.

Close to 200 delegates from 69 companies participated in plenary sessions with industry experts and representatives from NZCA member-companies on best practices in climate action, as well as existing and emerging solutions to accelerate the Philippines’ private sector net-zero journey.

These included carbon capture technology, green investments and financing, continuing government legislation and incentivization, and greening the supply value chain. The consortium also strengthened its call for vigilance against greenwashing and urged the private sector to increasingly implement measurement, reporting and verification or MRV in climate change mitigation efforts.

“Over the past year, we have received interest from numerous organizations and companies to be part of NZCA—a strong indication that many businesses are now aware of the need to step up their decarbonization programs,” Jerome Cainglet, president and chief operating officer of EDC, said in his welcome message.

He recalled that a decade ago, companies balked at measuring carbon footprints to capture their Scopes 1 and 2 emissions and requiring their suppliers and contractors to do the same.

“Becoming carbon neutral and going net zero are definitely not easy goals but our experts today will tell you that they are no longer not doable,” he added. “If there is one key takeaway message that I would like all the people… to have, it is that achieving carbon neutrality as a transition to net zero is possible regardless of which industry you belong to.”

If the Avengers got together to save the universe, NZCA was formed to save the earth, Cainglet noted. He stressed that organizations like NZCA can help companies wherever they may be in their net zero transition.

“No one company can take this journey alone. It takes a group of like-minded companies and individuals. That is why, similar to the Avengers, an alliance is necessary,” he said.

Meanwhile, Laure Beaufils, British ambassador to the Philippines and Palau, lauded NZCA as a “strong guiding force” in the private sector’s push for carbon neutrality.

“We will not deliver on our vision for a 1.5-degree world without the leadership and the commitments of all actors, and without partnerships and collaborations across them. And of course, the private sector is at the heart of that,” she said in her opening keynote.

Beaufils stressed that the pledges and commitments of industries and institutions are laudable, but are not enough: “Impact is what we are after. We’ve already seen the outcome first hand in carbon markets, and in environmental, social and governance frameworks, where investigation after investigation revealed the gap between intention and reality.”

She discussed the UK’s pursuit of net zero as well as their initiatives to meet the 2050 target. According to Beaufils, a government-commissioned review published early this year had recommended that a research and development (R&D) road map be created to ensure UK businesses have the technology needed to minimize their greenhouse gas emissions. Another prescription was for key government departments to work with the finance department to look into financially incentivizing businesses to conduct R&D activities and create their own net zero initiatives, the ambassador said.

She also presented the UK government’s projects, investments and technical assistance projects in the Philippines and elsewhere.

“Our International Climate Finance strategy ‘Together for People and Planet’ outlines the scale of our ambition to help developing countries respond and adapt to the challenges of climate change. The UK government has committed to spend £11.6 billion between 2021/22 and 2025/26 to help developing countries mitigate, respond and adapt to the challenges of climate change,” she noted.

In the Philippines, the UK’s efforts include the Energy Transition Council, a collaboration with the Philippine government that backed projects in ancillary services, energy labeling, emerging technologies, smart grids and offshore wind; the North Luzon Mini Hydro and the Smart Solar Network in Palawan; the Thomas Lloyd Energy Impact Investment Trust which invested in solar facilities in Negros; and the Philippine Emissions Pathway Calculator or PEPC.

The first companies to sign up for NZCA in 2021 included First Balfour, ARTHALAND, Drink, Silliman University, Knowles Electronics and Unilever. They were joined by INAEC, Converge ICT Solutions Inc., Ecolab, Menarco Development Corporation, SGV & Co. and The Linden Suites in 2022.

Aside from its nine new member companies, NZCA has enlisted Eco-Business and the Ako Ang Bukas multi-sectoral environmental movement of the Green Convergence coalition as Enabler Partners.

A representative of a new NZCA member signs the pledge on behalf of her company

UK Ambassador Laure Beaufils

EDC president and COO Jerome Cainglet
The plenary discussion on net-zero corporate pledges with (from right) EDC vice chairman and CEO Giles Puno; Karen Ferguson of the British Embassy Manila; Wan Yang of The British Standards Institution; and moderator Ping Manongdo of EcoBusiness