Aboitiz Champions Resource Efficiency with Reduced Resource Usage

The Aboitiz Group has made significant strides in its sustainability program for 2015, with the whole group managing to reduce its power and water consumption under the company’s Race to Reduce (R2R) Program, along with other major sustainability initiatives throughout the year.

Under the R2R Program, the Aboitiz Group managed to trim its end-October power and water consumption across 261 enrolled facilities by 8% and 15%, respectively, versus year-ago levels.

The R2R Program underpins the Aboitiz Group’s commitment to the efficient use of enterprise resources, and is just one part of the Group’s commitment to creating an Aboitiz BetterWorld.

“Beyond being a buzzword or a label, Aboitiz BetterWorld represents our Group’s sustainability mindset, anchored on the firm belief that we can do well by doing good, always making the right long-term decisions that balance the interests of people, planet, and profit,” said Erramon I. Aboitiz, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) President and Chief Executive Officer.

“To create a lasting impact and make the biggest positive difference on our triple bottom line, we focus on areas where we can integrate sustainability into our business decisions and actions,” Aboitiz added.

The A-Park Program

Aside from the R2R Program, the Aboitiz Group is also committed to its A-Park Program, an initiative to plant nine million trees nationwide by 2020. Of this number, six million trees will be planted under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ National Greening Program (NGP), making the Aboitiz Group the government’s largest NGP partner to date. The Group has already planted 3.4 million trees by end-2014, a year ahead of the original 2015 target.

The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park

The Aboitiz Group’s commitment to a BetterWorld has paved the way for the opening of a new model of habitat conservation and biodiversity management: the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Davao City. Developed in partnership with Davao Light, the sprawling eight-hectare facility located in Punta Dumalag is a Marine Protected Area that primarily provides a nesting sanctuary to the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle (pawikan) and 66 other species. Since the park opened in 2014, it has released 1,876 hatchlings from 17 nests. The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park also offers a dynamic learning experience through both natural and built structures such as the turtle viewdeck, mangrove boardwalk, learning center and observation deck, botanical garden, and nursery that will help propagate native tree species.

The Water Alliance

Just last October, the Aboitiz Group joined the recently-launched Water Alliance, a group formed to spur coordinated response to the country’s water security challenge. Composed of 21 other local companies, the Alliance ensures collaboration of business with government, civil society, and other relevant sectors in working toward this goal.

Aboitiz Sustainability Report GRI 4.0

Since embarking on a sustainability journey in 2009, the Aboitiz Group has been moving towards embedding its sustainability agenda throughout the organization. The 2014 Aboitiz Group Sustainability Report, for instance, was certified “GRI 4.0 Materiality Checked,” allowing the Group to focus on performance indicators that are critical and important to Aboitiz’s businesses and key stakeholders.

“There is still a lot of work ahead of us in our sustainability journey. But we have already laid down the foundations for further initiatives, and are poised to take on fresh challenges, as well as opportunities, along the way,” Aboitiz noted.