Unilever mulls relocation of plant to flood-free area

MANILA, Philippines - Unilever Philippines is studying the possible relocation of its plant in Manila to another location, as it looks into the impact of weather disturbances and other developments to its operations, a company official said.

Unilever Philippines vice president for corporate affairs Chito Macapagal told reporters yesterday the company is continuously studying whether it should stay or move out of Pandacan in Manila.

“It is always part of the strategy to evaluate the sustainability in your site,” he said.

“We have to look at what is ongoing. We have to look at not just the climate but the climate change itself,” he added.

He noted that in 2009, the company had to stop operations in its plant in Pandacan for two to three days due to the floods brought by Tropical Storm Ondoy.

The Manila City government’s zoning ordinance is likewise a consideration of the firm.

Last year, the Manila City Council approved Ordinance No. 8283 which would reclassify Pandacan into a commercial area from an industrial area.

The ordinance, however, was vetoed by then Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Asked if Unilever plans to consolidate its operations since it has three other plants in the country, Macapagal said “the decision will be based on what best can actually serve customers and what can best serve our manufacturing requirements.”

Apart from its facility in Pandacan, Unilever Philippines has two plants in Cavite and one in Manggahan in Pasig.

Meanwhile, Macapagal said that as part of the firm’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint, Unilever Philippines has partnered with Cebuana Lhuillier and Smart Communications, Inc. for a sachet recovery program.

Under the program, consumers could exchange their Surf sachets in any of the Cebuana Lhuiller pawnshops for 25 free text messages from Smart.

The recovered sachets would then be recycled and converted into cement pavers which could be used for construction of 30 beneficiary schools.

“Our target is to collect 25 million sachets this year,” Macapagal said.

Aside from Surf, Unilever Philippines’ other brands are Selecta, Knorr, Dove, Sunsilk, Lipton, Rexona, Ponds and Axe.