GBP realigns company strategy

MANILA, Philippines — Pangilinan-led Global Business Power (GBP) is realigning its company strategy toward sustainable energy solutions and balanced energy mix in its portfolio, according to its top official.

In a statement, GBP said it is gearing to become a total provider of sustainable energy solutions to adapt to the industry landscape.

It is also heeding the call to make the energy sector more responsive to the environment.

“We are realigning our strategy with the evolving energy market as well as the growing need to protect and conserve our environment for future generations,” GBP president Jaime Azurin said.

During the company’s recent management convocation themed “Initiate, Ignite, Innovate,” Azurin posed a challenge to company executives and managers to rethink strategies and innovate new approaches to issues at hand.

Held annually, the GBP management convocation also serves as the company’s strategic planning session, providing an avenue for performance assessment as well as direction-setting.

Azurin stressed that energy plays a key role in solving many development issues, as enshrined in the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs.

The SDGs aim to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services while also doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency. “Generating power, however, creates pressures on the environment,” he added.

He said one of the ways where GBP can help address this problem is to work towards achieving a balanced energy mix in its portfolio.

“We must optimize resources available to us whether they’re conventional or renewable,” he said, noting the company is continuously studying various opportunities to go into the renewable energy market and complement its existing portfolio. 

The company earlier bared plans to produce 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy projects as it ramps up its capacity to include sustainable energy solutions starting in five years starting 2019.

To help advance advance technical education to develop experts and leaders in the industry, GBP launched the state-of-the-art GBP Institute for Energy (GIE) in its Iloilo plant site, which seeks to promote better understanding of clean coal technology, promote energy efficiency, and strengthen learning and development for the company’s employees.

GBP is one of the leading independent operators in the Visayas, operating 11 power generation facilities in Cebu, Iloilo, Aklan, and Mindoro.

Last year, the company acquired a 50 percent stake in Mindanao-based Alsons Thermal Energy Corp.