MANILA, Philippines — Schneider Electric, a prominent energy management and automation firm, is teaming up with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to champion sustainable practices.
This partnership aims to promote the adoption of energy-efficient measures in the country’s economic zones.
“Schneider Electric and PEZA are working together to help manufacturing facilities in PEZA zones shift to more sustainable practices and support PEZA in promoting sustainable manufacturing to potential foreign investors,” Schneider Electric Philippines government affairs head Norman Roland Ocana III told The STAR in an email.
PEZA director-general Tereso Panga said that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be signed with Schneider aims to achieve widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies inside ecozones.
The goal is to accelerate and attain a higher percentage of renewable energy use ahead of the government’s target.
“Likewise, Schneider’s expertise can help locator companies implement energy efficiency measures considered as low-hanging fruits. This MOU can be parlayed into the wider and inclusive efforts of PEZA to bring all our ecozones within the eco-industrial park framework,” Panga told The STAR.
He added that the MOU is a collaboration aimed at reducing carbon footprints in ecozones.
“This is not only in pursuance to the Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement but also as a strategy to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country,” Panga said.
“To enhance locator companies’ global competitiveness, PEZA ecozones must henceforth be circumscribed within the Eco-Industrial Park Framework of UNIDO,” he added.
Ocana said the company recognizes the near-term target of the government to reach a 35 percent renewable energy share in its energy mix by 2030.
“And in line with our company’s purpose to bridge progress and sustainability for all, the MOU presents an opportunity to fulfill Schneider Electric’s commitment to help in the development of sustainable cities and local communities,” he said.
The Schneider Electric official explained that the manufacturing sector is known to use large quantities of resources from raw materials to energy.
He stressed that there is a need for the industry to explore ways to operate more sustainably to reduce waste and their overall impact on the environment.
Ocana said that operating more sustainably would enable industries to function efficiently and enhance profitability.
One of the benefits of sustainable operations is the reduction of operational costs.
Through the MOU, Schneider Electric is committing to partner with PEZA locators by lending its expertise and top of the line end-to-end sustainable solutions to help manufacturing facilities in PEZA zone transition to more sustainable practices.
“Since Schneider Electric is trusted globally for its expertise in sustainable technologies, our partners can guarantee that by choosing to be green, they’re choosing long-term value generation. While the impact is not immediate, sustainability guarantees operational efficiency and productivity which all lead to profitability,” Ocana said.
For his part, Panga stressed that green and sustainability is the way forward especially as the country embraces today’s digital era and Industry 4.0.
As such, we are targeting the implementation of environmental, health, and safety programs that seek to provide a globally competitive and sustainable business environment for investors.
“Pursuant to UN sustainable development goals No. 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), PEZA supports the circular economy to enable locator companies’ services and operations efficient and sustainable, allowing recovery and reuse of materials in the process and thereby eliminating wastes,” Panga said.
He added that global efforts are underway to harmonize circularity principles.
“With the release of European Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (with subsection on circularity of products, operations and supply chains) which will become mandatory, PEZA has participated in Global Reporting Initiative and has entered an MOU to capacitate locator companies in terms of sustainability reporting,” Panga said.
In October, PEZA and Schneider Electric held a Go Ecozone Forum, during which PEZA shared updates regarding its Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) initiatives. The forum reiterated how shifting to sustainable practices will help build more resilient and responsible economies.
Similarly, Schneider Electric shared how its various assets and solutions help manufacturing industries globally transition to greener solutions.
The Forum is the first of a series by Schneider Electric and PEZA which aims to keep the manufacturing industry abreast of the global trends in the field of manufacturing as well as share with the manufacturing industry on how to successfully adapt new sustainable approaches to alleviate external shocks and attain operational adaptability.