Originally published on onenews.ph
QUICK READ: Businesses can help to reduce the climate impact by partnering with companies that share a regenerative mindset. Through the Net Zero Carbon Alliance launched by the Energy Development Corporation, we can move forward with decarbonizing the future and the planet.
In our fight against climate change, scientists have advised that we need to reduce our carbon footprint or the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by our activities, either directly or indirectly.
We can do this by minimizing travel, consuming less meat, preventing food waste, shifting to a vegan diet, buying sustainably-sourced products, preferring public transportation, cycling to work, investing in an electric vehicle, or bringing our own bag to the shopping stores. However, companies and professional activities contribute a much bigger carbon footprint to our environment. So how can companies reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to mitigating climate change?
Good thing there is now a multi-sectoral movement called the Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA). Launched by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), First Gen-owned and the country’s leading renewable energy firm, NZCA aims to attain zero-carbon emissions among local businesses as part of the company’s mission to forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future.
Net zero carbon aims to balance the global carbon dioxide emissions and collective CO2 removal efforts over a specific period as its end goal. Like a half-filled bathtub with an open drain and faucet, taking in as much water as it is letting out, net zero carbon does not mean zero emissions, but the removal of carbon at the same rate emissions occur.
Knowing the carbon footprint of an activity, which is measured in tonnes of CO2 emissions, is important when it comes to taking measures and launching initiatives to reduce it to the lowest possible level.
Here are five practical ways to reduce your company’s carbon footprint:
1. Calculate carbon footprint.
Find out the impact your business leaves on the planet with its daily operations. Calculate your carbon footprint by determining the following from your business activities over a 12-month period: energy, gas, and water consumption, business travel and fuel consumption, employee travel, and waste disposal/recycling. The NZCA website is equipped with a carbon footprint calculator. Just input your monthly electric consumption in kilowatt-hour (KWH), determine the region you are situated in, and it will immediately generate results.
2. Use renewable energy sources.
Shifting to renewable energy for one’s electricity source is the surest way to lower any company’s carbon emissions. This is because our use of power that relies mostly on coal is the primary cause of our greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy (RE) sources—wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass—provide substantial benefits to our environment and climate health. These sources of power can be used to produce electricity with fewer environmental impacts or no greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and reduce some types of air pollution. Compared to other RE sources, experts say geothermal energy is the only one that can provide a reliable and stable source of baseload power. That is why EDC’s geothermal product is called Geo 24/7– it’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
3. Practice the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
The principle of the three R’s is a must whenever we talk about being environmentally friendly, whether on a small or large scale. Thinking about sustainable procurement can act as an exercise to engage employees by thinking of ways they can reduce the consumption of items from office supplies to packaging and operations. The manufacture and transport of all these items have an associated carbon footprint. Thus, a significant reduction of these things will probably not only make your company more eco-friendly but also help its bottom line too!
4. Partner with pro-green suppliers.
Reducing your carbon footprint is one thing, but it’s no longer enough that you are doing your part; you should also engage with sustainable partners in your business operations. You may be minimizing your company’s environmental impacts, but if you are supporting businesses that do the bare minimum to protect and conserve the environment, you are technically funding unsustainable practices. Partner with suppliers and other stakeholders that are pro-environment and take sustainability to heart.
5. Monitor, evaluate, and report progress.
Check your company’s progress on carbon footprint reduction efforts and create a strategy of what you are implementing and how much energy you expect to save. In case you are having difficulty with how to start this, don’t fret—thanks to the Net Zero Carbon Alliance. EDC-initiated NZCA provides partner companies and organizations a roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by sharing best practices, scaling up carbon emission reduction and tracking, and providing better access to green financing, among many other capacity-building tools.
Aside from your own evaluation, it is indispensable that companies communicate their progress to their stakeholders, both internal and external. It is one good opportunity for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to improving environmental performance and tackling climate change.
Whether big corporations or small enterprises, all are encouraged to carry out initiatives that support environmental causes, and you should act now—no matter how big or small it may be. Think of what you can do within and outside your company, and make your efforts count. After all, we all live on our only planet, and we have a moral responsibility to save it for the future generation.
Take the first step to carbon neutrality by becoming a Net Zero Carbon Alliance partner. Visit https://netzerocarbonalliance.ph/ for more information.
Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is the Lopez Group’s global and diversified renewable energy company. With over 40 years of pioneering sustainable practices, it is the Philippines’ leading 100% renewable energy producer with an installed capacity of 1,476.59 MW that accounts for almost 20% of the country’s total installed RE capacity. With geothermal as its primary source of power, EDC’s 1, 181.80 MW provides 61.30% of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity. Our clean energy portfolio also comprises 150 MW of wind, 132.5 MW of hydroelectric, and 11.99 MW of solar energy. Our total power generation of 9,111.80 GWh in 2020 is equivalent to over 42% of the country’s 21,608.9 GWh* total generated renewable energy.
