Buoyed by the success of its earlier tie-up with Ayala-supported Bonifacio Estate Services Corporation (BESC) and Ayala Foundation, renewable energy company Energy Development Corporation (EDC) has linked up anew with the conglomerate to bring its “Binhi: Tree for the Future” program inside the prime Nuvali eco-community in Laguna.
Buoyed by the success of its earlier tie-up with Ayala-supported Bonifacio Estate Services Corporation (BESC) and Ayala Foundation, renewable energy company Energy Development Corporation (EDC) has linked up anew with the conglomerate to bring its “Binhi: Tree for the Future” program inside the prime Nuvali eco-community in Laguna.
The 1,700-hectare residential estate thus became the newest host of premium but threatened Philippine trees like dao, ipil, kamagong, malaipil, molave, palosapis, supa, and yakal-saplungan, through the Ayala Property Management Corporation (APMC), which received the seedlings from EDC. The seedlings were planted at Nuvali’s Treveia neighborhood during a tree planting activity participated in by EDC and APMC employees last July 31.
Rei Medrano, Manager for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of EDC, thanked APMC and the Ayala group for agreeing to adopt and nurture the said seedlings in Nuvali.
“We share Ayala’s philosophy on environmental sustainability. Our Binhi program is firmly rooted on that philosophy because it intends to rescue and secure our native but high-value timber species, which have dwindled in number because of deforestation,” Medrano explained.
He added that school grounds, parks, and residential estates like Nuvali are “safe havens” for such tree species because these are where the seedlings can receive better protection and eventually grow into so-called “mother trees.” These mother trees would later on produce the seeds that will be used in future forestation projects.
“For the sake of preserving our country’s tree biodiversity, it has become imperative to bring these tree species into the mainstream of forestation initiatives,” Medrano added. “We have to think twice before using exotic trees like mahogany and gmelina for tree planting or reforestation, because we might compromise the survival of our native timber species in doing so.”
Last April, EDC planted seedlings of the same kind of trees inside Bonifacio Global City , with BESC and Ayala Foundation as partners. The energy firm is currently finalizing partnerships with the University of the Philippines Visayas, Philippine Science High School – Eastern Visayas, Quezon City Science High School , and the Department of Education (DepEd) to implement the program in various parts of the country. EDC’s target is to sow the program in all 81 provinces within a three-year period.
Apart from ‘Tree for the Future,’ Binhi has three other modules, namely: ‘Tree for Life’ (for bridging gaps of critical forest areas), ‘Tree for Food’ (for livelihood of forest settlers) and ‘Tree for Leisure’ (for ecotourism).
The Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is a pioneer in generating 100% clean, renewable, and reliable power as an electricity supplier in the Philippines for over 40 years. With power plants all over Visayas and Mindanao, the company is one of the biggest producers of geothermal energy in Asia and is expanding its reach in the international market, allowing it to offer customers affordable energy rates. EDC also strives to provide the best customer service it can to all its clients by having helpful salespeople and easy to understand contracts. Because of all of this, it is poised to become the premier supplier of electricity for the Philippines’ Green Energy Option Program. EDC takes its mission as a renewable energy provider seriously and goes beyond sustainability by investing in programs that enhance the environment and empower its partner communities, thereby fostering regenerative development. The company has also been working toward being carbon-neutral by improving its energy efficiency, as well as implementing various greening projects to ensure that its mission to provide future generations with a better life remains intact.
