The country’s largest geothermal energy producer Energy Development Corporation (EDC) had taken its first cardinal step to become a ‘zero waste company’, in line with its goal for a regenerative and decarbonized future.

The Lopez-led firm’s “zero waste target” is rooted upon the fact that the country is the third biggest polluter in the world – with 2.7 million metric tons of plastic wastes generated annually, as reported last year by the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment.

On that premise, EDC pointed out that it turned to be a fundamental mission for it to “help in eliminating plastic waste materials,” and this is an advocacy it is now advancing in partnership with Plastic Flamingo (PLAF) for its plastic-to-shelter project.

According to EDC, its program-partner PLAF is a French social enterprise that is pursuing a pilot project in the Philippines, primarily training its sight on developing a solution to abate marine plastic pollution in emerging countries.

In cementing their collaboration, EDC has signed an agreement with PLAF so it can concretize its aspiration to become a waste-and-plastic-free; and in the end, be a ‘zero waste company’ paragon.

According to Regina Victoria J. Pascual, assistant vice president and head of EDC Corporate Support Functions, “waste management is nothing new for EDC,” noting that such has been a goal it embraced since 2010, fundamentally in managing its hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.

‘The company has been implementing various programs to eliminate plastic waste such as information campaigns among employees on proper waste materials disposal and encouraging employees to donate eco-bricks to its sister-company First Balfour,” Pascual pointed out.

Nevertheless, the company executive acknowledged that “we knew that there’s always a way to do more, to have less waste, to have better environmental impact – which led to our desire to have zero waste in EDC.”

She narrated that the company’s bigger hurdle came last year, “when we started working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic and realized that all those food and grocery deliveries and items ordered online that came in layers of bubble wrap have resulted in accumulation of plastic waste in our employees’ respective houses.”

Taking cue from that, she emphasized that EDC was prompted to “search for a partner that can help us manage our personal plastic waste and convert them into sustainable products.”

Gauthier Belhomme, chief revenue officer of PLAF, stressed that the two companies “share the same value of protecting the environment for the benefit of the community and the future generation.

As fleshed out under their agreement, “the plastic waste materials of EDC employees who are based in Manila and adjacent areas will be collected once a month and will be turned over to PLAF for proper waste recycling, upcycling and disposal.”

It has been expounded that part of PLAF’s program is “segregating the collected plastics according to (their) classifications and then transforming them into eco-planks,” which are used in the setting up of emergency shelter for populations pummeled by disaster.