TDK Philippines Corp., a manufacturing firm for electronic components, had shifted its electricity service usage to renewable energy (RE) and will tap Energy Development Corp. (EDC) of Lopez-led First Gen Corp. for its supply.

The TDK Group said it had taken this move for its entire manufacturing facility in Laguna to align with its commitment “to be part of the solution to various environmental and social issues related to climate change.” This has been integrated in the company’s Environmental Policy and Medium-Term Plan 2023.

The round-the-clock power supply to the TDK facility, which will be in the scale of 2.5 megawatts, will be sourced from the geothermal power plants of EDC.

According to the Lopez-led firm, the geothermal energy to be supplied to the manufacturing company “will enable TDK to avoid a minimum of 13,139 tonnes of carbon dioxide in lieu of coal each year.”

Having been tagged as “energy-intensive” businesses, many manufacturing facilities all over the world have been prioritizing to decarbonize the chain of their operations by patronizing RE as their energy source, and many of these core industries are doing the same in the Philippines.

On the part of the TDK group, it has been implementing measures to pare its carbon footprints since 2011. By far, the strategy it has been employing had been anchored on evaluating and calculating energy-saving impacts that its products would be able to pull off.

Tamotsu Aiba, president and chief executive officer of TDK, noted that “the partnership with First Gen is a big step for TDK Philippines to achieve our environmental mission to a cleaner, decarbonized world.”

He stressed their company “will continue to reach its environmental targets from the perspective of the entire supply chain and create value for a sustainable society.”

Arlene Sy Soriano, head of First Gen’s power marketing and sales, asserted that being the power supplier, “we will make sure to support TDK’s sustainable business operations by supplying 100-percent renewable energy sourced from EDC’s Unified Leyte and Green Core Geothermal, Inc. power facilities.”

She pointed out “TDK’s green initiatives, which include cutting down carbon emissions by 50-percent in 2035 and achieving net zero by 2050, are aligned with our decarbonization and regeneration mission.”

First Gen further indicated that “apart from being able to lower their carbon footprint, TDK will also be able to enjoy more affordable electricity rates that mainly come from having zero VAT (value added tax) on generation charges and fixed rates that are not indexed to any fuel commodities and foreign exchange.”