AboitizPower RE company recognized for environmental stewardship

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region V (DENR-V) has again recognized AboitizPower RE company AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI) for its sustained commitment to helping protect the environment.

APRI recently received the Special Environmental Achievement Award at the 17th Saringaya Awards, an annual recognition program of DENR-V, honoring individuals and organizations in the region that have championed environmental stewardship in their communities.

Launched in 2000, the Saringaya Awards was named after the Bicolano word masaringaya, which means green environment, abundance, health, and balanced ecology, and has since been considered as the region's "highest environment award".

Since 2012, APRI has been a consistent Saringaya awardee. This year, the company was commended for its notable initiatives such as the Development of Climate-resilient Mt. Malinao Biodiversity and Conservation Project (with Bicol University College of Agriculture and Forestry), Adopt-a-River Project (with DENR-EMB V), Rain Water Collector, Vermi-composting and Nursery Facility, and A-Park, a Biodiversity Enhancement Project of the Aboitiz Group.

APRI President and COO Felino M. Bernardo cited the local governments' continued support for the company's projects and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.

"Our initiatives would not be possible without the support of local governments and our host communities," Bernardo said. "We value this recognition from DENR as much as we value our partnership with them, as well as other government organizations, with whom we continuously collaborate for projects that benefit people and the environment.

"Bernardo also said that the award reinforces AboitizPower and APRI’s commitment to producing reliable and reasonably priced power supply in a responsible manner. "This award solidifies AboitizPower and APRI’s efforts to protect the environment and the communities where we operate while we remain committed to providing reliable and reasonably priced power to the nation,” he said.

AboitizPower continuously expands it RE businesses as it strives for a balanced portfolio of both RE and conventional energy sources to ensure reliability and affordability of power supply for customers.

The company recently secured the approval of the local government council of La Trinidad, Benguet for its subsidiary Hedcor's Bineng Combined Hydropower Project, which will triple its capacity from 5.

48 MW to 19 MW upon target completion in 2019. Other RE projects of AboitizPower that are underway are the 69-MW Manolo Fortich and 8-MW Maris Canal run-of-river hydro projects in Bukidnon and Isabela, respectively, and its first biomass power plant through subsidiary Aseagas in Batangas. The company and its partners currently have a net sellable capacity of more than 1,200 MW from its RE portfolio of geothermal, hydro, and solar power plants all over the country.

The sustained growth of AboitizPower's RE portfolio also attracted key players in various industries to switch to Cleanergy, its brand for clean and renewable energy. These include Nestle Philippines, Eton Properties, Philippine Spring Water Resources Inc., Draka, and The Net Group, among others.