Sustainability

Powering a Sustainable Future Through ESG Leadership

July 30, 2024

As a major player in the Philippine energy industry, Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) illuminates homes and businesses across the country, a mission they consistently fulfill as they also champion a sustainable future by weaving Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into the very fabric of their operations.

Guided by a robust corporate governance framework that prioritizes accountability, responsibility, and transparency, the AboitizPower Board, through the Board Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance (ESCG) Committee, sets the tone for ESG excellence within the organization. The Board ESCG Committee, which is led by an independent director, performs the crucial role of articulating and assessing AboitizPower’s purpose, vision and mission, and strategies to carry out its objectives. They also ensure that this strategic business direction is soundly established and in line with the Aboitiz Group’s overall goals and strategy, following ESG best practices.

Beyond good governance, AboitizPower actively translates its ESG principles into action through their growth plans, which focus on three key areas:

• Decarbonizing its portfolio of generation assets: AboitizPower is a major proponent of the shift to better and cleaner technologies, especially as they continue to invest in adding 3,700 MW of new renewable energy capacity, in step with the country’s ambition of having a 50% share of renewable energy in the power generation mix by 2040. To date, the company already has over 1,000 MW of disclosed projects from various indigenous energy sources, and is constantly pursuing opportunities to grow its portfolio for solar, hydro, geothermal, wind, and energy storage systems.
  
  
• Investing in communities and people: Social responsibility is a cornerstone of AboitizPower’s strategy. They actively invest in community development programs and prioritize the well-being of their workforce, believing that genuine growth lies in shared progress.
  
  
• Innovating for a sustainable tomorrow: Embracing digitalization and exploring new frontiers in energy democratization and production allows AboitizPower to help shape the future of the sector and minimize the environmental impact of its own traditional power plants, enhancing efficiency for the sake of energy security today and in the years to come.

Award-winning corporate governance

AboitizPower’s consistent success in corporate governance has been recognized for two years in a row with the Golden Arrow Award, which marks a publicly-listed company’s compliance with the Philippine Code of Corporate Governance and favorable standing with international best practices, as attested through an ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard.

To safeguard its ESG initiatives and achievements and support intelligent risk-taking, AboitizPower has implemented a robust risk management framework that proactively identifies and addresses environmental, social, and operational risks, hence ensuring its long-term business sustainability. It’s a holistic approach that not only advances the business, but also the stakeholders and communities that AboitizPower impacts.

Moreover, with the attainment of 96% ISO certification for the management systems of Quality, Environment, and Occupational Health and Safety in its power plants and distribution utilities, AboitizPower and their subsidiaries continue to work in maintaining and aligning their operations with international standards.

AboitizPower has a balanced portfolio of generation assets, offering the largest renewable energy portfolio in the country together with their partners and based on installed capacity under their operational control. They also have thermal power plants in their generation portfolio to support the country’s baseload and peak energy demands.

AboitizPower also owns nine distribution utilities serving a total customer base of over a million within franchise areas covering 18 cities and municipalities and five economic zones in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. This includes Visayan Electric and Davao Light, the country’s second and third largest private utilities, respectively.

AboitizPower's dedication to ESG goes beyond awards and recognition; it is their roadmap to a sustainable future. By prioritizing ESG principles, they are delivering power while laying the foundation for a thriving environment, empowered communities, and a responsible energy sector.

Article by Annelle Tayao-Juego of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.