Gokongwei-led Universal Robina Corporation (URC) will be shifting to renewable energy (RE) for at least 20 of its facilities in Luzon and Visayas.
The snacks and beverages manufacturing company said it has recently signed agreements with Lopez-led retail electricity suppliers (RES) BacMan Geothermal, Inc. (BGI) and First Gen Energy Solutions, as well as MPower – the RES of the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO).
The three RESs, all participants in the government’s Green Energy Option Program, will supply the 20 facilities with geothermal, solar, and hydro energy.
Among the URC facilities that will be powered by RE are its factories in Pasig City, Bulacan, Pampanga, Antipolo City, Laguna, Cavite, Negros Occidental, and Cebu.
URC Chief Sustainability Officer David Lim said the company is looking to have its plants run entirely on RE by 2025.
The goal, he added, would support the Philippines’ pledge to the Paris Agreement to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030.
URC had earlier installed solar panels in its manufacturing facilities in the Canlubang estate in Cabuyao City, Laguna and in San Fernando City, Pampanga, generating a combined capacity of around two megawatts.
The company is also looking to install solar panels in its other plants in Tarlac, Pampanga, Cebu, and Misamis Oriental
As for its international operations, URC installed solar panels in six of its factories, and four of its warehouses in Thailand. Installed in 2019, the solar panels can generate six megawatts of power.
Photo from URC website.