8 industries receive DENR recognition for exemplary environmental performance

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (October 20, 2016) - For exhibiting exemplary environmental performance, eight companies from the chiller and power sectors received recognition from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at the Joint Awarding Ceremony of the Philippines-Chiller Energy Efficiency Project (PCEEP) and the Philippine Environment Partnership Program (PEPP) held recently at the H2O Hotel in Manila.

The project’s beneficiaries were awarded and recognized for their initiatives in implementing energy-efficient operations, particularly the chiller sector’s move to replace their ODS-based inefficient chillers to new technologies.

The PCEEP is a World Bank-Global Environment Facility (WB-GEF) -initiated Project which provide technical and financial assistance to replace their old chillers with energy-efficient and non-ozone depleting substances (ODS)-based chillers in order to protect the ozone layer and reduce greenhouse emissions.

The PCEEP provides an opportunity for chiller owners to select new chiller technologies that are not only more energy efficient but also operating with non-ODS-based refrigerant and with lower leakage rate.  Such move would actually bring economic as well as ecological benefits not only to chiller owners but also the country in terms of savings in electricity and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The seven awardees under the PCEEP are the following : Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino / Cofely Philippines (Excellence Award); The Peninsula Manila (Excellence Award); Trinoma Malls (Plaque of Recognition); SM City Iloilo (Plaque of Recognition); Bank of the Philippine Islands-Buendia Center (Plaque of Recognition); International School Manila (Plaque of Recognition); Manila Pavilion (Certificate of Recognition).

The DENR also conferred three Special Awards, namely: Special Citation for the Most Number of PCEEP Applications (Chiller Supplier Category) for Stellar Equipment Inc., Best in Chiller Management of the Year for Engr. Vincent Lazaro of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino and Engr. Karsten Carlo Pica of Cofely Philippines, and Highest Greenhouse Gas Reduction for CY2015 for Trinoma Malls.

Awardees were selected after passing a series of evaluation stages including documentary and site validation with the members of the PCEEP-Technical Evaluation Committee.

At the end of the project life on January 1, 2017, the PCEEP is expected to have replaced 30,649 tons of refrigeration, reduced 5,700 kilograms of ozone-depleting potentials, generated at least 124.7 gigawatt- hours in electricity savings, abated 10 megawatt-demand, and reduced 62,400 tons of greenhouse gases.

On the other hand, the PEPP, pursuant to DENR Administrative Order No. 14 (Series of 2003), is a DENR partnership program that aims to support industry self-regulation towards improved environmental performance. EDC Green Core Geothermal, Inc. located in Leyte bagged the DENR Seal of Approval under the PEPP’s “Track 1 Category”. It is the sole awardee for 2015.

Under Track 1, industries are recognized for their initiatives that go beyond compliance which means they should have had no cases filed with the Pollution Adjudication Board for three years prior to the date of application. They are in full compliance with all applicable environmental laws, and should have been proven to show superior environmental performance such as implementing successful environmental management system or pollution prevention or waste minimization initiatives and community or social responsibility programs.

(By Jong Cadion with PR)