‘EDC treading regenerative path’

By Lenie Lectura – September 29, 2020
from Business Mirror

In file photo: Geothermal power leader Energy Development Corp. continues its reforestation efforts at Mount Talinis in Negros Oriental. A team of EDC employees and volunteers from partner groups recently planted more than 100 native tree seedlings of the nato species in a portion of the mountain range.

The country’s leading producer of geothermal energy, Energy Development Corp. (EDC), said there is “little time left” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

EDC President Richard Tantoco, a guest speaker during last week’s webinar organized by the Focolare Movement and the Global Catholic Climate Movement-Pilipinas, said there is a need to go beyond sustainability and become regenerative amid the worsening climate crisis.

“This decade of the 2020s will critically determine whether we succeed or not. To succeed, humanity needs to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 6 percent every year until we achieve net zero emissions in 2050. Our emissions should peak in 2030 or sooner then go on a radical decline after that.

For context, the lockdowns and passenger transport restrictions resulting from the pandemic are expected to bring emissions down this year by about 8 percent; which means we need a Covid-scale catastrophe every year until 2050 just to achieve the 1.5 degree Celsius target,” said Tantoco.

He said there is a need to shift to a model of regenerative development.

In the case of EDC, regeneration includes its employees, community, environment, shareholders and co-creators, such as our customers, partners, contractors, suppliers.

“We all need to benefit from the positive impact of our decisions and actions. While our investors are important, regenerative thinking demands that we look at our business from a wider lens than just profitability,” he said.

As part of the Lopez group of companies, EDC is determined to forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future because sustainability, Tantoco said, is no longer good enough.

“Businesses today must urgently become a regenerative force that elevates everything that they touch—customers, employees, suppliers, contractors, the environment, communities, and investors.

The transformation cannot be done by entities working alone. We must all play unique, reciprocal, and synchronized roles in a world that needs to be healed. We choose this path because we believe it is the only way to create lasting value for all stakeholders and not just shareholders,” he said.

Tantoco cited his own experience at being regenerative during the pandemic.

In a farm up north, Tantoco said he bought seedlings from the Philippine Hardwoods at a higher rate than normal. He also paid for the workers’ daily wages.

Now, they have potted over 60,000 seedlings of palusapis, kamagong, yakal, guijo, malaruhat, dugon, narra and other threatened or endangered tree species.

“My dream is to plant 1 million trees in 5 years. But more than the raw numbers, my dream is to capacitate my neighbors to ultimately become self-sufficient. I’m just one of many EDC employees who try to do their best to live by the Lopez values—our north star as we fulfill our new chosen path to decarbonization and a regenerative future.

“What makes me proudest are the efforts of fellow employees who have heeded the call to be regenerative in their own spheres of influence and in their own unique way,” he said.

Image credits: EDC