HEDCOR -- the Cleanergy arm of AboitizPower -- commemorates the second year of its #NoToSingleUsePlastics advocacy. This advocacy promotes the decreased use of single-use plastics within company premises and events.
Initiated two years ago, Hedcor kept its environmental campaign simple and focused. It centered on the ban of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles. It was then known as the #NoPETSAllowed campaign.
Hedcor's Sustainability officer, Cranep Udan, explains further the impact of PET bottles to the environment and why this was initially the focus of the campaign.
"The use of single use plastic specifically PET bottles pose a danger to our health and the environment. Based on studies, the Philippines is generating about 45.2 million pieces of PET bottled per day and in one way or another we were once contributing to that number."
To reinforce its campaign, Hedcor gave away tumblers to its team members to ensure that PET bottles were eliminated in its premises and company activities.
Seeing the campaign's success and the team members' conscious commitment of avoiding PET bottles, Hedcor gave its campaign an upgrade in 2019. It was amended to discourage the use of all single-use plastics within Hedcor's premises; thus, the #NoToSingleUsePlastics Advocacy.
Part of its guidelines include avoiding single-use plastics such as styro, juice packs, straw, plastic cups, plastic cutlery (forks, knives and spoons) and plastic food keepers in all company activities, celebrations, and events such as meetings, tree planting, among others.
Hedcor's Sustainability team have since spearheaded activities in support of this advocacy such as promoting the use of Katcha bags in replacement of plastic bags, introducing substitutes to single-use packaging, and implementing segregation and recycling within company premises.
Being a pioneering pillar to AboitizPower's Cleanergy brand, Hedcor is on a constant journey to look for ways to leave a lighter impact on the earth's climate.
"If we do not minimize the use of single-use plastics, we will not have enough space to contain wastes. This, coupled with improper disposal, can lead to health problems," explains Udan. "As part of Hedcor's commitment to protect the environment, we will continue to promote the minimized use of single use plastics. All these for better health and a better earth," she adds.
Hedcor also extends this advocacy to its partner communities. This is done through holding Information and Education campaigns on proper waste segregation and organizing eco-market days to encourage households to segregate, recycle, and dispose of their waste properly. In return, residents get to earn extra income from selling their recyclable wastes.
Since its inception in 2010, Hedcor has since collected 2.1 million kilograms of waste among all of the Eco-market days it has organized across the country.
Hedcor is the run-of-river hydropower arm of AboitizPower which generates 280 MW of Cleanergy through its 22 hydropower facilities across the country. (PR)