Putting sustainability at the forefront

MANILA, Philippines – Embracing sustainability as a basic prerequisite to future growth, Republic Cement  has focused its efforts to maintain the highest standards in environmental management.

The company’s sustainability programs and initiatives are described in its Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Plan 2020, which was developed and enriched by select representatives from all employee ranks and encapsulated in an umbrella program dubbed iSTAND4.

“iSTAND4 is an umbrella program that encompasses the company’s various initiatives on corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, and leads all the way to 2020. The program is anchored on four pillars: innovation, environmental responsibility, climate change mitigation, and improving our people and the lives of our communities,” shares lawyer Anda Bolinas, vice president for sustainability, a recently created position within the company that reflects the focus on enabling sustainable development and nation-building.

The pillars underscore the company’s commitment to the environment and   socio-economic development, ensuring that these are embedded in its  initiatives for people and communities.

With the pioneering program, the company has dramatically decreased its carbon dioxide emission and introduced a lot of practices that show deep care and concern for the environment.

“There has been an upbeat outlook in the industry. There are a lot of activities in terms of cement sales because of the growing demand for cement both in the public and private sectors. During the first half of this year, a 12.8-percent increase in cement demand was recorded versus the same period last year. We believe that this growth should be met also with an increasing awareness of the pressure that this growth is putting on the environment,” says Bolinas.

Green initiatives

Republic Cement now implements a sustainable waste management solution called co-processing, which recovers the thermal and/or mineral properties of wastes, which are otherwise sent to landfills to be used in its cement manufacturing processes.

Its plants use refuse-derived fuel from sorted municipal waste, reducing the volume of residual waste in sanitary landfills by 25 to 30 percent.

The company also substitutes its fossil fuel requirements with alternative fuels such as rice husk and saw dust.

Committed to product innovation, the company is the only cement manufacturer in the country that blends cement with fly-ash, a carbon-neutral industrial by-product of coal power generation. Republic Portland Plus, the only blended cement manufactured in the country using fly-ash, has 25-percent lower environmental impact.

Republic has also developed Bio Roof, which is basically a green roof system that helps reduce a building’s cooling needs through shading and insulation and, thus, aids in mitigating the negative effects of growing urbanization.

The company also partners with other institutions, including government agencies, non-government organizations and other companies on environmental sustainability initiatives.

“The company would like to be a partner in nation building. We want to support the growth of the country and, at the same time, contribute to the country’s sustainability agenda. We’d also want to be a leader not just in the cement industry, but also in the building materials industry in terms of sustainable development,” Bolinas said.

“Over the years, we’ve been embedding sustainability more and more into our value chain or current operations. We’ve embraced sustainability as a fundamental prerequisite for our future developmental growth. By living our core value of respect, we are able to ensure that sustainability will be the foundation block where we will continue to grow our business,” he said. May Dedicatoria