Silliman University, the only educational institution that is part of the Net-Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA), supported the network in a conference to promote strategies for the private sector to lessen carbon emissions and avoid contributing to the climate crisis.
SU participated in the NZCA conference Zeroing in on Net-Zero: From Corporate Pledges to Action in Manila, which aimed to promote strategies for the private sector to lessen carbon emissions.
Prof. Jane Annette Belarmino, SU vice president for Development, Enterprise & External Affairs, represented the University at the conference which gathered international and local experts on climate and sustainability to discuss challenges, opportunities, and solutions, and share knowledge and insights for businesses to explore how they can begin and sustain their net zero journey.
Net-zero refers to the balance between the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, and the amount that is removed, which is achievable when carbon emissions are lessened.
The NZCA organized the conference in celebration of its second anniversary, a network spearheaded by the Energy Development Corp. that seeks to work with Filipino companies and businesses to achieve carbon- neutrality by 2050.
According to EDC, the NZCA is the first private sector-led initiative that has created a framework to attain carbon-neutrality as a transition to achieving net-zero for the Philippine business sector.
Members of the NZCA have come up with a roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by sharing best practices, scaling up carbon emission reduction and tracking, and providing better access to green financing, among many other capacity-building tools.
At SU, existing initiatives to reduce its carbon emissions include the use of solar panels and renewable energy.
SU prevented an equivalent of 974.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere by using renewable energy in a span of one year.
This data was computed by First Gen Energy Solutions Inc. based on SU’s usage from Dec. 26, 2020 to Dec. 25, 2021, and submitted to the University through a certificate recognizing the University for contributing to First Gen’s mission of a “decarbonized and regenerative future.”
Silliman is completely powered by renewable energy — the only university in Negros Island, and one of the few in the country — through its power supply contract with EDC, the country’s largest renewable energy producer by way of its core geothermal operations, owned by First Gen. (SU OIP)
