Jollibee hastens shift to renewable energy

As it powers up largest solar panel installation

The Jollibee group has tapped Lopez-led First Gen Corp. for the food conglomerate’s largest solar panel installation to date.

Through subsidiary Zenith Foods Corp. (ZFC), Jollibee collaborated with First Gen’ unit Pi Energy Inc. to energize a third of its manufacturing facility in Laguna with solar power.

A total of 6,300 solar panels are now being operated in Jollibee’s Canlubang baking facility, boosting its shift to renewable energy.

“In our quest to bring the joy of eating not only for today’s generation but that of tomorrow’s, we integrate solar energy into our state-of-the-art Canlubang baking facility,” Jollibee Group supply chain head Michael Ong said.

“This is our largest installation to date, but this is also just the beginning. We have more locations planned in the months ahead, and we are determined to accelerate our journey toward carbon neutrality further,” he said.

Jollibee said the Canlubang baking facility is the second out of four target sites for solar panel installation.

A total of 3,000 solar panels were installed in a separate facility in Canlubang in November last year.

The group expects solar panel installation in the two other sites to be completed by the third quarter of 2024.

ZFC’s commissaries and logistics centers support the Jollibee Group’s portfolio of brands in the Philippines, such as Jollibee, Greenwich, Burger King, Red Ribbon, Chowking and Mang Inasal.

Ong said Jollibee is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its supply chain operations.

The use of solar energy is part of the group’s commitment to more sustainable business practices guided by its global sustainability agenda.

Apart from solar energy use, Jollibee Group manufacturing sites across the country have slashed their waste by 38 percent as of 2022.

Jollibee said the manufacturing facilities have reduced their water use ratio by 23 percent and energy use ratio by 21.5 percent.

“We learned that our impact on the planet revolves around three critical areas: energy, water, and waste. With this newfound awareness, we embrace the challenge of ‘Joy for Tomorrow,’ and we set out to establish strategies, systems, and initiatives that will allow us to treat our planet more responsibly,” Jollibee Group’s chief sustainability and public affairs officer Jose Miñana Jr. said.

The Jollibee Group, which includes other brands, has a store count of 6,805 stores worldwide as of end November 2023.