EDC environmental management receives new ISO certification
Geothermal leader Energy Development Corporation's (EDC) has just been conferred its ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System certification for its Southern Negros Geothermal Project (SNGP) in Valencia, Negros Oriental, under the certifying body, TÜV Rheinland.
ISO 14001:2015 is the revised management systems standard that responds to latest trends in identifying and managing environmental risks and impact and includes the stakeholders’ expectations. It likewise requires the implementation of initiatives related to sustainable resource use and climate change mitigation.
The certification covers SNGP’s 222.5MW Palinpinon-1, Palinpinon-2, and Nasulo power plants and its support facilities. It is valid for three years, subject to an annual surveillance audit. SNGP first received its ISO 14001:2004 certification from SGS Philippines, under the UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) in 2014.
"We are proud to receive this certification from the world’s premier inspection, verification, testing, and certification company," said Jay Joel L. Soriano, EDC's business unit head for Negros Island.
"This recognition reaffirms our commitment to responsible environmental management, which is crucial to our company's sustainability."
For more than four decades, EDC has been responsibly conducting its business alongside environmental stewardship through its watershed management program that includes biodiversity conservation and monitoring, upland community management, forest protection and restoration, and regulatory compliance with forest regulations.
SNGP has been at the forefront of environmental protection programs in Negros Island for the past 35 years and has so far reforested almost 6,000 hectares with four million trees planted and maintained from 1989-2016 in Negros Island. More than 2.5 million of these trees were planted under its BINHI greening legacy program since 2009.
In 2015, SNGP expanded its BINHI program by initiating the 10M in 10 for Greener Negros Movement, which aims to plant, grow, and protect at least 10 million trees in the island in 10 years with the help of organizations and individuals who are all committed to having a greener Negros Island. The movement targets to plant its 2nd millionth tree towards the end of this year.
EDC is the world's largest vertically integrated geothermal company and the only diversified renewable energy firm in the country. The company has been powering infinite possibilities in Negros Oriental for 35 years now by harnessing geothermal energy, the only form of RE that can provide sustainable power 24 hours a day, rain or shine, all year round.