By Alden M. Monzon
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation is keeping to the road towards sustainability, maintaining its commitment to play a part in Shell Plc’s global initiative for net zero by 2050, at pace with society. The world needs action to reduce carbon emissions and keep global temperatures to below 1.5° Celsius, one of the main goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
These goals support Shell’s purpose, to power progress together by providing more and cleaner energy solutions. It is underpinned by our core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people with focus on safety.
Shell Plc’s strategy sets out to accelerate the transition of its business to net-zero emissions, in step with society’s progress in achieving the 1.5° goal – purposefully and profitably.
Sergio Bernal Jr., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation Vice President for Corporate and Government Relations, said that tackling climate change is an urgent global mission and requires a fundamental transformation of the energy company’s systems.
“Transitioning away from fossil fuels takes time as the majority of the key industries still require it,” Bernal Jr. said.
“However, by providing, investing in, and scaling up our low-carbon energy solutions for our customers and partners, we can reduce emissions as we contribute as much as possible today and provide the groundwork and incentives for a more sustainable tomorrow,” he said further.
Pilipinas Shell has what it calls ‘powering progress strategy,’ the main goals of which according to the company is to achieve net-zero emissions, powering lives, respecting nature, and generating shareholder value.
Bernal said these forms the framework of the company’s energy transition plans
“Under the new normal, we’ve seen our plans accelerate as the emergence of hybrid work set-ups and reevaluation of several work roles, and industries have put more focus on our sustainable energy programs,” the company executive added.
Four strategic goals
At the heart of the company’s ‘powering progress strategy’ lies four key goals according to Bernal, objectives which he said demonstrates the company’s determination to play a leading role in tackling climate change and sustainability.
“We will boost demand for low-carbon energy by working with our customers, partners and governments as we contribute to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions,” Bernal said as the first key objective.
The second one ties in more closely to their goal of becoming a net-zero emissions energy business, at pace with society, by 2050, setting both short- and medium-term targets to make sure that the company is reducing emissions in line with the Paris goal and meeting the expectations of a progressive society.
“We will achieve net-zero emissions by reducing emissions from our operations and by selling more and more low-carbon energy products. We will use carbon capture and storage and nature-based offsets to remove or balance any remaining emissions,” he said.
The strategy’s third objective is to provide power to people’s lives and livelihoods according to the company executive.
“The supply of affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is crucial for addressing global challenges, including those related to poverty and inequality. That is why our purpose is to provide more and cleaner energy solutions to everyone,” he said. “Our local operations provide jobs and training for thousands of people in more than 1,100 mobility sites that we have, and we support local businesses by buying goods and services from them,” Bernal said further, highlighting the aim to become one of the most diverse and inclusive companies in the world, focusing on areas including gender, race and ethnicity, and disability.
Bernal said the fourth goal is to respect nature by focusing on protecting the environment, reducing waste and making a positive contribution to biodiversity.
At the heart of the strategy is sustainability. Locally, we zoned in on our operations and real estate and adjusted them so that they are ready for the future by greening our offices and our communities.
One of Shell’s recent projects, Shell Recharge is an electric vehicle charging service that was launched in Shell Mobility Station Malamplasan to further decarbonize mobility and establish the infrastructure and interest for electric vehicles.
Other nature-friendly solutions found in Shell’s Mobility Stations across the country include biker-friendly spaces, rain-catchers for irrigation, and usage of eco-bricks made from recycled plastics.
“Working with our partners and suppliers and developing new collaborations is key. We will join with others across industry, governments, our customers and supply chains to protect nature,” he added.
Connecting people, green energy
One of the programs under this principle is the Project SINAG in 2020 of the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc., the company’s social corporate responsibility arm.
Project SINAG benefits small off-grid communities composed of rural households with no immediate prospects of being connected to any electricity grids over the next five to 10 years.
“During the height of the pandemic when the need for energy greatly increased, two renewable energy-powered microgrids were set up in Palawan, providing over 1,315 individuals with a reliable and affordable power source for their needs,” said the Pilipinas Shell executive.
As another example, Bernal said that they have transformed their Shell retail stations into a ‘Shell mobility site’ to better adapt to changing customer demands during the pandemic.
“The mobility stations incorporate new sustainability features such as solar paneling and eco-brick construction as well as customer-centric features for non-fuel retail products,” he said further, noting in detail the clean energy aspects of the measure.
Into a greener, cleaner energy for future
Looking ahead, the Pilipinas Shell executive said they are implementing efforts to enhance their operations and product offerings towards greener energy.
“We are reducing our own absolute operational emissions and moving into the renewable energy space by powering our own import terminals to renewable energy,” Bernal said, citing that they have more than 1,100 mobility sites, 132 of which are powered through solar energy.
MAIN PHOTO:
Shell companies in the Philippines Country Chair Lorelie Quimbao-Osial, General Manager of Shell Energy Philippines Inc. Bernd Krukenberg, and Pilipinas Shell Vice President and General Manager for Mobility Randy Del Valle activate the switch for Shell Mamplasan to run on renewable electricity with the 3 color pieces: Blue, Green, and Purple representing Water and Air, Nature and Land, and Innovation and Technology, respectively.
