Powering Avon’s First Solar Facility
L-R: Meralco Corporate Partners Vice President and Head Ms. Ma. Cecilia M. Domingo,
Avon Products Mfg., Inc. Head of Operations Mr. Tirso Antonio B. Pereja,
Spectrum Chief Operations Officer Mr. Patrick Henry T. Panlilio,
and Meralco Corporate Partners Private Sector Head Ms. Bernice Gretchel P. Garcia-Rama
Avon, a 136-year old British multinational cosmetic, skin care, fragrance and personal care company based in London is embarking on a sustainability shift. With the Philippines as one of the top 10 markets for Avon, their manufacturing plant in Calamba, Laguna with an idle rooftop space of 3,500 sqm was the first among the Avon Group of Companies worldwide to adapt to renewables. The Calamba facility is one of the three manufacturing plants of Avon globally. The other two are in Poland and Russia.
On April 22, 2022, Earth Day, Spectrum, a solar subsidiary of Meralco, inaugurated the 626.4 kWp installation. Avon’s Calamba plant is the first solar project of Avon. It has reduced 160 tonnes of carbon emissions, translating to about 329,315 trees planted over a period of 20 years. Currently, Avon is looking at expanding their sustainability initiative by constructing solar PV installations to power two of its warehouses.
"Taking care of our planet is also similar to taking care of the people because the people will be the ones who will benefit when we take care of our planet. We want to highlight that this is the first solar project of Avon, not just in the Philippines, but internationally," Mr. Tirso Antonio B. Pereja, Avon Products Mfg., Inc. Head of Operations, said during the inaugural ceremony.
Avon Products Mfg., Inc. General Manager Mr. Razvan Diratian said, “This project is in line with Avon’s international mandate to embed sustainability in its business operations down to the formulation of our products, with the ultimate goal of lowering our company’s environmental footprint.”
The partnership was strengthened by Meralco’s dedicated Relationship Management Team under the Corporate Business Group. Back in 2013, when the cosmetics giant, whose energy load was at 1.2 megawatt (MW), opted to shift to RCOA (Retail Competition and Open Access) – a retail market option where customers who have a minimum load of 500kW can select their Retail Electricity Supplier, allowing them to negotiate their own terms.
At the height of the Taal Volcano ash fall in 2020, Meralco – through the same Relationship Manager (RM) who supported the solar project, Danne Realuyo – helped Avon with their facilities clean-up when a sparking cable was identified from their potential transformer and current transformer. Once damaged, power is interrupted and will require a 5-hour shutdown resulting to production loss of PHP843,000 per hour for Avon.
For more information on how Meralco can help you with your energy needs, talk to your RM today. Call 16210.