Powering the Good Life
Our mission is to ensure that electricity continually flows from our grid to our customers—to light up homes and offices, to power industries, and to energize our economy—today and for generations to come. We have therefore placed sustainability at the heart of Meralco, allowing us to better empower our people, protect our environment, and foster growth for a prosperous nation.
One for Trees
We aim to protect and preserve Philippine forests and watersheds by planting and nurturing 5 million trees by 2025.
Green Mobility
We have electrified 100% of our Metro Manila Business Centers’ vehicle fleet beginning 2021.
Ester Oil
Transformers
We use only natural ester oil in 100% of our new distribution transformers, making them 99% biodegradable and recyclable.
#Mbrace:
Gender Diversity
We promote a gender-balanced and inclusive workplace. Today, we have nearly 2x more women in our organization versus the global average in the energy sector
Through the Meralco Electrification Program, Meralco provided electricity to 5,751 low-income families within its franchise area in 2023. In partnership with the One Meralco Foundation and the local governments, we bring power to unserved and underserved communities, particularly in informal settlements and relocation sites. Since its launch, the program has energized 75,715 low-income households.
MSpectrum has energized thousands of private, educational, and government institutions, totaling 64 MW of installed capacity in 2023.
We have strategically expanded our footprint beyond the Meralco franchise area to the Visayas and Mindanao to help companies all over the Philippines start their sustainability journey through solar power. In 2023, we developed multiple solar generating facilities for different industries such as retail superstores, semiconductor manufacturers, food and beverage plants, among others.
We also continue to find ways to power isolated communities in dire need of energy access. The first beneficiaries of our microgrid solutions were 29 households in Isla Verde, with a 32-kWp solar PV and 192-kWh battery energy storage system (BESS), and 140 households in Cagbalete Island, with a 60-kWp solar PV and 150-kWh BESS. We are now working toward building larger-scale microgrids, with the goal of lighting up the remaining communities on both islands.
We fully support the Department of Energy’s Renewable Portfolio Standards and have thus made twin commitments to contract 1,500 MW of renewable energy supply and to build 1,500 MW of attributable clean energy capacity through 2030. Through MGreen, we currently have three operational solar facilities helping to power the nation with earth-friendly energy. BulacanSol, a 55-MW solar farm, began operations in 2021, while our 68-MW plant in Ilocos Norte and 75-MW plant in Rizal both went online in 2023.
We now use natural plant-based ester oil (instead of mineral oil) in our distribution transformers (DTs). To date, 100% of our pad-mounted DTs already use ester oil. Moving forward, 100% of our new DTs (including pole-mounted) will use this earth-friendly material, making our DTs 99% biodegradable and recyclable.
Through One for Trees, our carbon sink program launched in 2019, we live out our commitment to environmental sustainability and preservation of Philippine biodiversity. By planting and nurturing 5 million trees by 2025, we seek to revive and rehabilitate damaged and threatened forests and watersheds, while providing a sustainable stream of income to communities through agroforestry. As of February 2024, we have already planted 2,330,729 trees.
Through our Green Mobility Program, we have rolled out nearly 160 electric vehicles (EVs)—comprised of cars, motorcycles, pick-up trucks, and vans—to our various business centers and sector offices, as well as 12 charging stations across our franchise area. Meralco has thus exceeded the 5% standard of the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA), with 6% of our fleet now converted into EVs, enroute to electrifying 25% of our service fleet by 2030.
Across all One Meralco offices and facilities, our Race to Zero Waste Program aims to minimize our solid waste and divert them away from landfills. In 2023, we achieved a 95% waste diversion rate through strict adherence to national policies, company-specific guidelines, expanded waste management facilities, and employee awareness campaigns. Since 2019, we have also partnered with our supply chain to avoid over 340,000 kg of single-use plastics, equivalent to 34 million plastic bottles.
Our #Mbrace Diversity and Inclusion Program champions a gender-balanced and inclusive workplace. Guided by the United Nations’ Women’s Empowerment Principles, #Mbrace boosted women representation in our Distribution Utility workforce to 22% in 2023, well above the 13% global energy sector average. We continue to drive this journey, fostering a safer and more empowered One Meralco.
CODE (Care Operations for Disasters and Emergencies) Light Bot is a chatbot that provides a bird’s eye view of our employees’ daily health and work status. It also gives us access to important air quality data such as indoor and outdoor temperatures, humidity, and particulate matter, gathered through air quality sensors across our office headquarters.
Our Orange Fit Program ensures the overall wellness of our workforce. To enhance physical fitness, we encourage our employees to use our gyms and sports facilities and partake in employee sports, hobby and interest clubs, and group exercise classes. To nurture their emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being, we offer meditation guides and prayers, share guidelines on work productivity (Mindful Meetings) and personal space (ME Time), and provide access to in-house counsellors and medical experts.
Our Bright Ideas and Orange Tag programs empower our customers by helping them make informed choices in managing their own energy consumption. Bright Ideas is a customer information drive that provides knowledge and tips on saving energy. Orange Tag is a label that shows the estimated cost per use of appliances.
In September 2021, we redesigned our electricity bill, which now includes easier-to-read details on historical consumption, total amount to be paid, and due date. In addition, the bill now features the 10-digit Customer Account Number, which was introduced in 2020 to make payment transactions simpler and more convenient. The revamped bill also promotes environmental awareness by showing the equivalent carbon emissions of a customer's monthly electricity use.
One of the ways we uplift communities is through One Meralco Foundation’s School Electrification Program. Since 2011, we have brought sparks of joy to more than 300 public schools throughout the country through solar energy. We have also empowered over 91,000 students and 2,900 teachers with digital learning and teaching tools.
Through our Meralco Supplier Sustainability Scorecard (MS3), we champion sustainability principles throughout our business network and ensure supplier adoption and adherence to our sustainability standards. MS3 assesses vendors on key sustainability criteria and disclosures aligned with the UN SDGs and patterned after the GRI Standards as part of their continuing accreditation with Meralco.
Our sustainability agenda
Our sustainability agenda, Powering the Good Life, is rooted in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). It is marked by a distinctive focus on four strategic pillars: Power, Planet, People, and Prosperity.
Contribution to the UN SDGs
Meralco supports the Sustainable Development Goals
As a major player in the Philippine energy industry, we are uniquely positioned to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. However, through our other business and initiatives, we also promote and support up to 10 other SDGs.
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