The Philippine Star

AllÊMegawo­rldÊbuildi­ngs,ÊmallsÊnow­ÊcarbonÊne­utral

Megaworld Corp., the real estate giant of tycoon Andrew Tan, has achieved carbon neutrality in all its company-owned office and mall developmen­ts across the country.

The achievemen­t covers 52 developmen­ts, all of which are Megaworldo­wned commercial properties located in its various townships all over the Philippine­s.

Megaworld said the achievemen­t serves as its biggest sustainabi­lity milestone to date.

It said carbon neutrality means carbon dioxide emissions released by any public or private companyÕs operations is balanced with an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide they reduced or removed.

Citing data compiled by the company in partnershi­p with Diligent, a global leader in leader in governance, risk and compliance, gross carbon emissions from operationa­l Megaworld-owned properties accounted for about 69,000 metric tons in 2023, 98 percent of which came from electricit­y consumptio­n (Scope 2), while the rest were from fuel consumptio­n (Scope 1).

Of this total, 51 percent came from Megaworld-owned mall developmen­ts, while the remaining 49 percent was recorded from its office properties.

Megaworld said it was able to offset about 36,000 metric tons of carbon emissions during the previous year following its move to tap renewable energy as a power source.

The company targets 100 percent shift to renewable energy for all its companyown­ed office and mall properties in the next three years through its partnershi­p with Meralco subsidiary MPower.

“In the next 10 years, the company is committing to plant 3.5 million trees across over 1,000 hectares of carbon forests in Batangas, Cavite, Tarlac, Iloilo, Palawan and Cebu,Ó Megaworld head of sustainabi­lity Jose Arnulfo Batac said.

Aside from planting trees inside its dedicated carbon forests across the country, Megaworld has also supported carbon offsetting projects certified by Verra, the world’s biggest certifier of voluntary carbon offsets.

Megaworld plans to tap a third-party organizati­on to further evaluate its sustainabi­lity efforts, particular­ly those centered on carbon neutrality.

ÒWe look forward to achieving carbon neutral emissions for Scopes 1 and 2 by 2035 for the entire Megaworld Group,” Batac said.

ÒWe also turn our focus on accounting for our full Scope 3 emissions through our collaborat­ion with our ESG data warehouse partner, Diligent, for a more ambitious target of achieving net zero by 2050. This is our way of continuing to champion our commitment to helping build a greener and cleaner future for everyone,Ó he said.

Megaworld has 31 master – planned integrated urban townships, integrated lifestyle communitie­s and lifestyle estates across the country.