Private firms urged to undergo vulnerability assessment

MANILA, Philippines - The Climate Change Commission (CCC) is urging the private companies to submit to vulnerability assessment to strengthen their capabilities to adapt to climate change and natural disasters.

Speaking at the Pusong Luntian Eco-Forum in UP Diliman yesterday, CCC vice chair Lucille Sering encouraged the private sector to take advantage of the commission’s risk assessment tools to determine their vulnerability in their respective locations.

“Based on our studies, 8 in 10 companies are affected by climate change but they don’t do anything about it,” she said.

A vulnerability assessment takes into consideration an area’s stressed ecosystems, level of exposure to the effects of climate change,

supply and demand of resources such as water and electricity, limiting factors for adaptation, and impact thresholds.

“We need to work together to make sure that if we allow a certain industry to operate, we should also provide that sector the tools to assess vulnerability to climate change,” said Sering.

She said that as a start, companies could lessen their vulnerability to climate change by gradually lessening electricity and water consumption and finding alternative sources of energy rather than the national grid.

During the forum,Philex Mining Corporation signed a manifesto with non-government organization Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) for the identification of “innovative” processes and solutions for the preservation of natural resources, reduction of energy use and increase of supply of green energy.

These initiatives may be included in the company’s corporate social responsibility programs.

Advocacies of PBEST covers the reduction of water pollution, proper ways of solid waste disposal, promotion of renewable energy use, and resource management issues in the extractive industry.

The Pusong Luntian Eco-Forum hosted by Philex is a four-part series that gathers thought and action leaders from the public, private and academic sectors to discuss various environmental topics.