LBC embarks on green initiative

MANILA, Philippines - LBC, one of the country’s leading cargo and remittance companies, has embarked on two major environmental campaigns as part of its corporate social responsibility program.

Early this year, the company has switched to the use of bio-degradable plastic pouches in all its transactions.

LBC vice president for procurement Christian Guidotti is the one in charge of LBC’s green initiatives. “LBC uses approximately one million plastic pouches in one month. The switch to bio-degradable pouches means that there are one million less plastic wastes in our dumpsites.”

The switch meant a three to five-percent increase in the company’s receptacle cost. This, however, did not deter management.

“LBC believes that an increase in cost is nothing compared to what we can do to save the planet,” explains Guidotti.

LBC Linis Dagat is another corporate environmental program. Now on its second year, the project is based in Barangay Binubusan, Lian, Batangas.

The campaign benefits 15 families who collect and clean recyclable plastic waste that washes on the shoreline of the barangay. To date, the families have collected a total of 2,670 sacks of plastic waste or the equivalent of 2.2 tons. The plastics are placed in designated LBC sacks then brought to an LBC-run facility that dries, melts and moulds them into shelving materials. The shelves are then used in LBC distribution centers nationwide.

The project has become self-sustaining. The scheme sells the shelving units to LBC. The proceeds go back as salaries and fees for the 15 regular families who collect the plastic and the three people employed to man the melting and moulding facility.

At present, the facility can only produce shelving good for 10 free standing units per month. This is way below the requirement of the almost 800 LBC branches nationwide.

This combination of livelihood and environmental clean-up project proved to be a win-win situation for all concerned. The families earn a living, LBC gets top quality shelving materials at less the cost of commercially available units and the environment is rid of plastic waste year round.

To further sustain the project, LBC will start going house to house in the same barangay to buy plastic waste. The effort will start in 2010.

Unknown to many, LBC has been doing a lot of CSR projects throughout the years. “LBC has been doing business in the country for almost 60 years. The community programs that we do are but some ways through which we want to express our gratitude to the people,” comments LBC director for marketing Javier Mantecon.

The nature of our business compels us to use hundreds of vehicles, millions of plastics and other resources. So we said we should start taking care of the planet starting from within, continues Mantecon.

Our switch to bio-degradable plastic pouches and our Linis Dagat program are but two of the many ways we intend to address the environmental problems the planet faces today. We are seriously looking at other ways to go green.