RC Cola scores another green victory

MANILA, Philippines - Seeking harmony between people, society and the environment through noteworthy sustainable efforts seems to have already been embedded in the DNA of Asiawide Refreshments Corporation (ARC), the licensed manufacturer and distributor of RC Cola in the Philippines.

The cola firm has actually been working hard to minimize the environmental impact of its business operations, introducing new technologies along the way to help reduce its environmental consequences. ARC’s commitment towards environmental excellence, in fact, has since earned for the company accolades from the Laguna Lake Development (LLDA), the agency in charge of ensuring that companies comply with both DENR and LLDA regulatory requirements. From Blue Award, which it received thrice already, the company has since progressed to obtaining a Green Award, a rating it has held for two consecutive years now. 

In a recent awarding ceremony themed “Pollution Control Officers (PCOs) Goin’ Green” held at the Hotel Rembrandt in Quezon City, the LLDA again honored ARC for the company’s efforts in helping restore the delicate balance between nature and humanity. The event, which honored companies that have been providing efforts beyond the legal requirements of the LLDA, has conferred the Green Award to ARC through Josephine Calacien, quality assurance manager of ARC Antipolo Plant.

The LLDA uses a color system to monitor environmental performance of local government units and industrial and commercial enterprises in the Laguna de Bay area. In its recent monitoring, ARC has received a green rating, indicating that the company’s efforts in waste water management are better than the applicable standards by at least 20 percent.

For Calacien, the award is an affirmation that the company’s green endeavors are right on track. “This recognition reinforces our work that the effluent in our plant is treated within government standards,” Calacien said. She also noted that ARC has been putting a premium on having a modern waste water treatment facility ever since to ensure that no harmful wastes and toxic chemicals from their plant would reach the lake.

“Our company is one with the goals of the LLDA in its efforts to protect Laguna Lake. The rigorous waste water treatment system that we use in the plant is meant not just to help reduce water footprint,” she added, “it is also one way for ARC to help raise the people’s awareness on environmental sustainability.”

Butch Aves, assistant vice president for manufacturing & technical services of ARC, confirmed Calacien’s observation. He said, “More than strictly following government regulations, it is also one of the company’s commitments to help protect the environment by ensuring that our plants are equipped with well-functioning monitoring equipment and that our water discharge is in full compliance with the DENR/LLDA’s regulatory requirements.”

In fact, since ARC started its operations in 2003, the company has already set off its own waste water treatment facility to conform to international standards.

The same commitment has since won for ARC one Blue Award (its Antipolo plant was actually the first manufacturing plant to be conferred the Blue Rating), and three Green Awards (which means that the company has a well-functioning monitoring equipment in place and that its effluents are consistently better than the applicable standards).