New style of Going Green

MANILA, Philippines - We all want to save the environment. Unfortunately, some people have a hard time starting. The trick is to see a new way of doing everyday things. 

Mondelez Philippines recently found a new way of doing business and protecting the environment with the launch of its biomass boiler. 

A biomass boiler is easy enough to understand. Instead of using diesel or LPG to run its boilers for its food manufacturing plant, Mondelez Philippines uses something biodegradable, is readily available, cheaper and creates less carbon emissions. It’s none other than ipa, or rice husks.

Mondelez Philippines’ name may sound new but it is actually formerly Kraft Foods Philippines. The change of name was brought about by a global split of the Kraft Foods entity that resulted in two new companies: a North American grocery business which retained the name and a new global snacks power called Mondelēz International, of which the Philippines is part.

Says Mondelez Philippines general manager Sudip Mall, “Our new name also comes with a new dream: To create delicious moment of joy. We see this as a great opportunity to put joy at the center of everything we do, from our delicious brands, people, relationships and efforts to protect the wellbeing of the planet.”

The first ‘going green’ step is to know. Did you know that there are hundreds of tips on saving energy? You just need to read them in newspapers, hear them on the radio, watch them on TV and click on them on the Internet. With this simple act, you can already be on your way to being an environmental advocate.

“Our mission to protect the environment started in much the same way,” shares Mondelez Philippines’ Integrated Supply Chain Director Gautam Pal. “As early as 2008, we took one simple act: To look at our manufacturing processes and determine which areas could be improved.”

Thus began their Go Green program: A continuously-improving initiative that seeks to reduce the company’s use of resources like water, energy and packaging, and its carbon emissions.

Every year since then, Mondelez Philippines has been identifying areas in its day-to-day operations that can contribute to the reduction goals of the Go Green program. Its aim is not complicated: to reduce its use of water, energy and packaging and carbon emissions by five percent year-on-year. Definitely sounds like something you can copy for your home.  

The second step is to find the solutions you can do. Did you know that by unplugging one appliance when not in use, like a cell phone charger, you can save a minimum of P250 in your electric bill for one year? This is something you can easily do.

You can also save as much as 76 liters of water in a week by turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth. That’s enough to fill four kiddie pools in one year! It follows that you can also save more water when you turn it off while soaping in the shower. Better yet, collect rainwater for watering plants instead of turning on the hose.

The third step is to start small and do it bigger. That’s what Mondelez Philippines did through its Go Green program. To use less fresh water, the company thought of collecting rainwater and recycling its used water. They installed an ultraviolet light and reverse osmosis water treatment facility, and they are among the first in the Philippine food industry to do so. This is impactful because they now use recycled water for cleaning inside their plant, which adheres to very strict cleanliness and quality standards.

And to lessen its carbon emissions, the biomass boiler was launched.

To date, Mondelez Philippines has saved enough water through Go Green to fill eight Olympic-sized swimming pools. Enough energy has been saved to light and run its plant for three months. Carbon emissions equivalent to 7.5 roundtrip airplane trips from Manila to Australia have also been saved. With the launch of the biomass boiler, Mondelez Philippines hopes to increase this amount of saved carbon emissions.

Whether you’re a big corporation or just one individual, conservation and protection of the environment is everyone’s concern.