Over 100 young student engineers from all over the world participated in the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia 2016, an annual competition that challenges students globally to put their self-built fuel-efficient vehicles to the test on a specially-designed street circuit.
The streets of Luneta in Manila saw action during the four-day competition, which saw Team How Much Ethanol from Panjavidhya Technological College in Thailand clinching first place in the Prototype Alternative Fuel category with a mileage of 2,040km/liter at the street circuit – the approximate equivalent distance between Manila and Bangkok. Team Sadewa from Universitas Indonesia won the UrbanConcept Shell FuelSave Gasoline category, more than doubling last year’s winning result with a record 275km/liter.
The annual event is a reflection of Shell and its partners’ commitment, which includes Globe Business, the information and communication technology (ICT) arm of Globe Telecom, in fostering innovation and harnessing technology for environmental sustainability. Student teams were challenged to stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency in a real-world urban environment, and winners were determined by the mileage achieved on a liter of fuel, rather than speed.
“We are glad to have these young minds from around the world as our participants. They are not just innovative and creative as embodied in their work, but more importantly, they have environmental advocacies which will definitely benefit the next generation,” shared SEM Asia Project Head Lyndon Lumain. “We are happy that Globe Business continues to support this worthy endeavor as our connectivity partner as well as our co-advocate for environmental sustainability.”
Aside from paving the way for seamless exchange of data and information for close to 30,000 attendees at event, Globe Business also had the opportunity to showcase its environmental advocacies by supporting the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia through the years. Globe Business has actively embraced environmental sustainability and is working closely with enterprises which share this advocacy on various fronts. This includes creating greater scale and impact for the telco’s programs on solid waste management via its large-scale initiative “Project 1 Phone,” energy conservation with its participation to the Earth Hour and Earth Day celebrations, carbon offsetting through the successful Cordillera Challenge, as well as biodiversity and habitat protection by partnering with organizations such as the Philippine Eagle Foundation which aided the rehabilitation of Philippine Eagle Pamana.
“It was a pleasure to participate in this year’s Shell Eco-Marathon Asia and be affiliated with a company like Shell which champions environmental sustainability through this initiative. “Shell Eco-Marathon Asia’s goal to cultivate innovation among the youth and promote the development of technology for environmental sustainability greatly resonates to our sustainability efforts and the innovative culture that Globe espouses,” adds Mike Frausing, Senior Advisor for Enterprise and IT-Enabled Services Group at Globe.
In addition to the on-track competition, the Shell Fan Zone was a well-attended attraction that allowed visitors to experience a captivating and educational adventure into the future of energy, cities and sustainability. Parallel to SEM Asia 2016 was the Powering Progress Together–Asia forum which focused on the issues of power, energy and sustainable urbanization. It brought together thought leaders and multi-sectoral representatives from all over the Asia-Pacific region to address the energy challenges of the world.