URC shifts to greener energy use at its factories
Gokongwei family-led food and beverage giant Universal Robina Corp. (URC) is turning to greener solutions to power its facilities in the country and overseas.
The maker of Jack n’ Jill snacks and C2 iced tea announced the installation of solar panels at its manufacturing facilities to cut its use of fossil fuels and shift to cleaner energy sources.
“We aim for a low-carbon economy by optimizing the use of renewable energy,” URC chief sustainability officer David Lim said in a statement. “URC is gearing toward Net Zero by 2050.”
URC said it installed solar panels at its plant in Canlubang, Laguna, capable of generating up to 1 megawatt of power. Another 21 kilowatts of solar-generating capacity was installed at its Vitasoy facility in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Sustainability drive
In Thailand, the company installed solar panels in six factories and four warehouses at its compound in Samut Sakhon province, southwest of Bangkok. These can generate about 6 MW of power.
URC Thailand began putting solar panels on its facilities in September 2019 under its “URGreen with Thailand’s Solar Panel Rooftop” project.
URC Thailand general manager Tanant Suwanraks said the sustainability drive would go beyond solar power use.
“We believe that the main core for businesses to carry on is to be responsible to the people, community, society, environment and our planet,” Suwanraks said in the same statement.
The company said its Vietnam subsidiary was currently installing a 3-MW solar rooftop system in its coffee plant located in the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park Binh Duong.
