Leading consumer goods company Universal Robina Corporation (URC) and building solutions provider Holcim Philippines are collaborating on a community waste management program in line with their respective corporate sustainability commitments.
URC and Holcim Philippines, represented by its waste management unit Geocycle, signed a partnership in August 2023 to support community waste sorters with a plastic segregation program. The waste materials that will be collected in their local communities will be either recycled or sent to Holcim Philippines’ plant in Norzagaray, Bulacan, for conversion into alternative fuels and raw materials for cement manufacturing.
Signing the partnership agreement between URC and Holcim Philippines are Anthony Sierra, URC sustainability officer; Shirlyn Reyes, URC vice president for Corporate Quality, Environment Health, and Safety; Samuel Manlosa Jr., Holcim Philippines Geocycle head, and Dia Cruz, Geocycle New Revenue Streams manager. IMAGE courtesy of URC
The new agreement expands the three-year waste management partnership between the two companies, in which Holcim Philippines co-processes the laminated plastic wastes of URC.
“Our partnership with Holcim signifies not our only commitment to achieve plastic neutrality, but also our dedication to help preserve our environment. Through this program, we hope to heighten our participation in the collect-and-recycle activities of various communities,” said Irwin Lee, URC President and CEO.
URC believes that collaboration with organizations, private companies, institutions, communities, and local government units is essential to come up with a holistic and circular approach in providing solutions to the pressing plastic pollution issue.
“We are proud to support URC in this excellent initiative that engages communities against plastic pollution. We highly welcome this program and are ready to support partners as advancing recycling is key to decarbonizing our operations and reducing consumption of virgin raw materials,” said Horia Adrian, Holcim Philippines President and CEO.
The strengthening of the partnership with Holcim complements URC’s other ongoing efforts to become a sustainable global enterprise. Among the most prominent of these is “Juan Goal for Plastic,” a waste management program aiming to achieve plastic neutrality through the collection, recovery, and diversion of used plastics.
For more information on URC, visit urc.com.ph
