ISO certification proof of commitment to environment: EDC exec

A ranking official of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the country’s geothermal power leader, has said that the company’s ISO Certification is just proof that they are committed to the protection and preservation of the environment. (Photo: Energy Development Corporation)

DUMAGUETE CITY — A ranking official of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the country’s geothermal power leader, has said that the company’s ISO Certification is just proof that they are committed to the protection and preservation of the environment.

“We are proud to receive this certification from TÜV Rheinland, world’s premier inspection, verification, testing, and certification company,” said Jay Joel L. Soriano, EDC’s business unit head for Negros Island, in a phone interview late Monday afternoon.

According to him, the ISO certification shows the company’s commitment to responsible environmental management, which is crucial to our company’s sustainability, he added.

The certifying body, TÜV Rheinland, recently conferred on EDC its ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System certification for its Southern Negros Geothermal Project (SNGP) in Valencia, Negros Oriental,

According to EDC, the ISO 14001:2015 is the revised management systems standard that responds to latest trends in identifying and managing environmental risks and impact and includes the stakeholders expectations.

It likewise requires the implementation of initiatives related to sustainable resource use and climate change mitigation, EDC further said in a statement.

The certification covers SNGP 222.5MW Palinpinon-1, Palinpinon-2, and Nasulo power plants and its support facilities. It is valid for three years, subject to an annual surveillance audit.

SNGP first received its ISO 14001:2004 certification from SGS Philippines, under the UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) in 2014.

For more than four decades, EDC has been responsibly conducting its business alongside environmental stewardship through its watershed management program that includes biodiversity conservation and monitoring, upland community management, forest protection and restoration, and regulatory compliance with forest regulations.

SNGP has been at the forefront of environmental protection programs in Negros Island for the past 35 years and has so far reforested almost 6,000 hectares with four million trees planted and maintained from ‎1989-2016 in Negros Island, said EDC.

More than 2.5 million of these trees were planted under its BINHI greening legacy program since 2009, the company further said in its statement.