Push Admin

10 Insights From Federico R. Lopez About Caring For The Environment

First Philippine Holdings Corporation Chairman and CEO Federico R. Lopez foresees a decarbonized future in the decades to come and calls for a regenerative solution

Article (news)

Janelle Roa Cabrera-Paraiso

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/7c3013b3-6e1e-4e49-a35a-31b78338af55_federico piki lopez.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Federico " R.=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Federico &#x27;Piki&#x27; R. Lopez</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>As Chairman and CEO of <strong>First Philippine Holdings Corporation</strong>, <strong>Federico R. Lopez</strong> seeks to surmount the climate crisis by steering clear of the coal sector and shifting their energy strategies beyond sustainable business practices to promote not only the alleviation of climate change but also action toward the agonizing effects of climate change to our environment.</p><div><br/></div><p>Here are highlights from his various environment-related speeches:</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>1. Environmental degradation escalates poverty and social prejudice.</strong></div><p>“Climate change is also a poverty multiplier and it’s expected that inequality will widen as the poor find it even more difficult to avoid all the ravaging effects of the climate crisis.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>2. The linear production economy poses a long-term threat to our consumption culture. </strong></div><p>“It’s this economic model of ‘Take, Make, and Waste’ and ‘Extract Value’ that’s killing us. Someone once used the analogy of a bacterial culture multiplying in a petri dish till all the nutrients are used up. What happens next, of course, is all the microbes then die in a sea of their own waste.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>3. It is imperative that business entities exceed bottom-line growth and GDP increase by partaking in the betterment of the planet.</strong></div><p>“I believe enlightened shareholders, in due time, will also realize that there are no jobs, profits, or even remnants of shareholder value on a dead planet.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>4. The pandemic is only a sneak peak of the ripple effects or reverberations of the ongoing climate crisis.</strong></div><p>“The COVID-19 pandemic is just a mere ‘fire drill’ for what’s coming and demonstrates the scale at which things need to change. We are living in a time that calls for great paradigm shifts, and businesses that seek to thrive in this era must be able to reimagine and redesign themselves for this new world.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>5. Companies play a crucial role in community reboot.</strong></div><p>“CSR or philanthropy may ease our consciences but the sad fact is they may never scale up enough to heal our hurting world in time. There is an urgency for all of us to go beyond incremental sustainability and transform into regenerative forces that align our profit engines with the need for a better, more just world and a safer planet.”</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/cefe0fa9-8f52-4b32-93ad-f33d9266ce5f_file photo of malitbog geothermal power station in kananga, leyte..jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Malitbog Geothermal Power Station in Kananga, Leyte"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Malitbog Geothermal Power Station in Kananga, Leyte</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>6. The rehabilitation of the environment and its resources should transcend sustainability and seek a lasting solution. </strong></div><p>“We didn’t feel it was appropriate anymore to use the word ‘sustainable’ in a world that’s so badly in need of healing and renewal, so we took on the challenge of using the word ‘regenerative’ instead, with all the responsibility it carries.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>7. A shift in energy strategy is a significant step to curbing climate change.</strong></div><p>“We are not a full-on regenerative company today; no one is yet. But we chose it deliberately to signal to our people that they have a license to adopt this new mindset as our inherent way of doing business and that it’s okay for them to ‘bring their values to work’ every day. Being regenerative doesn’t scale if it only comes from the top; it has to permeate the organization and how it does business day to day.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>8. Rebuilding the environment equates to reshaping communities to the core.</strong></div><p>“Being regenerative, however, isn’t just about renewing the environment. It’s even more about healing the wounds inflicted on our communities and our societies from decades of economic thinking and the resulting policies that have widened inequalities and made the dream of prosperity for billions of people even more out of reach.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>9. Consumerism and capitalism has long before left many people behind in misery.</strong></div><p>“Even as we breach much of our planet’s safe environmental limits, billions of people still do not have decent access to energy, clean drinking water, toilets, food, healthcare, education, housing, income and work, political voice, social and gender equity, or even peace and justice.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>10. A decarbonized infrastructure development is a strategic start to creating smart cities.</strong></div><p>“Beyond designing for a decarbonized world, just as important would be planning for resilience amidst a harsher climate. Here we could reimagine how we design our cities with resilient infrastructure like underground power lines and distributed generation and microgrids as well as circularity in the use of water, rainwater and waste—a valuable resource we’re literally throwing away.”</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdwv7q5r-bR/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdwv7q5r-bR/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"><br/></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"><br/></div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"><br/></div> <div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top:8px"> <div style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"><br/></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"> <div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"><br/></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"><br/></div></div></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"><br/></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdwv7q5r-bR/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Metro.Style (@metrodotstyle)</a></div></div></blockquote> </div><div><br/></div>Federico R. Lopez calls on other conglomerates to embrace the regenerative economy and champion its cause. He stressed that the movement should be a collaborative undertaking and not a competition. He said, “I keep stressing to our people that if we find ourselves ahead and alone at the finish line, we will have failed in our mission.”<div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><em><a href="https://www.fphc.com/" target="_blank">First Philippine Holdings (FPH)</a>  is a pioneering holding company with principal interests in clean and renewable energy, real estate, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and education. FPH is a member of the Lopez Group of Companies.</em></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

First Philippine Holdings Corporation Chairman and CEO Federico R. Lopez foresees a decarbonized future in the decades to come and calls for a regenerative solution in response to climate change