Message from the President
To our dear stakeholders,
The last three years have yielded invaluable and enriching learning experiences for Maynilad, both on business resiliency and sustainability. The pandemic posed multiple challenges on connectivity, yet we worked tirelessly to overcome the constraints and sustain the delivery of our services so we can continue creating positive economic, environmental, and social impacts.
Our People as our Greatest Assets
At Maynilad, we firmly believe that our employees are our lifeblood. We recognize that their dedication, skills, and expertise are the driving force behind our success. As a company, we strive to create a positive and supportive work environment where we prioritize their well-being, professional growth, and job satisfaction because we understand that their individual contributions collectively shape our organization’s achievements. By investing in our people, we create an environment where they feel valued, motivated, and empowered to achieve their full potential.
A Culture of Excellence
We are proud to announce that we have achieved the prestigious Gold Level accreditation from Investors in People (IiP). This recognition positions us as the first and only water company in the Philippines to receive this esteemed honor. The IiP Gold Level accreditation showcases our commitment to exceptional people management, as we surpassed global benchmarks and ranked among the top organizations worldwide. This achievement is a testament to our employees’ unwavering dedication and their role in our continued success. Maynilad remains steadfast in our commitment to providing excellent service, supported by a workforce empowered for sustainable growth.
Innovation and Resilience
Our Sustainability Report this year highlights our commitment to pioneer sustainable solutions to meet the country’s water and wastewater needs. One of our landmark initiatives launched this year is the NEW WATER Project, which involves the recycling of used water for potable application—a first in the country. It is also the very first “direct potable reuse” implementation in Asia.
For the pilot implementation of this project, we built a PhP 450-million NEW WATER Treatment Plant in Parañaque City that collects the treated used water discharged by our Parañaque Water Reclamation Facility and converts it to drinkable water. The NEW WATER that we produce has been given a Certificate of Potability by the Parañaque City Health Office and a Conditional Operational Permit by the Department of Health, proving that it meets the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW).
We also inaugurated the new and expanded Maynilad WATERLab, located inside the La Mesa Compound in Quezon City. The PhP 70-million facility is earthquake-resistant and houses Maynilad’s state-of-the-art analytical instruments used for studying compounds in water samples drawn from 1,155 sampling points throughout the West Zone.
We continue to improve our service delivery, as evidenced by the recertification of our Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). The ISO 22301:2019 recertification underlines the fact that we have established an effective system of water provision that complies with international standards and validates our sustainability and operational resiliency in the event of a disaster, pandemic, and technical and security-related emergencies.
Sustained Social Impact
The steady development of the communities that we serve is integral to our mission as a socially responsible utility. We invested PhP 56 million to sustain projects that focused on water, sanitation, hygiene, poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, as well as pandemic recovery which continued to be a priority development agenda in 2022. From supporting social enterprises to leading grassroots W.A.S.H. programs to providing disaster response, our commitment to long-term growth and community well-being remains unwavering.
Environmental Stewardship
We actively pursue the target of achieving climate neutrality by 2037 and all our environmental initiatives are directed towards achieving this goal. Our interventions are on track for capacity building on carbon emissions accounting and managing GHG emissions across Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3. The maintenance of our ISO 50001:2018 certification also signifies our commitment to continuously improve energy management system within the company. This will, in turn, contribute to reduced carbon emissions.
As part of our commitment to clean energy, we set up the company’s second solar power farm inside La Mesa Compound in Quezon City to generate more renewable energy for operating our water facilities. The introduction of this solar farm in 2022 led to a significant increase in our solar energy utilization from 503 gigajoules (GJ) in 2021 to 2161 GJ in 2022.
Beyond our operations, our commitment to sustainable development is fundamental in everything we contribute to and invest in. We continue to support the rehabilitation of the Ipo and La Mesa Watersheds, as well as of Laguna Lake and Manila Bay. In 2022, we planted more than 82,000 saplings at Ipo and La Mesa, and 11,800 mangrove propagules in Bacoor, Cavite, along the Manila Bay coastline. We celebrated a milestone as we planted our one-millionth tree, which we call the “Mega Tree.” We also conducted clean-up activities along the Muntinlupa rivers and creeks that empty out to Laguna Lake, managing to collect more than 2,000 sacks of solid waste. The DENR has recognized Maynilad’s wastewater management and estero clean-up drives, which contribute significantly to the multi-sectoral effort to protect and rehabilitate the Manila Bay.
Our Commitment
We have always been conscious of rationalizing our environmental footprint, minimizing the impact of our operations on our stakeholders even as we expand our service coverage. We seek to serve as an example for our peers by pioneering sustainability initiatives that contribute to achieving the global sustainable development goals (SDGs). Sustainability is integrated in the way we operate, as we always prioritize sustainability considerations and strive to keep our stakeholders engaged.
As we look ahead, we will continue to expand our operations in a resilient and sustainable fashion. Together with you, we will work hard to overcome the challenges and achieve sustainable growth.
SGD.
Ramoncito Fernandez
President and Chief Executive Officer
