As the country’s growth centers place increasing pressure on water, energy and waste systems, the Aboitiz Group is deepening its circular economy approach to help businesses use resources more efficiently, strengthen resilience and create long-term value for the communities and industries that depend on them.
Speaking at the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Business Summit 2026, Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) Chief Reputation and Sustainability Officer Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar shared how the Group is connecting businesses across food and beverage, power, infrastructure, real estate and banking into a broader ecosystem where resources can be kept in productive use for longer.
“Circularity is not just about recycling or waste management. It is about redesigning business ecosystems so that one company’s waste, assets, energy, water, logistics and capabilities become another company’s input,” Hontiveros-Malvar said.
The summit convened business leaders for discussions on the economy, artificial intelligence, innovation, sustainability, disaster resilience and the future of business.
For Hontiveros-Malvar, Cebu reflects a challenge increasingly shared by the country’s fastest-growing economic centers. Its expansion as a hub for commerce, tourism and manufacturing has brought more investment and economic activity, but has also intensified pressure on solid waste systems and freshwater resources.
Aboitiz is responding by looking beyond improvements within individual businesses and identifying opportunities where materials, infrastructure and capabilities can create value across industries. Its diversified portfolio gives the Group an opportunity to build circularity across businesses rather than within isolated operations.
One of the clearest examples is a circular value chain involving Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines (CCEAP), PETValue Philippines and Republic Cement.
Through CCEAP’s Tapon to Ipon network, PET bottles are collected and processed by PETValue into food-grade recycled PET that can be manufactured into new beverage bottles. PETValue reached the milestone of one billion recycled bottles produced in 2024, while selected 190ml Coca-Cola PET bottles are made with 100% recycled PET, excluding the cap and label.
Materials that cannot return to bottle production, including certain caps and labels, can in turn be recovered by Republic Cement and co-processed as alternative fuel in cement manufacturing. Republic Cement works with more than 200 public and private partners and has diverted more than 1.5 million metric tons of residual plastic waste from landfill through co-processing.
The model demonstrates how collaboration can keep materials in productive use while reducing waste and dependence on virgin resources.
“Circular economy succeeds even better when industries work together. No single company can create this system alone,” Hontiveros-Malvar said.
In Cebu, this thinking also extends to the natural systems that support economic activity.
Through CarbonPH, Aboitiz has committed to a 40-year initiative to help manage approximately 71,000 hectares of forest and watershed landscapes across the province. By protecting and restoring forests, the program seeks to improve watershed health, groundwater recharge and the long-term resilience of water sources relied upon by communities and industries.
“Circular economy is not only about managing waste—it is also about regenerating the natural resources that sustain economic growth,” Hontiveros-Malvar said.
Across the Aboitiz Group, other initiatives are demonstrating how circular systems can create value in different operating environments. At LIMA Estate, for example, the Sustainability Hub integrates greywater reuse, composting, materials recovery, plastic recycling, renewable energy and biodiversity initiatives. Its solar installation is expected to generate approximately 146 MWh of renewable electricity annually and avoid around 100 tons of carbon emissions each year.
For Cebu and other growth centers across the Philippines, this approach offers a way to sustain economic development while managing the resource pressures that come with continued development. As cities attract more investment industries and people, stronger connections across businesses and communities can help ensure that growth is supported by more resilient systems.
“The future of circularity is not about building more recycling facilities. It is about building better business connections,” Hontiveros-Malvar said.
