The Aboitiz Group is leveraging its diversified portfolio to accelerate circularity across industries, turning resources that would otherwise go to waste into new sources of value.
The approach, outlined by Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) Chief Reputation and Sustainability Officer Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar during the 2026 Philippine Sustainability Now Forum organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Makati City, reflects the Group’s belief that the future of circularity lies not in building more recycling facilities, but in strengthening the connections between businesses.
“The future of circularity is not about building more recycling facilities. It is about building better business connections,” Hontiveros-Malvar said.
As businesses contend with rising material costs, resource scarcity, climate risks and evolving investor and consumer expectations, Aboitiz Group sees circularity not simply as an environmental initiative, but as a business strategy that strengthens resilience while creating long-term value. The strategy has also gained external recognition, with AEV ranking among the top three Philippine conglomerates in the 2025 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, reflecting the Group’s performance across environmental, social and governance dimensions.
Across its portfolio, Aboitiz Group is already closing resource loops. Aboitiz Foods and Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines (CCEAP) are redesigning packaging and expanding recovery systems that have diverted more than 3,600 tons of plastic waste since the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility law in 2023.
The recovered PET bottles are processed by PETValue Philippines into food-grade recycled resin used to manufacture new beverage bottles, reaching a milestone of one billion recycled bottles in 2024. Materials that cannot be recycled back into bottles—including caps and labels—are then supplied to Republic Cement, where they are co-processed as alternative fuel, diverting more than 1.5 million metric tons of residual plastic waste from landfills while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
The same systems thinking extends across the rest of the Group. At Aboitiz InfraCapital’s LIMA Estate, water reuse, composting, materials recovery and renewable energy are integrated to maximize resource efficiency. AboitizPower is creating value from industrial by-products while expanding renewable energy capacity, while UnionBank is reducing resource consumption through digital banking and helping finance sustainable investments. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how businesses can create greater value by sharing resources rather than operating in isolation.
“As the Philippines’ first techglomerate and as a diversified portfolio of businesses, we are creating value and helping industries become more sustainable by connecting businesses into one circular ecosystem,” Hontiveros-Malvar said.
The LIMA Sustainability Hub illustrates Aboitiz InfraCapital’s approach to estate circularity, integrating water, energy and material resource loops to support more sustainable industrial development
With these initiatives demonstrating how circularity can create value in practice, the next step for the Aboitiz Group is to connect them into a single business ecosystem where resources, capabilities and partnerships work together to create greater value.
“For Aboitiz, our greatest opportunity is to transform from a collection of sustainable businesses into a truly circular business ecosystem,” Hontiveros-Malvar said.
