The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has taken its commitment to embed sustainability in its operations to a higher level with the adoption of a sustainability scorecard covering the Company’s entire value chain.

The Meralco Supplier Sustainability Scorecard (MS3) was established as a tool to assess suppliers and contractors on key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, while using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards as guiding principles.

MS3 provides Meralco a comprehensive view of its business partners’ ESG performance and is now incorporated in the Company’s vendor accreditation process.

Through this program, Meralco is better positioned to heighten and operationalize its sustainability agenda—called Powering the Good Life—by ensuring a sustainable supply chain.

Meralco, through its Supply Chain Management (SCM) office, maintains a network of active suppliers and contractors integral to the Company’s ability to deliver high quality and reliable electric service to its customers. SCM has so far implemented MS3 to its top suppliers, which account for 95% of the Company’s spend. The program will eventually cover all Meralco’s active suppliers as the Company strives to ingrain sustainability excellence throughout its supply chain.

Beyond driving compliance to ESG standards, MS3 serves as a platform for the Company to have meaningful engagement with its suppliers by understanding the challenges they face in becoming more sustainable and aiding them in building their own sustainability strategies and programs.

“With the implementation of MS3, Meralco is making headway in increasing awareness on the importance of sustainability among our external stakeholders. Working with different suppliers, we, at SCM, are in a distinctive position to influence and inspire other companies to also embed sustainability in their operations. Sustainable development is a collective effort. Meralco cannot do it alone, and we are truly embracing our role as an enabler in this greater push for sustainability,” said Maria Luisa V. Alvendia, Meralco Chief of Staff to the President and CEO and Supply Chain Advisor.

Meralco has embarked on various key initiatives to drive its sustainability agenda. One such program is the Company-wide ban on Single Use Plastics (SUPs), which began in 2019 and was extended to Meralco’s suppliers, particularly for packaging of delivered equipment and materials. Going forward, Meralco will continue to introduce and implement more programs in collaboration with its stakeholders to generate sustainable value.

“Our aim is to ingrain sustainability in all we do, placing it at the core of our strategy and operations as a Company. MS3 is indeed a breakthrough step in broadening the reach and impact of our sustainability efforts as we collaborate closely with our vendor partners in powering the good life for all,” Meralco First Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Raymond B. Ravelo concluded.