Power to REgenerate: How First Gen-EDC is redefining ESG
For First Gen-owned Energy Development Corporation (First Gen-EDC), power is no longer only about megawatts from pure renewables. It’s equally about the power to regenerate — to heal the Earth, uplift communities, and inspire businesses to go beyond sustainability.
As the group’s 100% renewable energy subsidiary, First Gen-EDC provides over 1,300 megawatts (MW) of clean power, supplying nearly one-fifth of the Philippines’ total renewable capacity. Of this, close to 1,100 MW come from geothermal—the nation’s baseload renewable resource—making the firm the world’s largest vertically integrated geothermal producer and elevating the Philippines as the third-largest geothermal country in the world.
For nearly five decades, this pioneer in renewable energy has produced not only 100% clean power but also a new way of doing business. Guided by the Lopez Group’s purpose-driven philosophy, First Gen-EDC has evolved from merely mitigating harm to creating exponential positive impact, living out its mission to forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future.
At the heart of this transformation lies the company’s Pentad Stakeholder Framework—a compass that expands the traditional “triple bottom line” into five interconnected forces: Earth, Communities, Co-creators, Customers, and Investors. Each represents a relationship that First Gen-EDC seeks not only to sustain but to elevate.
Earth: Restoring Balance to Nature
Caring for the planet is both a moral duty and a business foundation. First Gen-EDC’s flagship BINHI Greening Legacy has restored over 10,000 hectares of forests, planted nearly seven million trees, and propagated 145 threatened Philippine native species, ten already downgraded in the IUCN Red List. These forests absorb 1.7 million tonnes of CO₂ annually—more than the company emits—while its renewable operations help the country avoid another 6.6 million tonnes.
In Leyte, the Tongonan Geothermal Project, operating since 1983, is First Gen-EDC’s oldest facility and a testament to long-term sustainability. Having surpassed the global 25-year average lifespan of geothermal plants, Tongonan has generated over 25 terawatt-hours of clean energy and avoided millions of tonnes of CO₂—a living model of circular, regenerative power that runs 24/7, rain or shine.
Communities: Empowering People, Protecting Culture
First Gen-EDC believes regeneration begins where energy meets people. The company takes a holistic, participatory, and inclusive approach to community development, integrating education, livelihood, and environmental protection so that progress is both equitable and enduring. Host communities are treated partners of shared value, whose voices help shape decisions that affect them.
Across 121 host communities, First Gen-EDC has created thousands of livelihoods through forest protection, biodiversity conservation, and social enterprise. Its SIKAT program combines college scholarship, career guidance, and values formation to nurture underprivileged youth, benefiting about 200 graduates, while Keitech, a values-based technical-vocational school in Leyte, has produced 1,400 graduates with 90% employment.
Coffee enterprises, such as Baslay Highland Coffee in Negros, Tongonan Upland Roast in Leyte, and Apo’s Brew in Mt. Apo have turned former slash-and-burn farmers into forest stewards with sustainable livelihood opportunities.
Co-creators: Nurturing Inclusion and Purpose
Within First Gen-EDC, regeneration is culture as much as strategy. The company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy ensures fairness, safety, and equal opportunity, empowering women to thrive in what was once a male-dominated industry. Employees like Dr. Loraine Pastoriza-Primaleon, who earned her PhD in the UK with company support, reflect how deeply First Gen-EDC invests in its people.
Rooted in pampamilyang malasakit—familial concern—the company prioritizes employee well-being through health, safety, and continuous learning programs that foster loyalty and shared purpose.
Customers: Powering Decarbonization
First Gen-EDC’s customers—industries, utilities, and institutions—benefit from reliable 100% renewable, 24/7 power that enables them to meet their own decarbonization and corporate goals. Through the Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA), First Gen-EDC leads a growing consortium of more than 40 Philippine companies collaborating to foster a low carbon economy in our country by achieving net zero emissions.
Investors: Fueling Growth with Purpose
First Gen-EDC’s investors are crucial partners in sustaining growth and amplifying positive ESG impact. Their confidence in the company’s regenerative strategy, anchored on First Gen’s clean-energy leadership, fuels expansion in geothermal, hydro, wind, and solar projects that strengthen the nation’s renewable portfolio. Investors see First Gen-EDC not only as a profitable enterprise but as a platform for measurable climate action and nation-building.
REgenerating for a clean and golden future
As First Gen-EDC approaches its 50th year, it stands as the embodiment of the Lopez Group’s enduring philosophy—that true success lies not in what we take, but in what we give back. Across the Earth and every life it touches, the world’s geothermal leader continues to prove that clean energy, inclusion, and compassion can—and must—power the same future.
Because when energy regenerates, so does the world.
