SAN FERNANDO, Cebu (Aug. 21, 2020) — Retired Gen. Roy A. Cimatu, as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), honored Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) and Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC) with a visit today.
He dropped by the plant when he came to Cebu to inspect a proposed reclamation project in Toledo City and to perform his role as overseer in the province of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In fact, he first checked and observed the protocols TCPI and SEDC adopted in dealing with the threats of the corona virus disease of 2019 (CoViD-19) in the day to day operations of both companies.
“I fully appreciate your concern in taking care of your people (that they will) not be infected with the virus,” he said in his brief message during the reception.
Cimatu viewed the facilities and operations of the company in South Poblacion, San Fernando town, as officials of both firms gave him a briefing about their respective environment policies and social development programs.
SEDC mines out limestone and clay that TCPI uses to manufacture cement, and operates the port where TCPI ships finished Grand-branded cement to various ports in the country.
It shared Cimatu details in the rehabilitation of mined-out areas and its support to DENR’s National Greening Program, including the pocket forest now christened as SEDC-St. Augustine Eco-Pilgrimage Park in Magsico hinterland barangay.
It was only last year when SEDC earned its second Gawad Tugas Award for responsible mining in the large-scale category from DENR Central Visayas in five years since the program started.
DENR-7 cited SEDC for its commitment to restore areas it previously mined-out, further enhance their biodiversity and help build communities, “having displayed and demonstrated innovation, ingenuity and investment in environment protection, conservation and management.”
The 2019 honor came as a “three-peat” of sorts after SEDC earned the same award in 2017, with TCPI in 2018 also for responsible mining but in the mineral processing category.
‘Safest’
In 2016, SEDC made a grand slam in the ‘Oscars’ of the country’s mining industry when it earned the “Safest Quarry Operations” award for the third consecutive year and the “Safest Mining Operations,” the highest award for a mining operator, plus the “Best Mining Forest” in the non-metallic category.
TCPI also earned during the 2016 Safest Mines and Quarries Awards back-to-back merit for operating the “Safest Mineral Processing” in the cement plant category.
While SEDC bested all other non-metallic mining companies for operating the “Safest Mining Operations” in 2016, it earned the “Safest Quarry Operations” award in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Pitched against all cement manufacturing plants in the country, TCPI had previously earned the major award for “Safest Mineral Processing” in 2006, 2007 and 2009, and merits also in 2010 and 2012.
TCPI maintains management systems that are updated and certified since 2005 as having attuned to standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) based in Geneva.
These are ISO 14001:2015 for environment management, British Standard (BS) 18001:2007 for occupational health and safety, and 9001:2015 for quality management.
Incorporated into a unified and coordinated system, the three systems have since 2006 been fused into an Integrated Management System (IMS) that has also since been recognized by Certification International.
TCPI holds the record as the first cement plant in the Philippines to obtain an ISO 14001 certification for the implementation of its EMS. Its plant also earned the 1997 Business for Environment Award bestowed by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
