PSE Circular for Brokers No. 596-99

March 25, 1999 PSE CIRCULAR FOR BROKERS NO. 596-99 CADP Invests P102M in Environmental Project Central Azucarera Don Pedro is slated to begin construction of a P102 million environmental management facility approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in its sugar manufacturing complex in Nasugbu, Batangas. LexLib The new investment involves the installation of a Close Loop Cooling system to address the dwindling supply of cooling water from the Palico river that it uses for CADP's sugar milling and refining operations. Last year, the company spent P50 million to build and complete a new wastewater treatment plant that has been upgraded to meet effluent standards of the Government. "This initiative is part of a wider program to ensure that CADP lives up to its commitment to protect the ecological balance within its area of operations," senior vice president for operations Ramon A. Picornell, Jr. said. He explained that the state-of-the-arts cooling system, to be completed within a year of construction, will recycle back and forth in a closed-loop about 110,000 cubic meters of water a day. Water utilization from the Palico river shall be reduced by 96% while totally avoiding the need to discharge the cooling water into the river system. CADP a publicly listed corporation with about 3,000 shareholders has been investing heavily in environmental protection. Of the P102 million project cost, the company secured P80 million from a loan facility under the Environmental Infrastructure Support Credit Program of the Development Bank of the Philippines. It also availed of the DBP credit facility for its P50 million wastewater treatment plant last year. Working in conjunction with an existing wastewater containment facility, CADP has been able to reduce wastewater effluent flow rate from 20,000 cubic meters per day to 2,000 cubic meters in line with its waste minimization effort under the Industrial Management Program. Picornell said that CADP employs pollution management appraisal, a concept for effective water utilization reduction. "The company's IEMP, which has received funding from the United States Agency for International Development, has the full support of the DENR," he added. The installed pollution abatement equipment and the projected cooling water facility complement extensive preventive maintenance and better production management of the company's plant equipment. It has also tapped community-based organizations to undertake the conversion of organic solid wastes from the plant into fertilizer that they sell to farmers and sugar planters in Batangas. prLL CADP has been a recipient of recognition form the Philippine Sugar Millers Association and the Association of Integrated Millers for its environment management program. As an industry model in environmental compliance, it is working extensively with the PSMA to develop environment management standards suitable for sugar mills and refiners.