SMC plants 3.8 million trees in 3 years

SAN Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) nationwide reforestation initiative has yielded 3.8 million trees since 2019, even as it recently completed planting over 26,000 trees in Angat, Bulacan together with the town’s Dumagat communities.

The initiative is among SMC’s major environmental sustainability projects aimed at helping address the impacts of climate change through the rehabilitation of degraded forests nationwide, carbon capture and reduction of soil erosion which contributes to severe flooding in lowland areas.

SMC President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Ang said the company, through its power firm SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMCGP), has partnered with the Indigenous communities of Dumagats in Bulacan to cover the first 16 of 55 hectares targeted for planting with dipterocarp tree species like white and red lauan, palosapis, apitong, yakal, guijo and other indigenous species such as bignai and narra.

The initiative is part of SMCGP’s carbon capture program dubbed “Project 747,” which aims to plant seven million trees on over 4,000 hectares of land, in seven provinces.

While SMCGP accounts for majority of trees and mangroves planted since 2019, other SMC businesses have either ongoing, long-term reforestation activities, or have begun their own initiatives.

With the December planting in Angat, Bulacan included, SMC and community volunteers have planted a total 54,056 trees and mangroves to date in Bulacan since 2019. The reforestation effort complements SMC’s flood mitigation strategy in the province, which will include a river channel improvement program for the Marilao-MeycauayanObando River System as well as other active rivers and tributaries in Bulacan.