Tuesday, June 24, 2025

PEZA sets pilot run for export sustainability reporting tool

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The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) will soon implement a sustainability reporting tool for registered business enterprises (RBEs) to gain access to the US and European Union markets.

PEZA director-general Tereso Panga announced the plan on Tuesday, the day the SURGE (Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Exporters) tool was launched in Pasay City.

In the same event, Joy Alguso, PEZA deputy director, said the plan will have a pilot run from 2025 to 2026 and will cover 20 to 50 PEZA RBEs in the manufacturing sector that are top exporters to the US and EU markets. These RBEs will be tested on the feasibility, usability and relevance of the reporting tool.

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Their voluntary compliance will help them access the United States and the European Union, both of which set strict standards on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and Eco-Industrial Development (EID) framework .

“All these are focused on sustainability. These are all tied to trade.  (Voluntary sustainability reporting) could be a measure of competitiveness for anyone wanting to export to the EU or the US,” Panga said.

He added: “It’s not enough to generate exports and jobs. Companies now want to see the impact of their investments on host communities,” he said.

For the EU, for example, he said exporters compliant with sustainability standards may be granted preferential tariffs under the Generalized System of Preferences Plus.

Panga said that while ESG reporting is mandatory for listed companies, compliance by non-listed firms is loosely implemented. 

“It is not enough to have all these environmental laws, so this sustainability reporting among PEZA RBEs is going to complement what is lacking in our laws,” he added.

He said compliance will be mandatory in the future, but PEZA will pilot the reporting tool for now.

Alguso said that after the pilot, the compliance can be expanded to cover high-risk, high-impact sectors or industries with large environmental and social footprints, such as textiles, food processing, and mining.

It would also cover small and medium enterprises with export growth potential and RBEs operating in areas with upcoming local or international sustainability regulations. 

Panga said locators’ voluntary compliance on sustainability reporting “will surely be a big boost in our bid to promote SDG, ESG, and EID as we carry out our ecozone development program and position the Philippines as an investment destination for companies that value a clean and green production agenda.”

Panga said PEZA accounts for 60 percent of the country’s total annual exports of goods and services.

Recognizing that business models have evolved with changing market trends, “sustainability and adaptability have become non-negotiable for long-term success,” he added. 

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