SHELL Mamplasan along the northbound lane of the South Luzon Expressway in Biñan is the first recipient of Shell Recharge, the company’s high-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging service. The massive service station in Laguna, known for its outlet stores and fast-food restaurants was also once a compressed natural gas (CNG) depot for buses and industrial transport applications proving the company’s early initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint.
At the launch of the Shell Mamplasan EV charging service, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation also introduced its Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Carbon Offset Service focused on B2B fleet customers, but is also available to regular drivers. Both initiatives are aimed at decarbonizing mobility by helping customers in avoiding, reduce, and compensate for carbon emissions.
“Shell is rapidly becoming the Philippines’ leading mobility company and this launch is a testament to the range of its offer to motorists. The NBS Carbon Offset Service and Shell’s first EV charger in the country are among the initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and to cater to a growing number of customers whose needs are changing fast,” Istvan Kapitany, Global Executive Vice President for Shell Mobility shared in his speech to the attendees of the launch which included local government officials.
Kapitany acknowledges the growth of EVs in the country. Top European brands like Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche have followed the likes of Nissan, BYD and Chery in introducing their own all-electric vehicles. While Toyota and Mitsubishi with their hybrid models do not charging stations. The Nissan LEAF is currently the most prolific of the electric vehicles in the country having good sales and a dealer-based charging infrastructure. Kapitany also said he is elated with the energy by which the Philippine government is taking towards transportation electrification and renewable energy.
“We are making sure that Shell sites will become the go-to place for all customers, whether they drive traditional or EV, thanks to an integrated offer of fuel, EV, and convenience retail. They will be mobility destinations for everyone,” Kapitany added.
To showcase the charging station Shell invited Jaguar and its I-Pace electric SUV to be the first car to use the 180W charger that is fitted with 2 of the most popular charging plugs, the CCS and Type 2. Shell then declared Chris Ward, President of Coventry Motors the Philippine distributor of Jaguar Cars.
Shell is not the first petroleum distributor to offer a charging station as part of its services. In 2017 Unioil installed a solar-powered charging unit in its Congressional Avenue station. A second one was opened in its Unioil EDSA Guadalupe branch. Both stations were part of the first eco-run for electric vehicles, organized by the Electric Vehicles Association of the Philippines (EVAP) and the Department of Energy (DOE).
The launch of Shell Recharge and Shell NBS Carbon Offset Service is part of the steps that the fuel distributor is undertaking to meet its goal of a lower carbon footprint. Recharge will be made available to more Shell Mobility stations within the next 12 months. The NBS Carbon Offset Service will be available in 15 other Shell stations by July, with a target of 100 sites nationwide by the end of the year.
“By being the first Shell market in Asia to offer this particular service to everyday customers, Pilipinas Shell underscores its commitment to continue powering progress to achieve a more sustainable future,” Pilipinas Shell Country Head Lorelie Quiambao-Osial points out as she highlights Shell’s sustainability plan.
“These two new low-emission energy solutions encapsulate what Pilipinas Shell means when we say sustainability. It’s about providing energy in a responsible manner to our consumers so that we can minimize the impact we make on the environment while achieving a lower-carbon future,” she added emphasizing how the NBS Carbon Offset Service to its B2B fleet customers. Now, Pilipinas Shell, together with its retailers, will make the practice of compensating for carbon emissions feasible for everyday consumers.
The NBS Carbon Offset Service invites both fleet customers as well as everyday drivers, to go carbon neutral. For an additional service fee per liter, customers can opt to compensate the equivalent carbon emissions from their fuel purchase. The total number of liters purchased with carbon offsets by customers are then assigned the equivalent carbon credits from Shell’s independently verified global portfolio of Shell NBS afforestation, reforestation, and conservation projects. These carbon credits are then retired by Shell on behalf of the customer.
