SEF Program: Green financing for small, medium businesses

SMALL and medium businesses were encouraged to avail of loan facilities to help them operate in a more green and sustainable manner.

Officials of the Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said their Sustainable Energy Finance (SEF) Program can be tapped by businesses even if they are not as big as other enterprises.

“Smaller companies do not have engineering teams that can help them assess. In the SEF, it is part of the package. Our minimum loans are at P10 million. But it can sometimes go lower to P5 million or P7 million depending on the situation,” said Jo Ann Eala, BPI head of sustainable energy finance.

As a pioneer of green financing, BPI’s SEF Program has been in place since 10 years ago.

From then until end of 2017, the SEF has funded a total of 291 projects amounting to P115 billion.

According to Eala, around 10 percent of these projects, or 29 projects, are located in Cebu. This amounts to P6.5 billion.

The SEF Program has three major types: energy efficiency projects, renewable energy projects, and climate resiliency projects.

Energy efficiency includes projects that improve efficiency of operations which can translate to lower costs by reducing power consumption; renewable energy projects include those that produce clean, sustainable and reliable power; while climate resiliency projects are those that help companies adapt to climate change while also improving efficiency and lowering energy costs.

Eala explained that because of the unfavorable circumstances in terms of energy efficiency and resiliency in the Philippines, companies need to invest in sustainability programs.

For example, she said that the Philippines is either among the top five countries all over the world with the most expensive electricity cost.

She said in Asia, it is currently second to Japan, but there were years when the Philippines was the most expensive in Asia.

Eric Luchangco, BPI’s head of corporate credit products, also said that they are really looking for more enterprises to avail of their SEF Program.

“We would like to go out to everybody. But as projects get smaller, it is harder for us to approach each company individually and promulgate the benefits of engaging in energy efficiency and sustainable development,” he said.

This is why they want more companies to come to them instead and look at the options that are available to them.

Officials of BPI were in Cebu yesterday to hold a forum on their SEF Program. Several local businesses attended their forum at the Seda Hotel in Cebu City yesterday afternoon.

BPI hopes to have more businesses avail of their SEF Program.

So far in 2018, Eala said they have already seen the total value of SEF-funded projects in the country reach over 15 percent.