FAST LOGISTICS is planning to solarize its warehouses nationwide to accelerate a shift to green operations amid rising fuel costs.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the company said the move reflected the growing urgency to build more sustainable and resilient supply chains given rising electricity and fuel costs, increased pressure from global customers to decarbonize operations and infrastructure challenges.
“Our vision is to build a more resilient, off-grid, closed-loop electrification ecosystem where solar panels across our warehouses nationwide power our facilities, EV chargers, and fully electric trucks,” Fast CEO for Logistics Manuel Onrejas Jr. said.
The solarization roadmap builds on existing renewable energy initiatives.
Last year, the company said that its Fast ColdChain Hub Cavite, with 1,900 solar panels across 5,035 square meters of roof space, had generated over 565,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoiding some 386 metric tons of carbon emissions and delivering millions of pesos in cost savings.
Also last year, its Cabuyao, Laguna hub with 864 solar panels across 2,660.35 square meters of roof space produced more than 424,000 kilowatt-hours of power, avoiding 289 metric tons of carbon emissions.
The Cabuyao hub also hosts solar-powered EV chargers for the company’s fully electric trucks.
Fast currently operates more than 160 dry- and cold-chain facilities housed in more than two million square meters of warehouse space, with a capacity of more than one million pallet positions.
The company claims to have “the largest warehouse footprint in the country” with a fleet of 3,000 trucks covering 94 percent of the country’s provinces. It also claims to have the widest selling and distribution network thanks to a workforce of over 13,000 employees.
Onrejas said solarizing the company's warehouses would allow Fast to become more energy-efficient, sustainable and cost-effective.
He acknowledged, however, that industry-wide barriers were continuing to slow the electrification of the Philippine logistics industry.
These barriers include low warehouse utilization, heavy traffic and dwell time and the lack of commercial-grade EV charging hubs built specifically for trucks.
Despite this, he said that private sector-led initiatives could help accelerate the transition and reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.
“For us, investing in renewable energy, electric vehicles, and more resilient logistics infrastructure is essential to building a stronger, future-ready supply chain that meets the sustainability commitments of our most discerning customers," Onrejas said. CHYNNA GRACE ONG
