The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), together with National University (NU) and key partners, is launching the inaugural leg of Pusong Hero For Net Zero: Run For Climate Action at NU Lipa and SM City Lipa.
With more than 2,000 students, employees, and community members already confirmed, the event kicks off a 10-campus series that converts climate pledges into visible, practical action. The next legs are scheduled for Dasmariñas and Laguna.
For Philippine businesses—especially FMCG and other consumer-facing industries—the risks are immediate. Super typhoons, droughts, and rising sea levels disrupt supply chains, erode margins, and threaten the communities brands rely on. Yet the world can still halve emissions by 2030 if we act decisively.
Business can act where it matters most—redesigning products and packaging, piloting reverse logistics, investing in verified recovery, and protecting mangrove and blue-carbon ecosystems that shield communities from flooding while sustaining fisheries and local food supply.
Aligned with the UN-backed Race to Zero—the world’s largest coalition of non-state actors—Pusong Hero for Net Zero offers a direct on-ramp for corporate climate leadership. As the country’s first and only Race to Zero Accelerator, ECCP is convening business leaders, youth, and cities to turn commitments into outcomes that protect assets, safeguard Filipino lives, and support green growth.
The message is clear: “I am proudly in the Race to Zero, implementing a healthier, safer, more equitable world.”
The run series engages employees, strengthens brand trust with younger consumers, and channels co-investment into nature-based solutions that reduce flood risk, restore mangroves, and support food security. Rather than protesting in the streets, we invite the youth—and the companies that serve them—to run, co-invest, and co-protect.
Through the One Mission, One Nation Ocean Clean-Up, producers, retailers, importers, logistics operators, and waste managers can collaborate to restore rivers and oceans, build coastal resilience, and create livelihood opportunities in frontline communities.
The urgency is stark: by 2025, the Philippines could become the world’s top ocean plastic polluter, a crisis that threatens seafood security for billions worldwide, including millions of Filipinos. Seven of the world’s ten most plastic-emitting rivers are in the country; the Pasig River alone contributes 6.4% of river plastics to the ocean. More
than half of branded plastic waste globally has been traced to just 56 companies.
Business can act where it matters most—redesigning products and packaging, piloting reverse logistics, investing in verified recovery, and protecting mangrove and blue-carbon ecosystems that shield communities from flooding while sustaining fisheries and local food supply.
“Business has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to convert climate risk into competitive advantage. Pusong Hero for Net Zero gives companies a concrete way to engage employees, support nature-based defenses, and reduce plastic leakage—now, not later,” said Florian Gottein, Executive Director of the ECCP. Avelino D. Palupit, Executive Director of NU Lipa, added: “Our students want to lead. This series channels their energy into disciplined, measurable action—from running for health to volunteering for river and ocean recovery, and building skills for the green economy.”
From the student community, Tetsuya Yoshiko, President of the NU Lipa Community Extension Brigade, said: “We’re not asking for promises. We’re asking you to run with us—and invest in solutions that protect our homes, our oceans, and our future.”
The Lipa leg on 28 September 2025 at NU Lipa and SM City Lipa will gather over 2,000 runners while opening corporate co-funding for the One Mission, One Nation Ocean Clean-Up, focused on mangrove protection, river-to-sea waste interception, and verified recovery. Current supporters include Republic Cement, TESTEX, Mega Prime Foods
Inc., Audentes Technologies, and Fitbar Philippines, with campaign partners Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST), the Bayo Foundation, and Spring Rain Global.
