The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Japan’s Ministry of the Environment have recently sealed a deal to advance cooperation on corporate GHG measurement and reporting.
The collaboration strengthens the Philippine government systems, enabling a more credible and comparable GHG reporting across industries, as climate disclosure requirements increasingly influence trade, investment, and corporate competitiveness.
The three agencies, on 28 May, signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) in Quezon City, in realizing the said partnership.
“This Letter of Intent is a strategic step toward building a unified, data-driven system that strengthens both national policy and private sector readiness,” said DENR Undersecretary for Finance, Information Systems, and Climate Change, Atty. Analiza Rebuelta-Teh.
Further, she said the partnership responds to growing global demand for verifiable emissions data, as climate-related disclosures become central to investment decisions, sustainability reporting, and emerging carbon-related trade mechanisms.
“By collaborating on sustainability information disclosure systems, exchanging views to enhance the compatibility of these systems in accordance with the GHG Protocol will help reduce the burden on companies between Japan and the Philippines, having deep economic ties,” vice minister of Environmental Affairs of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Kentaro Doi, for his part, said.
For the Philippines, the challenge is both environmental and economic: improving the quality of emissions data is essential for more accurate national inventories, stronger climate policy design, and maintaining the competitiveness of local industries in a tightening global landscape.
The LoI formalizes cooperation in three areas: refinement of greenhouse gas calculation tools, capacity-building for the private sector through nationwide seminars, and development of a digital platform for emissions reporting.
The initiative builds on the Partnership to Strengthen Transparency for Co-Innovation, which began in 2020.
Through the cooperation, the DENR developed a facility-level GHG calculation tool for the Waste and Industrial Processes and Product Use sectors, with technical support from Japan. The tool is intended to improve the quality of corporate reporting and strengthen data inputs for the national greenhouse gas inventory.
“Today’s letter of intent, therefore, reflects our shared commitment to strengthening climate transparency and supporting institutions in companies as they navigate the transition toward more sustainable and accountable business practices,” expressed the Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Atty. McJill Bryant Fernandez.
