MPIC Garners Highest ‘A’ Level Rating For Emerging Markets Company In GLIO/GRESB ESG Index

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), the country’s leading infrastructure investment company, achieved the highest level ‘A’ rating in the Global Listed Infrastructure Organization/Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GLIO/GRESB) ESG Index for Infrastructure, being one of the 19 out of 160 to accomplish this feat.

Photo Insert: MPIC’s level of disclosure is aligned with its commitment to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by managing its impacts, improving its performance, and tracking its progress against the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Companies must derive 75% of EBITDA from infrastructure groups such as energy, transportation & storage, communications infrastructure, transportation, renewable energy, and regulated network utilities to be eligible for the GLIO/GRESB ESG Index in the same way as the parent GLIO Index.

“Metro-Pacific is the highest ‘A’ rated emerging markets company in the 2021 GLIO/GRESB public disclosure assessment. Only 19 companies achieved the highest level ‘A’ rating from the 160 in the GLIO/GRESB ESG Index for infrastructure,” said GLIO CEO Fraser Hughes. “Metro Pacific can be proud it finds itself in this top group for ESG transparency – it’s a fantastic achievement”.

MPIC’s Chief Finance, Sustainability, and Risk Officer Chaye A. Cabal-Revilla responded to this honor, saying “The work that we have done and continue to do has been a progressive contributor to national development - the figures we disclose, the stories we tell, and the impacts we make, are testaments to that. It is essential for us to provide transparent, accurate, and sufficient information for all our stakeholders, so they are aware of the impact of the decisions we make in operating our businesses.”

On the GLIO/GRESB ESG Index

The Global Listed Infrastructure Organisation (GLIO) is the representative body for the $3 trillion market capitalization listed infrastructure asset class. Through research, education, events, and promotion, GLIO raises investor awareness for the asset class and is supported by its membership structure. In total, GLIO corporate members represent well over $1trn in market capitalization, or $1.5trn in Enterprise Value.

GRESB provides financial markets with standardized and validated company data on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). Created in 2009, it has become one of the main ESG references for real estate and infrastructure investments worldwide, used by 140 institutional and financial investors to inform their decision-making.

MPIC’s President and CEO Jose Ma. K. Lim said, “This recognition underscores the solid effort of the group to standardize and elevate the level of reporting based on global standards, keeping us at par with internationally recognized companies.”

GRESB collected data from Annual Reports, CSR/Sustainability Reports, Integrated Reports, and corporate websites, using a presence/absence approach. For the purpose of determining the Public Disclosure level, quality of the information disclosed nor the sustainability performance of the organization were left out of GRESB’s judgment, solely depending on the level of disclosure.

As GRESB Participants and public disclosure constituents, MPIC reviewed the GRESB Infrastructure Public Disclosure Indicators to assess whether the data collected by the GRESB team is accurate, up-to-date, and complete. The index uses GRESB Public Disclosure (PD) scores, which evaluate the transparency of publicly available sustainability information to calculate weights in the index.

The scores essentially evaluate the development and formalization of policies and objectives for each ESG pillar; the creation of channels to report data to various stakeholders in line with various standards​; the development of systems to collect and aggregate operational data from various facilities consistently and in a standardized format, as well as setting long-term targets for these operational metrics; the regular engagement with stakeholders (investors, employees, customers, community) and involve them in discussions and decision making; and the ability to assign ESG ownership roles within the company by giving responsibility to specific employees, or creating ESG committees, to ensure regular monitoring of ESG takes place.

“This ranking manifests the MPIC Group’s deeper commitment to nation building, through our infrastructure projects that have contributed to the transformation of the country’s growing economic landscape,” said MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

MPIC’s level of disclosure is aligned with its commitment to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by managing its impacts, improving its performance, and tracking its progress against the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

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