Sustainability

Circular Economy

AYALA LAND’S CIRCULAR APPROACH TO WASTE MANAGEMENT

Ayala Land advanced its sustainability efforts and environmental management by focusing on waste diversion, circular economy practices, and plastics waste management.

The key work on Zero Waste to Landfill 2030 is to identify waste that has the potential to be converted into new and valuable material, thus creating a circular economy.   In 2024, ALI diverted 32% of total waste from landfills, a significant step towards its goal of achieving zero waste by 2030.

Ayala Land Zero Waste to Landfill 2030 Strategies

  • Prioritize the reduction, reuse, and recycling of waste across our developments
  • Increase the utilization of construction materials with recycled content to reduce embodied carbon in our developments.
  • Implement a comprehensive waste management approach by identifying waste streams, enforcing waste segregation at source, eliminating single-use plastics, and landfill diversion.
  • Promote circular economy principles by recovering, repurposing, and reprocessing waste for materials used in construction and operations.
  • Strengthen strategic partnerships by expanding collaboration with circularity and recycling partners.

Ayala Land’s Circular Approach to Waste Management

Solid Waste Management

Each property features dedicated Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) to enhance waste sorting and support recycling and composting efforts.

Food Waste Management

  • Several properties have piloted a program on food and compostable waste management by exploring innovative solutions, such as food waste digester machines, black soldier fly composting, and utilizing compostables as feedstock for energy harvesting.
  • A Seda Hotel piloted the use of an innovative aerobic food waste digester and successfully diverted 25.4 tons of food waste from landfills, achieving a 15% reduction. A pilot project with the Malls was also introduced to divert 6,123.68 kg of food waste and convert it into feedstock for black soldier fly composting.

Plastic Recycling

  • Ayala Land partnered with Green Antz to develop an EcoHub in Arca South, Taguig. This Ecohub collected 39,537.75 kg of discarded plastic materials and transformed them into ecopavers for ALI’s developments.
  • Ayala Land’s construction arm, Makati Development Corporation, was able to input 107 tons of shredded PET plastics collected from ALI properties into their ready-mix concrete (RMC).
  • Continuing its plastic recycling program, Ayala Land has tapped Green Trident for the collection of clean dry plastics (CDP) from mall properties. Since 2024, 33,896 kg of CDP have been diverted and used to produce 500 pieces of ecoboards.
  • Ayala Land utilized stormwater collection modules from Vertigrow, made of 140 tons of recycled plastics, for one of its Estates developments. Manly Plastics also utilized 120 tons of plastic for pallets in warehouses.

Construction Waste

  • MDC’s construction waste decreased to 180,192 m³ in 2024, a reduction from 218,543 m³ in 2023, with 18% diverted from landfills through waste diversion initiatives. MDC continues to explore ways to minimize waste on-site through the use of modular construction methodologies.
  • Ayala Land, Inc., MDC, and Steel Asia signed an MOU to work together on the circular economy at the beginning of 2024. By year-end, 208 tonnes of steel scraps were recovered from a mall redevelopment site. Following rigorous quality inspection, the recovered steel scraps will be smelted using an Electric Arc Furnace, then remanufactured into rebars – green steels produced with a significant recycled content and a reduced carbon footprint. Steel Asia’s Calaca, Batangas plant has been independently verified by DNV (Det Norske Veritas) for its product carbon footprints, confirming emissions of only 0.28 tons CO2 per ton of billet and 0.36 tons CO2 per ton of rebar—nearly 90% lower than conventional steelmaking.

Waste-to-Energy

This program gained momentum in 2024, with 563 tons of yard waste processed and fully converted into energy to power the laundry operations of Seda Hotels, in partnership with Integrated Waste Management (IWM). In comparison, 216 tons of yard waste were converted into energy in 2023.

Partnerships for Sustainability

Ayala Land has forged partnerships with waste management service providers and enterprises, including AC Logistics (IWM waste management), Green Trident (plastics recycling), Prime Waste (waste management in Cebu), the Orca Food Waste Digester (for hotel food waste), and ChopValue (for used bamboo chopsticks collection).  In support of decarbonization and the circular economy, a strategic partnership was also formed with SteelAsia.

The company recognizes that there is no single solution to our complex problem of waste management and plastic pollution.  It takes diverse strategies, collaboration with communities, and organizations working together to drive real, lasting impact.