Schneider Electric urges PH Data Centers to Implement Smart and Sustainable Solutions to Minimize Energy Consumption

Schneider Electric recently gathered leaders in the data center industry for a roundtable discussion on how data centers can accelerate energy transition and a golf match at Manila South Woods Golf and Country Club, Cavite.

Manila, Philippines – Schneider Electric, the leader in energy management and digital automation, underscores the importance of a green approach to data center design and operations to future-proof operations and lessen carbon emissions. This will make the industry more sustainable and resilient to growing demands. 

The company recently gathered data center industry players to discuss today’s data landscape and challenges in an event called Power Up: Fuel Your Path For Success. 

Uptime Institute, an international research organization on global data centers, estimated a 500% growth in data generated from 2019-2025 all over the world. As its operations are energy-intensive, the data center industry is estimated to account for 1% of global electricity consumption. 

"Data centers have become integral to our rapidly growing internet economy. The need to transition to sustainable operations has become more pronounced," said Carlos Leviste, Business Development and Marketing Director at Schneider Electric Philippines. He added that industries have previously leaned heavily on fuel alone to run their operations. As data center facilities are energy-intensive, data centers play a pivotal role in sustainability. The most efficient way would be to shift to electricity and digital. 

However, there is a growing preference across industries for maximizing energy management systems and digital tools, which not only drive operational efficiency but also promote sustainability. Data centers, equipped with smarter operations, can optimize costs, speed, and capital to prepare them for future technological integrations and risk mitigation.

Schneider Electric is at the forefront of this advancement with its extensive suite of digital solutions to improve the efficiency and sustainability of data centers. For instance, APC, Schneider Electric’s flagship brand, offer high-efficiency uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), cooling units, and monitoring systems to foresee any unwanted downtime within the data centers and pinpoint inefficiencies to their operations. 

In particular, the oil-free cooling centrifugal compressors with magnetic bearings chiller systems that Schneider Electric utilizes allows data centers to consume power more efficiently and sustainably.

Similarly, Schneider Electric provides renewable Power & Grid solutions that can help produce electricity sustainably to fuel data center facilities’ increasing needs. 

“Through these solutions, data center facilities can reduce operational costs in design and engineering, function using grid-compliant assets and software with reduced cybersecurity risks and ensure proactive maintenance of assets to maintain optimum uninterrupted performance,” said Sara El Fanidi, Power and Grid Sales Leader of Schneider Electric APAC. 

Furthering its commitment to sustainable digital transformation, Schneider Electric has also introduced new industry certifications within its EcoXpert™ Partner Program. These certifications are aimed at empowering partners to become trusted advisors on Data Center and Critical Infrastructure solutions, ensuring data centers are not only efficient and resilient but also sustainable. 

By harnessing the power of digital transformation and connected infrastructure, Schneider Electric is setting a new standard for data centers — one that prioritizes sustainability, reliability, efficiency, and resilience in the face of rapidly changing demands.

UPS PHILIPPINES RENEWS COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY DURING GLOBAL VOLUNTEER MONTH

MANILA, May 31, 2023 – As part of the company’s annual Global Volunteer Month activities, employees from UPS teamed up with charitable organizations in Quezon City, Muntinlupa and Cebu to reinforce UPS’s commitment to giving back to the communities it serves around the world.

With this year’s projects marking a return to regular in-person activities after the switch to more virtual-based volunteerism during the pandemic, the programs provided UPS employees a chance to reconnect with the community and renew the company purpose of moving the world forward by delivering what matters.

“As this year’s global volunteer month activities draw to a close, we’re grateful to have been able to participate in more in-person projects, after having to get creative with how we carried out our volunteer programs over the last couple of years,” says Tessa Santos, UPS Philippines operation manager and Community Involvement Committee (CIC) executive sponsor.

“Two of our partners this year – SOS Children’s Village and Good Neighbors International Philippines – focus on building and supporting families and communities, which is the perfect example of delivering what matters where it’s needed most. In addition to giving us an opportunity to help the people of the community, it gives our employees a sense of accomplishment, and knowing that they are making a real difference to peoples’ lives is a hugely energizing experience.”

One of this year’s partner communities is SOS Children’s Village, an organization on a mission to build families for children in need. In order to give these children a support system and empower them to shape their own futures, UPS volunteers provided children, at first with virtual visits and then with physical ones, regular platforms on which to express themselves and build meaningful connections.

“The virtual visits we’ve done with UPS volunteers helped ensure that the social and emotional development and social integration of the children are supported,” said Romil I. Rayos del Sol, Deputy National Director of SOS Children's Villages in the Philippines.

“Our most recent project with UPS helps in providing basic needs such as food subsidies, educational supplies, additional school allowances, and funding for the improvement of the living situations in the village, youth facilities, and boarding houses. It also helps in strengthening youth empowerment and leadership by providing an opportunity to hone the leadership and project management skills of youth councils and interested young people by designing a Youth Leaders’ Summit.”

UPS also partners with another family-focused endeavor, Good Neighbors International Philippines. Established in 2008, Good Neighbors is dedicated to improving the lives of Filipinos, in particular children, through child sponsorship and community development programs. So far, the NGO has had an incredibly enlivening effect on the small town where Good Neighbors first set down roots.

“Prior to Good Neighbors, the community of Sitio Bakal was not known to many. The presence of Good Neighbors paved the way for opportunities which addressed the limitations of Sitio Bakal in terms of community involvement, livelihood and capacity building training,” said Good Neighbors’ Country Director Mr. Jae Choon Lee.

“The UPS employee engagement activity was another avenue for the Sitio Bakal community to showcase their sectoral activities and advocate for urban gardening. The facilitation of the hydroponics workshop boosted their self-confidence whilst the presentation of individual gardens gave them the opportunity to market their produce which the UPS employees wholeheartedly supported.”

 “Global volunteer month is a hugely significant time in the UPS calendar and the last couple of years have shown that we’re not going to let anything get in the way of us reaching out to the community,” added Santos.

“UPS has a set of really ambitious ESG targets, one of which is to commit 30 million volunteer hours by 2030, and another is to positively impact a billion lives by 2040. At UPS Philippines it’s an honor to be playing our part in the company achieving these goals and to be making a positive difference to the people in the communities we proudly serve.”

About UPS 

UPS is one of the world’s largest companies, with 2022 revenue of $100.3 billion, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 220 countries and territories. Focused on its purpose statement, “Moving our world forward by delivering what matters,” the company’s more than 500,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First. People Led. Innovation Driven. UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes an unwavering stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion. More information can be found at www.ups.com, about.ups.com and www.investors.ups.com.

UPS ANNOUNCES MORE ENHANCEMENTS TO EXPRESS SERVICE IN THE PHILIPPINES

MANILA – May 22, 2023, Global logistics leader UPS (NYSE: UPS) has announced the latest enhancement to its services in the Philippines in a move that will help the country’s businesses capitalize on growing consumer demand for global e-commerce deliveries.

The enhancement, which speeds up delivery times to more postal codes in Luzon, comes at a time of rapid growth for the e-commerce industry in the Philippines. It means deliveries of the UPS’s Worldwide Express shipments to more areas of Metro Manila and Pampanga can now be completed several hours earlier, either by 12:00 noon or 2:00 p.m.

This is the latest in a series of enhancements by UPS to its services in the Philippines, and follows the expansion of the company’s airport hub in Clark to increase package processing capacity. UPS also recently announced the relocation of its Cebu Center nearer to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport to offer customers more flexibility and a widened time window of up to one hour to consolidate export shipments to meet same-day departure.

“E-commerce is one of the biggest cross-border trade growth opportunities available today, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB),” said UPS Philippines Managing Director Russell Reed.

“Our own research shows that helping SMBs stay competitive is key to intra-Asia trade achieving its full potential by the end of the decade. This is why we continue to work to level the playing field by improving and enhancing the services we offer to our customers so that they can manage their inventory more efficiently, process more orders on a daily basis, and reach more of their customers faster than they could before.”

Results from UPS’s intra-Asia study show that the Philippines’ trade with 11 other leading economies in Asia Pacific could more than triple by 2030, with digitalization, e-commerce and inclusive policies for small businesses all providing growth opportunities.

The Philippines’ digital economy is expected to reach a gross merchandise value of $35 billion by 2025, up from $20 billion in 2022, according to a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Co. The e-commerce sector will be its main driver, which is projected to hit $22 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 17% between 2022 and 2025.


About UPS 

UPS is one of the world’s largest companies, with 2022 revenue of $100.3 billion, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 220 countries and territories. Focused on its purpose statement, “Moving our world forward by delivering what matters,” the company’s more than 500,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First.

People Led. Innovation Driven. UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes an unwavering stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion. More information can be found
at www.ups.com, about.ups.com and www.investors.ups.com.

UPS RELOCATES CEBU CENTER TO LARGER FACILITY IN LAPU-LAPU CITY

CEBU, Philippines, March 29, 2023 – UPS (NYSE: UPS) has relocated its Cebu Center in Mandaue City to a larger facility at the Ground Air-Logistics Corporation (GALCO) building and cargo area in Lapu-Lapu City.

This move will allow UPS to better serve a growing demand for faster and more reliable international shipping services from businesses looking to pursue cross-border growth opportunities.

Located within the Mactan-Cebu International Airport perimeter, the new Cebu Center location provides UPS direct access to the airport’s cargo terminal, as well as a larger staging area allowing for speedier shipment processing.

This means UPS’s customers in the Lapu-Lapu City vicinity can now enjoy more flexibility and a widened time window of up to one hour to consolidate their export shipments to meet same-day departure. Customers with UPS Worldwide Express Saver® shipments from major cities worldwide can also receive their packages up to one hour earlier.

UPS will continue to operate five weekly flights to connect businesses in Cebu to over 220 countries and territories via the company’s comprehensive global transportation
network.

“With a strong manufacturing sector and as one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in Asia, we see plenty of opportunities for businesses in the Philippines to participate
in regional as well as global trade and UPS is here to support their cross-border growth,” said Russell Reed, managing director of UPS Philippines and Thailand.

“Moving the UPS Cebu Center nearer to the airport and to our customers allows us to better serve small and large businesses located in the wider Visayas center of commerce,
who now have faster, more reliable and more flexible access to their clients both regionally and internationally. As a global trade enabler, we’re always looking for ways to make supply chains more efficient and resilient, so as to enable our customers to achieve their growth ambitions.”

The UPS Cebu Center in Lapu-Lapu City handles UPS’s international time-definite shipments and is open every Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It also serves as a convenient access point for customers to drop off and pick up their packages during operating hours.

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About UPS

UPS is one of the world’s largest companies, with 2022 revenue of $100.3 billion, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 220 countries
and territories. Focused on its purpose statement, “Moving our world forward by delivering what matters,” the company’s more than 500,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First. People Led. Innovation Driven.
UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes an unwavering stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion. More information can be found at www.ups.com, about.ups.com and www.investors.ups.com.

UPS and Partners in the Philippines Journey toward Equity and an Inclusive Future

UPS Philippines is celebrating Women’s History Month this March. Since the early days of the company’s 115-year history, women have long been equal contributors to UPS’s success. In the spirit of Women’s History Month, UPS is spotlighting how the company and its partners continue to work toward a common goal of driving greater gender equity and inclusivity.

A nation lifted by women trailblazers

Women have played a significant role in shaping the Philippines’ economy, culture, and society since its founding days. Gabriela Silang, Josefa Llanes Escoda, and Melchora Aquino fought for the country’s independence, the late former President Maria Corazon “Cory” Aquino led the country’s peaceful revolution in 1986, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa who fearlessly defended freedom of expression in the country.

With a culture that is deeply respectful of women, the Philippines ranked 19th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Index, stripping past many nations in the East Asia and Pacific region. Filipinas’ road to achieve equality has indeed gone a long way with the passage of the Magna Carta of Women, a law which seeks to eliminate discrimination while supporting the rights of women.

Representation in manufacturing and logistics industry

Filipino women today actively participate in traditionally male-dominated industries including manufacturing and logistics. The consciousness on equality and inclusivity ushered in positive changes in business leadership.

“Having more women in manufacturing and logistics brings diverse perspectives and ideas to the table, which can lead to more innovative solutions to business problems,” said Russell Reed, managing director of UPS Philippines and Thailand.

Reed said UPS has actively built an inclusive workplace where employees have equal opportunities to contribute and succeed. The company’s values are rooted in equity and inclusion that thrives inside and outside its walls. Female employees are encouraged to participate in leadership development, mentorship, and networking opportunities internally, to empower them for growth.

Partnering with like-minded businesses

UPS partners with manufacturers like Teradyne Philippines, LHK Creation, Inc., and Gameville Corporation who advocate gender equity.

In 2020, testing equipment maker Teradyne launched Women In Teradyne (WIT), a program aimed at better understanding the value of increasing women representation in its workforce. Jacqueline Briones, an executive at Teradyne, took part in the WIT training and went on to formulate programs aimed at nurturing a more diverse workforce.

Moreover, Briones, who serves as worldwide parts service operations director and Philippines site director for Teradyne, also established a diversity, equality and inclusion program in Cebu. One of the program’s focus is to increase the proportion of women employees, including in leadership roles, from 30% to 35% in two years.

LHK Creation, Inc., a garment producer for brands like J.Crew, Chico’s, Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers, is a business mostly run by women. Women account
for 66% of its management and leadership team.

General Manager Fe Y. Abrihan credits the company’s resilience, adaptability, and flexibility to such a workforce mix, which was evidenced when the company withstood challenges brought about by the pandemic that disrupted production in 2020 and 2021 and the Taal volcano eruption in 2020.

With women being a majority in the company and many married with children, LHK established an employees' grocer that stocks powdered milk, soaps, sugar, cooking oil, rice, and other necessities at wholesale prices. It also set up a fund to provide cash advances at zero interest and with longer payment terms for employees to pay for tuition fees, hospitalization bills, as capital for setting up a small business, or buying a personal vehicle for transportation needs.

Gameville Corporation, a manufacturer of sports uniforms, also pursues equity and inclusion for employees and customers, according to the company’s Finance
Officer, Arlene Balagbagan.

Balagbagan stressed that gender doesn’t define a staff’s role in the company. All individuals are encouraged to find opportunities that can help them grow professionally. Through the leadership of Gameville’s empowered female managers, Balagbagan practices an open-door policy culture in the company to build an environment where help can be easily sought.

Journeying to closing the gender gap

While it will take the world another 257 years – according to the World Economic Forum – to achieve economic gender equity, companies like UPS and its partners
are continuing to do their part to bridge the gap.

For UPS, equity means creating and sustaining an inclusive world that removes gender stereotypes and discrimination. The Women’s Leadership Development committee organizes activities – financial literacy seminars, donation drives and social gatherings – to promote the growth of female UPS employees.

Beyond the workplace, the company is strengthening its support for women-owned small businesses through The UPS Foundation’s
Women Exporters Program (WEP).
The WEP has helped nearly 31,000 women exporters globally to overcome free trade barriers through partnerships with government agencies, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders.

UPS also partnered with The Asian Trade Centre Foundation in 2022 for the
Asia Women Exporters’ Mentorship Program,
which allows women business owners in Asia to learn digital entrepreneurial skills, and be better equipped to boost their competitiveness and
cross-border trade.

The road to gender equity is an ongoing one. The company continues to invest in training, such as unconscious bias training to ensure employees are aware of what biases they may bring to work and how they affect those around them. To date, more than 95% of management employees have completed the training.


About UPS

UPS is one of the world’s largest companies, with 2022 revenue of $100.3 billion, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 220 countries and territories. Focused on its purpose statement, “Moving our world forward by delivering what matters,” the company’s more than 500,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First. People Led.

Innovation Driven. UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes an unwavering stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion. More information can be found at www.ups.com,
about.ups.com and www.investors.ups.com.

Distance Learning? Don’t take Power Availability for Granted

Mandaluyong, Manila [September 24, 2020] – Amid the pandemic, there has been a push among educational institutions worldwide to explore the online and digital approach to ensure that learning among students remains unhampered.

In the Philippines, education officials have recently moved the opening of classes from August 24 to October 5, to provide more time for schools and universities, which only used to conduct face-to-face classes, to prepare for distance learning—an approach that includes no in-person interaction between the learners and their teachers.

Some educational institutions, however, especially colleges and universities, have already started conducting classes following the distance learning approach.

Classes are done either through the distribution of printed copies of modules (online or offline) or by conducting them using virtual classrooms where teachers and students can communicate, interact, and collaborate even if they are remote from each other, mostly through an online learning environment.

In many ways, virtual classrooms are just like the traditional ones, where students must be able to see, hear, and interact with the teacher and their classmates, all while having a good view of their learning modules and other materials.

For educational institutions and educators alike, conducting virtual or online classes mean they will have to rely on technology to thrive even amid the pandemic. Teachers and students must also have the right digital tools for their 'classroom setup' at home to get by until schools reopen, and regular face-to-face classes resume.

UPS for Distance Learning

In a virtual classroom setup, educators and students would need essential e-learning tools that need continuous power to keep them running and avoid problems that may impede the students' learning experience.

Aside from a stable internet connection, they must have personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and scanning and printing devices, among others, for their online classes. Some software applications are also important to enable virtual classes. It includes video and audio conferencing, so teachers and students can see and hear each other, as well as real-time text chat apps, which come handy in providing instructions.

Lastly, a library (or an online platform) of learning materials must also be available to provide more structured lessons. This platform will allow teachers to prepare for a class in less time. Most importantly, it allows both the teacher and students to always be on the same page.

But with the start of the classes scheduled in October, coinciding with the typhoon season in the Philippines, power outages or interruptions are among the foreseeable scenarios that teachers and their students may experience amid distance learning.

If there is a power outage, even for a moment, the loss of power can be detrimental. Several files could become inaccessible, or worse, deleted permanently. Some devices might even be damaged due to sudden shutdown. There is also the risk of having additional cost implications for their repair or replacement.

Helping ensure unhampered learning

To help avoid these problems, educators, and even students, need an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for their virtual classroom set up at home.

According to Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, a UPS device is incredibly important for schools, teachers, and students that rely on personal computers, servers, and other electronic devices being on, at least 12 hours (or more) a day, seven days a week.

“A UPS can protect these critical devices from main supply problems, including spikes, voltage dips, fluctuations, and complete power failures, using a dedicated battery. Having a UPS at home can also help in “bridging the gap” as it seamlessly switches the source to battery mode so devices can continue working until they are safely shut down, or the main power is restored,” said Jason Lim, country manager of Vertiv Philippines.

To support schools, teachers, and students who need an uninterruptible power supply for distance learning, Vertiv innovated a full-range of Liebert UPS, which are future-proof, eco-friendly, and highly efficient.