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Unioil Petroleum Philippines Inc. (Unioil) has partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) to establish a reliable network of air quality monitoring stations in various locations nationwide.
The petroleum company has already installed numerous AirVisual monitors— ambient air monitoring instruments—mostly at Unioil service stations, to transmit live data to the internet, as part of its commitment to making relevant air quality information available to the DENR and millions of Filipinos.
“This memorandum of agreement manifests our support to DENR’s mandate to protecting the environment and its key objective of preparing a national air quality status report. We believe that this is a major step towards providing cleaner air for the next generation,” said Unioil president Kenneth Pundanera, who added that the report will be used as a basis in formulating an integrated air quality improvement framework.
“We are proud to offer DENR live data from our active air quality monitoring stations. Through this agreement, we shall further expand the installations of our air quality monitoring stations in full support of the programs of the DENR,” Pundanera added.
The DENR welcomes the support of Unioil in helping address the problem of poor air quality. “This is the first time that an industry player as big as Unioil is helping the department in addressing this kind of problem. We really welcome the assistance and support of Unioil,” said DENR undersecretary Atty. Jonas Leones.
The AirVisual monitors provided by Unioil are state-of-the-art air quality monitoring instruments that use laser sensors to measure hazardous particulate matter down to 2.5 micro meters size (PM2.5). It also uses the latest technology like big data, artificial intelligence, and the internet to provide a visual image of air quality in the Philippines to millions of people through an air quality mobile app.
The partnership is expected to boost the DENR’s capability to pursue their mandate of ensuring a cleaner and safer air under the Clean Air Act of 1999.
During the ceremony, the Clean Air Philippines Movement, Inc., a strong advocate of clean air in the Philippines, also awarded Unioil as its first corporate clean air champion. This is in recognition of Unioil’s initiatives of introducing cleaner fuels, such as Euro 5, launching of the first solar powered gas station and electric vehicle charging station, and the deployment of air quality monitoring stations in the Philippines.
The latest effort of Unioil is part of its “Doing Our Part” campaign which encourages Filipinos to make a difference in society through the small, everyday actions and responsible decisions they make, including the decision to choose a cleaner fuel.