Over the weekend, we had the opportunity to attend Mazda’s eSports Fan Festa, which was a gathering of Mazda customers, media, and friends for a day of sim racing, autocross, and just plain old having a blast. This event was held at what Mazda calls its “Center of Excellence,” which serves as a warehouse, as well as the offices of Mazda Philippines in Cabuyao, Laguna.
We were settling into the media room when Mazda Philippines president and CEO, Steven Tan, asked if I had been here before, to which I sheepishly confessed that it was my first time at the facility. Thus, it was time for a full tour of the Center of Excellence.
Solar and the zero peso Meralco bill
The first stop was the newly opened roof deck. Covered in freshly installed astroturf and set up to be a rooftop hangout for the event, it was a cozy place to view the entirety of the 2.5 hectares that make up the Center of Excellence.
The first thing you see is the large open-air parking area, which was later turned into an autocross course by Mazda racing driver, Angie King, where she conducted demo rides for the attendees, much to the delight of the photographers and videographers covering the event. This area was dwarfed entirely by a huge blue warehouse, which, Steven assured me, was the next stop on the tour.
Looking around, I saw a lot of solar panels set up on the roof of the facility. Steven mentioned that it was always important to find a way to generate enough power to be self-sustaining. He then pulled out his phone and showed me a Meralco bill where, you guessed it, Mazda Philippines, with a 2.5-hectare facility, paid zero pesos for its electricity.
Zero. In this day and age of shortages and brownouts, it was all it took to convince me that when you build a facility from the ground up with a plan in mind, you can achieve what many others, including our government, struggle with.
When I asked if they were able to sell electricity back to the grid, Steven mentioned that there is no provision for that yet, which I found a shame, as it also means that companies like Mazda don’t have the external incentive to help supplement our already struggling electrical grid.
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Warehouse and (virtually) unlimited water
Leaving the office building, we made our way toward the warehouse where the cars and parts were kept. It was then that Steven pointed out a set of huge water tanks along the walls of the facility. Apparently, it wasn’t just electricity that was entirely taken care of; these tanks collected and stored rainwater, meaning the Center of Excellence also had water for its use, as well as in the case of emergency fire suppression.
This water was collected by the warehouse itself. The 1-hectare roof that acted as a catchment, collecting rainwater into a small tank, then water pumps delivered it across the facility into these larger tanks for storage.
Stepping into the warehouse and seeing all the beautiful Mazdas parked (around two months supply), as well as a massively organized parts area (with 17,000 SKUs) was absolutely impressive. But knowing that this building was set up with the intention of maximizing its use as a way of helping to lessen its burden on the environment, is something other large developments ought to emulate and take into consideration.
A focus on the environment will benefit all
It is clear, from the zero peso bill for both electricity and water, that Steven Tan and Mazda have created a facility that has lessened its impact on the environment, to the best of what can be done with current technology and policies.
Imagine if Meralco would allow Mazda to sell its excess energy back to the grid. Not only would that incentivize companies to follow in the Center of Excellence’s lead, but it could help limit the effect of the brownouts that are currently plaguing Luzon and other more vulnerable regions in the Philippines.
It goes to show that car brands can help save the environment in more ways than just designing environmentally friendly vehicles, but also with the infrastructure that supports the production and sale of its vehicles.
Mazda has very efficient hybrids now, but with electric vehicles already launched regionally, it is only a matter of time when the cars that will be stored in the Center of Excellence will be almost as environmentally conscious as the facility that was designed to store them.
More photos of Top Gear Philippines’ visit to the Mazda Center of Excellence:
