Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, "Marubeni") is pleased to announce that the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (hereinafter “MOU”) regarding a project to develop a carbon credit program through reforestation (hereinafter the "Project") with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (hereinafter "DENR"), DACON Corporation, majority owner of DMCI Holdings, Inc., (hereinafter "DACON"), and the University of the Philippines College of Forestry and Natural Resources (hereinafter "UPLB").
This will be the first effort to develop a carbon credit program through reforestation in the Philippines in collaboration with Secretary Loyzaga, DENR representing the public, private, and academic sectors.

In the Philippines, approximately 70% of the country's land was covered by forests at the beginning of the 20th century, but due to excessive logging, conversion to agricultural land, and other factors, the forest area had decreased to just over 20% by 2020. Deforestation is a major cause of natural disaster risks facing the Philippines, such as landslides and flood damage; thus, reforestation is an urgent issue.

In this project, the government, private sector, and academic sector are working together to enhance the public good by contributing to environmental conservation and global warming countermeasures (as stated by the Philippines government), and to create economic value. The project aims to restore biodiversity, create employment in local communities, and establish a carbon credit program through carbon absorption and sequestration by forests. Marubeni will propel reforestation in Negros Occidental, the Philippines, and the framework of the carbon credit program.

Marubeni formulated a long-term vision for climate change in March 2021, and in its mid-term management strategy “GC2024”, Marubeni has positioned green strategy as one of the basic policies to enhance corporate value. Marubeni will utilize the knowledge and expertise of its plantation projects in Indonesia and Australia, which total approximately 130,000 hectares (total project area: approximately 290,000 hectares as of February 2023), for this project, aiming to enhance the environmental and economic value of forest resources and to open the way to a sustainable future through the power of people and forests.

Parties Involved
Name:	Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Location:	Metro Manila, the Philippines
Representative:	Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga
Establishment:	1917
Website:	https://www.denr.gov.ph/
Name:	DACON Corporation
Representative:	Isidro Consunji
Location:	Metro Manila, the Philippines
Established:	1963
Business:	Investment Holding Company
	The privately held company of the Consunji family, majority owner of diversified engineering conglomerate DMCI Holdings, Inc.
Name:	University of the Philippines Los Baños
	College of Forestry and Natural Resources
Location:	Los Baños, the Philippines
Establishment:	1909
Website:	https://uplb.edu.ph/