MANILA – Metro Manila’s greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 875 metric tons last year as more young professionals opted for co-living spaces instead of commuting by car daily to work, according to a recent survey.
Co-living spaces are upscale dormitories that cater to young professionals instead of students.
Tangere Marketing Survey and co-living operator MyTown said young professionals mostly commute by jeepneys, buses and private cars, which are major sources of carbon emissions.
Transportation is responsible for around 35 percent of total emissions according to the Philippine Climate Change Assessment Working Group.
MyTown said that its co-living facilities with over 3,000 beds located near major business districts such as Bonifacio Global City and the Makati central business district have allowed tenants to ditch their daily commute and save on fossil fuels.
“The result of the survey showed that the young professionals living in MyTown have together managed to curb more than 875 metric tons of CO2 emissions, up from 451 metric tons during last year’s Earth Day,” MyTown said in a statement.
The emission data used is from published work by Herbert Fabian, Transport Program Manager at Clean Air Philippines, it said.
This was equal to the carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by around 1,000 acres of forest land for a year, or almost 14,000 tree seedlings planted for ten years, MyTown said quoting information on the US Environmental Protection Agency website.
“With each MyTown building we build, we aim to improve people’s quality of life, regain time otherwise lost in traffic, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and educate tenants about how to help do their part,” said MyTown Group Director, Jelmer Ikink.
Co-living dormitories have been sprouting up all over Metro Manila, with firms like SM Investments Corporation and the Ayala Land investing in these developments meant to cater to millennials weary of hours-long commutes to work.
SMIC and Franklin Templeton Investments are investors in MyTown.
Property firm DM Wenceslao also said it was planning a foray into co-living spaces such as dormitories, seeking to tap traffic-weary office workers. (ABS-CBN News)
