Puerto Princesa City selects FirstCarbon Solutions to support sustainable development

Manila, Philippines (April 15, 2012)—FirstCarbon Solutions, a pioneer and industry leader in environmental and sustainability solutions for business, signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines. Under the agreement, FirstCarbon Solutions, a member company of ADEC Group, will work with the city’s local government offices to help Puerto Princesa achieve its development goals, including balancing economic growth and sustainable development.

One of the largest cities in the country, Puerto Princesa boasts rich natural resources and diverse flora and fauna. Recognized as the first carbon-neutral city in the Philippines, Puerto Princesa envisions transforming itself into a city within a forest, where man and nature harmoniously co-exist. Aside from large forest covers, the city also has one of the healthiest coral reefs in Southeast Asia and the Philippines.

FirstCarbon Solutions will also partner with Puerto Princesa City to prepare for ISO 14001:2004 or Environmental Management System (EMS) certification. An EMS that meets the requirements of ISO 14001:2004 is a management tool that enables organizations to identify and control the environmental impact of its activities, services, and/or products; improve environmental performance; and, employ an organized method that will set and achieve environmental objectives and targets, and demonstrate how they are achieved.

In addition, FirstCarbon Solutions will support Puerto Princesa in its effort to upgrade from ISO 9001:2000 to ISO 9001:2008 certification for Quality Management Systems and Technical Information Technology Support. This upgrade requires compliance with guidelines for developing the city’s official website. To meet the requirements for certification, the organization must be able to exhibit consistency in providing products and/or services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. The organization should also demonstrate improvement in customer satisfaction by effectively implementing the system.

Today’s ceremonial signing was led by ADEC Group chief executive officer James Donovan and Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn, together with ADEC Group chief financial officer Carol Esguerra and regional director of sales Matthew Squires, as well as FirstCarbon Solutions’ chief compliance officer Anthony Catajan and implementation officer Cristina Holley.

“It is an honor to work with the local government of Puerto Princesa,” said James Donovan, ADEC Group chief executive officer. “We have all been inspired by the city’s efforts, which reflects our goal of encouraging and enabling other local communities and organizations in the country to achieve a more sustainable future and FirstCarbon Solutions is proud to have been selected by Puerto Princesa to help them maintain their status as an environmental steward,” Donovan said.

About FirstCarbon Solutions
FirstCarbon Solutions is a global provider of comprehensive environmental and sustainability solutions for enterprise and government clients that are increasingly under pressure to minimize resource use and environmental impacts while achieving profit and budget objectives. The company is the first to fully integrate consulting and software with deep expertise in back office data processing to deliver integrated energy and sustainability solutions that drive better decision making by understanding how improved environmental practices affect all areas of the business. FirstCarbon Solutions is an ADEC Group company with 14 years in the industry serving customers around the world, and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and North America.  For more information visit www.firstcarbonsolutions.com.

About ADEC Group
ADEC Group is a leading provider of customized onshore and offshore outsourcing solutions.  Processing over 30 million transactions each month, ADEC Group has extensive experience in data and document management, business and knowledge process outsourcing, sustainability and energy management, and language learning services. As the pressure on business growth and profitability continues to intensify, ADEC Group works with clients to create and deliver value-added solutions that are proven to reduce costs, increase operational efficiencies, and optimize internal and external resource use.  Trusted by some of the largest companies and governments in the world, privately-held ADEC Group has key delivery centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and the Philippines.