‘Our vision is to become a quadruple bottom-line company that empowers communities,’ says Rommel Benig, Founder and CEO of Green Antz

Green Antz (GA), the initial investment of award-winning impact investing firm Arowana Impact Capital, has been named the top Pollution Reduction Initiative at the Environmental Finance Sustainable Company Awards 2022. The recognition represents a new milestone on GA’s journey towards a circular economy.

As one of the fastest-growing pollution reduction service providers in Asia, GA partners with local communities and corporations in the Philippines in collecting and converting low-value plastics into eco-friendly, durable, and affordable construction materials such as eco bricks and pavers.

Environmental Finance recognised Green Antz for its:

• Focus on the largest centres of pollution and waste generation while prioritising processes that deliver the most sustainable change
• Innovative solutions that can deliver measurable, effective, and long-lasting results
• Collaborative approach that aims to challenge current paradigms of consuming resources

GA aims to convert about 6,000 tonnes of plastic each year through 1,000 collection points that employ members of local communities.

While most recycling plants in the Philippines treat rigid plastics, Green Antz has set out to convert multi-layer plastic packaging such as sachets.

“Sachets don’t have any commercial value,” Green Antz CEO Rommel Benig said. “They’re not being recycled.”

This gave Rommel, who is an engineer by profession, the idea to establish a social enterprise focused on green initiatives tackling the Philippines’ sachet economy.

“We decided to embrace and eventually also pioneer the circular economy model in the Philippines. That was really the awakening and the inspiration behind why I started doing this,” he said.

“We are setting up our Eco-hubs across the country, in different locations, so that we can collect the plastics directly from the communities and also build a model that’s socially inclusive,” Rommel said.

“We are addressing environmental problems associated with plastics and other solid waste and – at the same time – creating livelihood at a grassroots level. This is really part of our vision to become a quadruple bottom-line company where we are pursuing not just profit but also empowering people that have a purpose.”

In March 2022, AIC completed its cornerstone investment in Green Antz. The investment allows GA to tackle Asia’s burgeoning plastic waste problem, whilst offering cost-effective and environmentally responsible alternatives to traditional building materials.