Ride-hailing firms should take lead in emissions reductions

ACCORDING to the companies' respective environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports made public last week, the two biggest ride-hailing and delivery firms in Southeast Asia — Singapore-based Grab, which is the leading operator here in the Philippines, and Indonesia's GoTo, the parent company of ride-hailing firm Gojek and e-commerce company Tokopedia — are failing miserably in their efforts to work toward achieving their carbon-neutrality pledges, recording a surge in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2022. This is obviously a problem that cannot be ignored, but given the unique position these companies hold in the economies where they operate, the problem should be considered an opportunity rather than a reason to condemn them.