Clean energy leader First Gen Corp. recently hosted the Youth for Climate and Energy Leadership Summit (YCELS), a dual-location event aimed at equipping youth leaders with the skills and knowledge to address climate and energy challenges in their communities.
Held in Batangas City and Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, the summit gathered 62 youth participants from public schools and community organizations situated near First Gen’s affiliated power plants. The summit is part of First Gen’s flagship environmental initiative, Create for the Climate, and reflects the company’s broader corporate commitment to sustainable development and community-based climate action.
YCELS featured workshops on climate science, renewable energy, community visioning, and project planning. Youth leaders received training on root cause analysis and climate action proposal development, producing projects that tackled local environmental issues. Winning proposals received P30,000 in seed funding and mentoring support from First Gen. These included ideas such as upcycling plastic bottles into cleaning tools, creating solar-powered vending machines for use during power outages, and installing refillable water stations in schools to reduce plastic waste.
Speakers included sustainability experts and climate advocates from partner organizations such as the Oscar M. Lopez Center, Foundation for the Philippine Environment, Climate Change Commission, and Make A Difference Earth, as well as representatives from Abot Tala Community and YGOAL Inc. First Gen executives, including VP Ged Cajucom and hydro plant operations head Joshua Reyes, also delivered insights during the event.
Participants came from various youth organizations, including the Youth for Environment in Schools Organization (YES-O), Supreme Secondary Learner Government, Sangguniang Kabataan, Katipunan ng Kabataan, and the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
First Gen’s hosting of YCELS underscores the company’s policy of integrating environmental stewardship with youth empowerment, supporting its corporate mission to promote clean energy solutions while cultivating future climate leaders.
