Pueblo de Oro, barangays unite to safeguard habitat

PUEBLO De Oro Development Corp (PDO), the residential development arm of the ICCP Group, is working with communities in Batangas, Pampanga, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro to improve the environmental knowledge and skills of citizens in these areas.

The company’s program is in line with the Community Solid Waste Management Project, a collaboration between the ICCP Group and Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines Inc.

As part of its environmental protection efforts, PDO has implemented several project orientations and seminars to strengthen the capacities and competencies of community members in the area of inclusive and long-term environmental protection.

The first phase of the project included orientation with local government units as the project intends to assist in the development of local legislation governing people’s participation in proper waste management.

In Batangas, training programs have been rolled out in barangays San Rafael, Sta. Anastacia, Santiago in Sto. Tomas; and in barangays Poblacion, San Fernando, Luta Norte, Luta Sur, Santiago, Bulihan, and San Pedro I & II in Malvar.

The company has also initiated environmental protection activities in Barangay Del Carmen in San Fernando, Pampanga; Barangay Babag, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu; and Barangay Carmen, Canitoan and Lumbia in the City of Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental.

PDO builds and maintains subdivisions and development projects in these provinces.

They include Horizon Residences, Park Place and La Aldea del Monte in Batangas; La Aldea Fernandina, Horizon Residences and Park Place in Pampanga; La Aldea del egy is to make a positive impact on at least one of those areas. When companies fail to assume responsibility, the opposite can happen, leading to issues like environmental degradation, inequality and social injustice. Sustainable businesses consider a wide array of environmental, economic,and social factors when making business decisions. These organizations monitor the impact of their operations to ensure that short-term profits don’t turn into long-term liabilities.

Mar and Park Place in Cebu; and the Pueblo de Oro Township in Cagayan de Oro.

PDO president and chief operating officer Prim Nolido said the company was focused on maintaining the gold standard in community living through its residential developments and master-planned communities, and promoting eco-friendly and sustainable habits for a future-proof home and lifestyle.

The most recent Capacity Building Seminars conducted in the communities tackled the production of organic fertilizers from household food waste and trainingworkshop on community solid waste management. Participants in the orientation included barangay captains and councilors, who are involved in habitat protection as chairmen of their environment committees. The group also had Sangguniang Kabataan representatives.

Beyond helping curb global challenges, sustainability can drive business succes.s Several investors today use environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics to analyze an organization’s ethical impact and sustainability practices. Investors examine factors such as a company’s carbon footprint, water usage, community development efforts and board diversity. Research shows that companies with high ESG ratings have a lower cost of debt and equity and that sustainability initiatives can help improve financial performance while fostering public support. According to McKinsey, the strongest motivating factors to adopting a sustainable mindset in 2017 were to align with a company’s goals, missions or values; build, maintain, or improve reputation; meet customer’s expectations; and develop new growth opportunities. The overlap between social and environmental progress and financial gain is called the shared value opportunity. In other words, “doing good” can have a direct impact on your company’s ability to “do well.” Due to this opportunity, it’s clear why many businesses have adopted these practices. Doing well by doing good as an economic and social imperative has become more relevant now more than ever. This is the perfect time to increase our efforts to become more responsible and sustainable when doing business.

In the corporate foundation that I currently serve, our aspiration is to help enable a financially well and inclusive nation where everyone is empowered to live a better life. Among those we support belong by finding value in reusing items before discarding them.

“Zero Waste is the first step towards creating waste-wise societies,” she said. “The first step is to take responsibility and make a conscious effort to reduce our consumption of single-use plastics. Remember that everything we use and discard must go somewhere.”

The global population is on track to reach 10 billion by 2050, and demand for food and non-food agricultural products is also expected to rise by up to 56 per cent, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). RSE to a budding sector that aims to uplift underserved communities through a sustainable business model. They are called social enterprises (SEs), which follow a different set of practices than most businesses. SEs combine the best of non-profits and regular businesses by focusing on the triple bottom line: profit or money, planet or environment and people or social impact.

We are committed to nurture and empower SEs and enable their success through Sinag, one of our flagship social development programs, providing opportunities for funding technological, social and market innovations. Initially conceived as a business challenge competition in 2015, it has now evolved into a growing ecosystem of entrepreneurs, academe, mentors, investors and other intervenors who share the same goal of inclusive and sustainable growth through social entrepreneurship. Social enterprises are the natural and true manifestation of the Filipino ‘Bayanihan” spirit. The SE business model is responsible, inclusive and sustainable. I will talk about SEs and its ecosystem more in the next columns.

In the meantime, to know more about the SE model and Sinag program, please visit the third Sinag Sari-Sari store at the Ayala Museum in Makati City, which will be officially open to the general public on March 31.

Editor’s notes: Owen Cammayo is the Executive Director of BPI Foundation. Manila Standard’s Biodiversity 101 column is open to contributors who share the advocacies of protecting the environment and promoting sustainable practices that are being pushed by the United Nations. Such contributions are subject to the availability of space and the paper’s editorial policies. The contributions should not exceed 600 words or 4,000 characters.

Standard Insurance Centennial 5 makes history

SUBIC—Clocking 12 hours, 45 minutes and 47 seconds, Ernesto Echauz’s Standard Insurance Centennial 5 crossed the finish of the Rolex China Sea Race here with an elapsed time of 3d 1h 25m 47s, marking the first time in its 61-year history that a Philippine entry has taken a Line Honours division triumph.

Skippered by Echauz and supervised by an all-Filipino crew, Standard Insurance Centennial 5 was the first boat to cross the start line and lead the fleet out of Hong Kong’s iconic skyline Victoria Harbour last April 5 as they maintained their very comfortable lead throughout the race.

“It’s very historical! It’s the first time that a Philippine boat has won Line Honours at the Rolex China Sea Race. It’s such a prestigious race for us,” a jubilant Echauz, said during a media interview after the race.