By James A. Loyola Universal Robina Corporation (URC), one of the premiere multinational companies in the ASEAN & Oceania regions, is now pursuing long-term sustainability commitments that will form part of its core business strategy. URC is thus joining the growing list of businesses across the globe that continue to adapt to best in class standards in sustainable development. Lance Y. Gokongwei ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) has become the set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen investments and this is beyond corporate social responsibility and the environment. “At URC, we reimagine snack foods and beverages as not only bringing delight to consumers, but also benefitting our key stakeholders and the environment,” said URC President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei. He noted that, “each of us has a critical role to play in making sure that we take care of our world. Everyone, from our rank and file employees to our most senior directors, has a job to do, and we must all do it well. It’s not so hard when we work together as one family.” “As URC continues to grow, sustainability would play an even more critical role in our core business strategy and culture. We will transform with a purpose; we will lead through sustainability. And it is with great pride and tremendous energy that we now embark on this purposeful transformation,” Gokongwei added. URC unveiled its sustainability strategy called “Our Purposeful Transformation,” a blueprint that defines the company’s sustainability commitments that focus on natural resources, people, and products for the initial period of five years. It will later on be expanded to cover two additional commitments: Supply chain and economic focus areas, both of which are targeted to be achieved by 2030. URC’s ESG commitments is highlighted with the release of the company’s first ever Sustainability Report which is referenced to the Global Reporting Initiative Standards (GRI). It intends to come out with this report every two years to report its achievements in the areas of sustainability. Gokongwei explained that reporting on the company’s sustainability performance will now be a deliberate undertaking at URC. Having defined the sustainability focus areas of URC’s business, he said this reporting practice will serve as the mechanism by which the company will track and measure its progress on this enterprise-wide transformation.