HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
On Nov. 23 and 24 of this year, the Manila Bulletin will mount its first ever Sustainability Forum. The reason behind our mounting this is quite simple. When MB President and Vice-Chairman Emil Yap, Jordan Tan, and I were talking earlier in the year, we were remarking about how generally, the sustainability efforts of the various companies championing the cause were under-appreciated, if not outright ignored.
Trying to understand why this was the case, we agreed there was still a disconnect between the concept of sustainability and the general public; and that even the MSME’s of our business landscape seemed to shy away from the concept. There seemed to be a prevailing perception that sustainability was either an elitist concept, expensive to institute, or that an ESG (environment, social and governance) agenda would be an additional burden on any company’s OpEx.
Personally, I felt that one of the root causes for this disconnect is that not many had bothered to even study the 17 UN Sustainability Development Goals. That there was a small’s’ sustainable word already existing meant so many presumed that they already understood what the capital ‘S’ of the UN Sustainability Development Goals was all about. As a result, a good number would equate sustainability with being pro-environment or being “green,” when that is only one aspect of the multi-pronged approach of the UN Sustainability Goals. In fact, a cursory check-listing of the 17 goals would reveal that only five of the 17 have a direct impact founded on the environment.
Manila Bulletin and Our November Sustainability Forum.
Further to this is how it's very human to cover up or gloss over our ignorance, and as many of us presumed we already knew what sustainability was all about, we would persist in this partial knowledge, and not bother discovering what the real, full picture is. I myself, am often guilty of this frailty; and it’s from this self-realization that we agreed and pushed that we mount this forum.
The MSME’s, and how so many of them still shun incorporating sustainability into their operations was another deciding factor. A conversation with BPI’s Jo Ann Eala and her casually mentioning that the bank enjoys zero percent non-performing loans in their sustainability portfolio was proof positive that being sustainable and profitable can go hand in hand, and it was time to debunk the notion that sustainability was a financial liability.
Unlike other forums that talk sustainability and are led by a particular industry or retail category, what the Manila Bulletin Sustainability Forum intends to achieve is to showcase the many, diverse, and interconnected touch points of sustainability in our lives. That it doesn’t matter if one is talking about going carbon neutral and diminishing emissions, or whether it’s a soft impact lifestyle choice – there are a myriad of ways to support sustainability, and make it an easy, and accessible, facet of our lives.
And as Jordan and I would present our deck, and make the case for why this kind of forum needed to happen, we were constantly encouraged by the nodding heads we’d elicit, the knowing smiles that would break out on the faces of the talking heads of the companies we were approaching. They readily concurred that this gap of a disconnect did exist. And yes, they may have been guilty of preaching to the choir and the converted when mounting their own webinars and forums that often bordered on the technical and esoteric. To mount this type of forum and hopefully start from the basics, and muster new “believers” into the metaphorical church of sustainability was a welcome move, and one they would support.
From sustainability in where we live and work, to sustainability in how we spend, eat and enjoy, all the way to sustainability where we may not see it – we have three main story silos to umbrella each of the virtual sessions that will happen in November. We’ve looked for companies and retail brands that have substantial histories of sustainability, so that their stories will possess the benefit of the time-tested and sustained. And we’ve asked them to talk about specific programs and initiatives, in order to keep information overload from happening, and so that minimal overlap would occur.
From the developer of malls, offices, residences, hotels and resorts; to manufacture, wholesale and retail, to modes of transportation and to travel/tourism itself; I’m happy that we have most sectors covered as they relay to us their respective sustainability stories. And it’s in the properties of storytelling that we hope to make sustainability a byword, a conscious choice, and an anthem for our present and future.
Because really, if not now, then when? What kind of legacy do we leave our children and our children’s children? This is the only planet we have – and we have to ensure that a respectable quality of life can be preserved.