EDITORS DESK
If you find environmental topics boring or if you don’t care at all, and you feel you don’t have the time to listen about how we can help make our lives sustainable and planet habitable, then there is something wrong with you. Your planet — our home — is being destroyed by our co-inhabitants and you are just nonchalant and feeling unperturbed?
That is the situation now with our planet. Last time I checked, we only have one earth and its finite resources are bastardized with overdevelopment, wasteful practices, and greed. Before it’s too late, it’s time to learn a thing or two about sustainability, what ESG is all about and why it matters to you and me, and be fully informed about the best practices implemented by companies, which you could also implement in your own home, office, building, or even in your daily lives. This is why you and your circle of influence should take time to attend the online sessions of Manila Bulletin’s 1st Sustainability Forum that will be held on Nov. 23-24, 2022.
This is the first time that the Manila Bulletin, the country’s leading newspaper, is hosting this kind of event. The theme is “Beyond Green,” as the online event will feature speakers from various companies who will discuss their initiatives that went beyond green, helping make our future more sustainable for the next generation.
I’m listing here the topics that will be discussed during the two-day forum. There will be morning and afternoon sessions.
Day 1 Morning: Sustainability in the way we live and work
Day 1 will have SM Investments Corp. whose speaker will talk about “Integrating disaster preparedness in real estate development.” This is very vital as the real estate industry has the capacity to change the way Filipinos live and sustain a lifestyle.
The next topic will be interesting for those in search of an ideal investment. Arthaland, one of the most sustainable and green developers in the country, will talk about “Sustainable residences: Why is it a better investment.”
Also in the morning of Day 1, two of the biggest developers will reveal the benefits of going beyond green in their construction practices and the way they built their projects.
Megaworld will talk on “How building sustainable offices bring benefit to the workforce.” On the other hand, Filinvest Land will focus on its Filinvest City Alabang project, in its talk “Developing the Philippines’ first BERDE-certified CBD.”
Day 1 Afternoon: It’s also fun to be sustainable
On the afternoon of Day 1, five more companies will be featured, touching on the way we enjoy leisure and the way we shop.
Top integrated hotel and resort City of Dreams Manila will showcase “How luxury resort living can also be sustainable.” Luxury need not be a wasteful experience, as we learn how City of Dreams Manila has espoused sustainable practices in its operations and hospitality culture.
Now, the way we shop or purchase goods also impacts our carbon footprint. It is comforting to know that there are companies now making their supply chains sustainable and green.
Part of Day 1 afternoon session is a talk from Wilcon, the country’s leading one-stop shop for home improvement and construction supplies. Its talk is timely, touching on “Sourcing sustainability: How to build sustainable supply chains.”
On the part of a top beauty and health products retailer, Watsons has a wide footprint in the country, and it is able to influence how consumers make decisions. This will be further explained in their talk, “Making better choices: Integrating sustainability in consumer decision-making.”
Part of our daily lives are the products of Unilever, so any effort from the company will have a wide impact on the way we purchase. Its talk is very relevant and will reveal “The Unilever compass: A sustainable business for the people and the planet.”
Purchasing products for our home need not be a wasteful endeavor as there are companies such as Lixil that offer products that are not only innovative but also help save on our resources. Its talk on “Sustainability and innovation: A case study on Grohe” is a must-watch.
Day 2 Morning: Sustainability goes beyond green
Day 2 in the morning will start with a keynote presentation from the Department of Tourism (DOT). In the talk “A path toward sustainability: Sustainable tourism in the next six years,” the department will reveal how this administration will make eco-friendly tourism a possibility and priority.
After that, one of the country’s largest banks, BPI, will talk about “How sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand: BPI’s ESG+E2 approach.” This will show us how becoming sustainable makes good business sense especially in the long run.
Looking into the “S” part of ESG, or Social aspect, is looking into the welfare of an organization’s stakeholders. To present its best practice on Social aspect, the International Container Terminal Services Inc. or ICTSI, a global port management company, will talk on “Lessons from landmark decisions about the environment and labor relations.”
Part of the ESG equation, the “S” or Social, is also ensuring the eradication of blocks for growth regardless of gender or status. There will be a talk on the “Changing business landscape: Women in the boardroom.”
To conclude the morning session of Day 2, Unilever will present how companies could impact the communities they serve. In the talk “Selling with purpose: Empowering entrepreneurs and enhancing livelihoods,” Unilever will show that a business should not only exist for profit but must also be a catalyst for change, growth, and upliftment of marginalized sectors.
Day 2 Afternoon: What we do impacts the world
Coca-Cola will start off the afternoon session of Day 2 with “Water stewardship.” This will reveal how the company is utilizing this precious resource well, enough for it to last for future generations.
As technology impacts our lives, so too our rising demand for energy. It can’t be business as usual for energy sources as we need to find green, sustainable sources for energy. This is the topic of Aboitiz Power as they will talk about “Clean energy and the great transformation.”
Part of the afternoon talk is also on “Hybrid Vehicles” to be led by a leading car manufacturer, discussing why we need greener vehicles to fill our roads in the future.
After that, Coca-Cola will talk about a “World without waste” — something that each of us should look forward to because this is the only way that this planet could survive for the next generation.
At the end of all the online talks, the forum will conclude with a “Call for action” that brings together the organizer, speakers, companies, and organizations into raising our voices and committing to a common cause of saving our planet. It is only by going green — and going beyond green — that we will be able to arrive at a sustainable tomorrow.
Recognizing beyond green efforts
The highlight of the 1st Sustainability Forum is a Recognition Night on Nov. 24 at the City of Dreams Manila, where Manila Bulletin will honor programs and initiatives of companies and organizations that have gone beyond green and made our planet better than before.
The 1st Sustainability Forum is co-presented by Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Wilcon. It is supported by City of Dreams Manila, Arthaland, BPI, Filinvest, Grohe, ICTSI, Megaworld, SM Investments, Watsons, and Airspeed. SGV is the technical adviser.
Scan the QR Code to join the 1st Sustainability Forum or click on the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/events/521103419861200?ref=newsfeed.