Mariana Zobel de Ayala, executive director of the country’s oldest conglomerate Ayala Corp., said the catastrophic impact of the ongoing climate change requires corporations to take drastic steps to counter this as they can longer go on with “business as usual.”

“It is our belief that business plays a critical role in responding to these challenges and providing innovative solutions to transform the world we live in… the reality of climate change can no longer be denied," said Zobel in her keynote speech during the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) inaugural meeting.

“We are at the cusp of a total and complete climate catastrophe if we continue to do business as usual. The role of business in the climate action agenda thus cannot be understated and will require transformation in order to reimagine how we can mitigate our environmental impacts,” she added.

She also noted that, at Ayala Land, where she is senior vice president for leasing and hospitality, “we have taken significant steps to embed environmental sustainability as a fundamental part of how we operate, with a focus on efficient land use and eco-efficiency.”

“This is evident in the way that we’ve run our malls and offices on renewable energy and continue to explore circular approaches to waste in our estates. These efforts are also in line with the Ayala Group’s commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” Zobel said. 

She stressed that, “our commitment to sustainability stems from our belief that we have a responsibility to our stakeholders for the environmental impacts of our business activities, and that we owe it to future generations to leave behind a world they can still inhabit and a world where no one is left behind.”

Meanwhile, she said “there is so much more that businesses can do to work more closely with their stakeholders, from ensuring a safe and inclusive work environment for their employees, treating their partners with dignity and respect, and collaborating more effectively with communities in the areas where they operate."

“On the topic of building safe and inclusive work environments, I believe in the power that diversity, equity, and inclusion have in an organization,” she further noted.

She explained that, “including people’s unique perspectives and backgrounds helps us unlock the very best in our people and add value to the communities where we work and live.”

“In many work environments, we still see a lack of representation for individuals from marginalized and underrepresented groups, especially as you go up in leadership ranks,” Zobel said.

She said that, “when I look back on my life and career journey so far, I cannot help but reflect on how my identity has shaped the path I’ve taken and influenced the way I view the world. My unique perspective as a woman – a daughter and sister, a wife and mother, and a female in business – has taught me so much. The different facets of what makes us unique – our age, gender identity, upbringing, and life experience – contributes so much to the social fabric of our organizations and country at large.”