PBSP’s Buhisan watershed rehab project gets support
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 10:13:00 08/31/2008
Property developers Landco Pacific Corporation (Landco) and its partner, Genvi Development Corporation joined the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) in the Central Visayas to help the PBSP in their advocacy to rehabilitate the Buhisan watershed in barangay Buhisan, Cebu City.
Representatives of the two realty firms signed a memorandum of agreement with the PBSP for the “Save the Buhisan Watershed” project late last month.
Landco and Genvi agreed to provide P350,000 to PBSP for the purchase of indigenous tree species for the period August 2008 to July 2010.
Employee volunteers from the two companies will conduct occasional visits to the site to monitor the trees planted.
The PBSP will assign a reforestation site within the Buhisan watershed and forest reserve where Landco and Genvi can plant trees.
Landco executive vice president Francis Ceballos said the company's partnership with PBSP is part of Landco's efforts toward the welfare of the community and the environment, especially those where their projects belong.
Landco is the developer of Monterrazas de Cebu, a 200-hectare premier mountain development that transverses barangays Labangon, Guadalupe and Banawa in Cebu City.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Microsoft NGO Day 2008
September 26, 2008 (Friday)8:30AM to 5:00pm
Salon de Madrid, Casino Español de Cebu, Cebu City
A forum for non-profits aimed to maximize their potentials
to achieve their goals for nation building.
Mr. Jose Antonio Aboitiz
Chairman
PBSP in the Visayas
Keynote Speaker
Financial Management:
On Earned Income
Speaker:
Mr. Gulliver Go
Consultant for Business Development & Non-Profits
Financial Management:
Microsoft Tools
Speaker:
Mr. Boy Bawal
Sales Operations Director for Southern Philippines
Microsoft Philippines
Fund Raising:
Teaching The Joy of Giving
Speaker:
Ms. Mayan G. Quebral
Executive Director
Venture for Fund Raising
Fund Raising:
Using Technology in Fund Raising
Speaker:
Mr. Enrico Ibana
Infobuilder Technologies, Inc.
Project Management:
Realities in Project Management
Speaker:
Mr. Rene Fortuno
Manager -
Product Development and Management Service
Training and Consulting Group
PBSP
Project Management:
Microsoft Project Management Tool
Speaker:
Mr. Edwin Leoncio
Technology Specialist
Microsoft Philippines
New Media In Fund Raising:
Digital Marketing Using Silverlight
Speaker:
Mr. Jericho Matawaran
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
Microsoft Philippines
Working With Microsoft
Speaker:
Ms. Laurie Mae Rivera-Moreno
PR and Community Affairs Manager
Microsoft Philippines
New Media In Fund Raising:
Using Ammado.com
Speaker:
Mr. Joeri Gianotten
Director for Asia Pacific
Ammado.com
Working With Microsoft
Speaker:
Ms. Audrey Ong
Microsoft Singapore
Mr. George Parilla of Microsoft Philippines welcomed the participants of the Microsoft NGO Day 2008.
Ms. Dianne Therese Rallon, Board of Director of the Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water, hosted the NGO Day.
Mr. Jose Antonio Aboitiz
Chairman
PBSP in the Visayas
Keynote Speaker
Financial Management:
On Earned Income
Speaker:
Mr. Gulliver Go
Consultant for Business Development & Non-Profits
Financial Management:
Microsoft Tools
Speaker:
Mr. Boy Bawal
Sales Operations Director for Southern Philippines
Microsoft Philippines
Fund Raising:
Teaching The Joy of Giving
Speaker:
Ms. Mayan G. Quebral
Executive Director
Venture for Fund Raising
Fund Raising:
Using Technology in Fund Raising
Speaker:
Mr. Enrico Ibana
Infobuilder Technologies, Inc.
Project Management:
Realities in Project Management
Speaker:
Mr. Rene Fortuno
Manager -
Product Development and Management Service
Training and Consulting Group
PBSP
Project Management:
Microsoft Project Management Tool
Speaker:
Mr. Edwin Leoncio
Technology Specialist
Microsoft Philippines
New Media In Fund Raising:
Digital Marketing Using Silverlight
Speaker:
Mr. Jericho Matawaran
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
Microsoft Philippines
Working With Microsoft
Speaker:
Ms. Laurie Mae Rivera-Moreno
PR and Community Affairs Manager
Microsoft Philippines
New Media In Fund Raising:
Using Ammado.com
Speaker:
Mr. Joeri Gianotten
Director for Asia Pacific
Ammado.com
Working With Microsoft
Speaker:
Ms. Audrey Ong
Microsoft Singapore
Mr. George Parilla of Microsoft Philippines welcomed the participants of the Microsoft NGO Day 2008.
Ms. Dianne Therese Rallon, Board of Director of the Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water, hosted the NGO Day.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Tabunan Tree Planting - A Rivet on Corporate Social Responsibility
Employee volunteerism is a valuable demonstration of a company’s proactive efforts toward sustainable community development. By involving its most important asset – its workforce – the company widens public awareness about social development issues and fosters the culture of cooperation or bayanihan. In PBSP’s experience, the concept of employee volunteerism is translated to actual activities like environmental rehabilitation, community outreach in the form of tutorials, feeding and medical missions, and free business advising to micro and small enterprises. The text that follows was written by Mark Salvador of Fairchild Semiconductor who had an opportunity to plant his own tree in Tabunan - site of one of Cebu’s last remaining forests. Read on and enjoy!
Tabunan Tree Planting - A Rivet on Corporate Social Responsibility
By Mark Salvador of Fairchild Semiconductor
And after six years of employment in Fairchild Semiconductor (FSCP), I was finally invited to engage in the annual tree planting activity organized by the company’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Committee. The activity was held in the mountainous area of Tabunan, Cebu City on an overcast Saturday, August 30, 2008. For my first outdoor immersion in corporate social responsibility, I planted one mahogany seedling and took pictures.
The event was held in association with Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). PBSP is a non-profit consortium of corporations. It is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, leading the advocacy on the practice of corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is the business sector’s obligation in involving itself with the efforts of improving the quality of life among the poor. PBSP as an advocate of this philosophy focuses its programs on integrated area development, technology management, capability building, enterprise development and local governance.
A memorandum-of-agreement exists between PBSP and FSCP for this yearly activity - FSCP to provide funds and planters and PBSP to take charge of the site preparation and seedlings. A PBSP representative is assigned to the participating company. Danny Cabantug voiced this event for PBSP.
We assembled in FSCP at around 7:15AM. After 30 minutes, four vehicles headed off to Tabunan from Lapu-lapu carrying about 45 participants. When we reached the designated stop, we descended a slope to our adopted area for tree planting.
In the Filipino setting, a short prayer always commences most activities.
Danny and Boy Wahing then explained the rationale of the activity, site selection and the ground rules. PBSP has prepared around 700 to 1000 mahogany and pili seedlings. Tabunan is part of the Central Cebu Protected Area and a recognized natural watershed.
Reforestation is being done to achieve 50% forest coverage for watersheds such as this one. PBSP also tapped the locals of the area to prepare the holes for planting. After the short orientation, the planting (and the clicking) officially began.
Shiela Oyao, a fellow engineer, paused and posed for this shot.
They all cramped in a row to fill the frame for this shot. Maricel Gudes (second from the last) is a regular visitor of this site and the one who invited me to this activity. She is joined by Nelson Montañez, Eva Igot (another blog visitor), Susan Alazas and Lupe, a line inspector I only know by nickname.
Jinky Arevalo, the chair of the EHS Committee, with trowel and seedlings in hand also granted me a pose.
The planters eventually ran out of holes. Danny instructed the locals present in the area to make some more.
When it seemed that all the holes were filled in with seedlings, the group (inherent to Filipinos) decided it was time for picture taking.
And shutters closed and opened. Practically, I could not give in to their requests as much as I want to. After a while, some decided to have refreshments. Coconuts were abundant in the area and were sold at an overwhelmingly low price. The locals obliged.
After several minutes of poses, we all headed back to our vehicles. We descended further down the valley to Tabunan River where we took our lunch. When I saw the river and the footpath ascending towards the opposite mountain, I recognized that it was the same river we trekked a month ago when we scaled down Mount Manunggal.
We trekked upriver to reach another FSC adopted spot. Underneath a tree opposite the area was the lunch site.
The dry area underneath the tree was quite small so the seating positions were constricted. Lunch was served and eaten in proud Pinoy style: using hands.
The cool waters of the river made lunch refreshing and prepared the group for the walk back to our vehicles. When I said that I will take a picture along the footpath, Susan, Eva and Genisa turned back and smiled for the camera.
I was surprised to see a watermark in the bank of the river. So before finally leaving, I took some pictures of the wooden post. I was able to take one picture with a truly candid shot. The rest had poses. Louelle Lumauag graced this shot.
So after five hours and one seedling later, I was safely back in Lapu-lapu, culminating the activity with a fruit shake, siomai and tempura. Thanks to Maricel Gudes, Roric Magdayao and Jinky Arevalo for my participation in this activity!
To justify the lone seedling, my environmentalist friends told me that the role I played to this rivet of corporate social responsibility is not purely that of a planter, but that of a scribe - to document and help facilitate the awareness that corporations also have obligations to fulfill and to contribute, not only to its employees but to society as a whole, in many different forms - be it one seedling at a time.
Let the world discover your experiences and thoughts on Corporate Social Responsibility. Email your articles and photos to PBSP at jmcubijano@pbsp.org.ph.
Tabunan Tree Planting - A Rivet on Corporate Social Responsibility
By Mark Salvador of Fairchild Semiconductor
And after six years of employment in Fairchild Semiconductor (FSCP), I was finally invited to engage in the annual tree planting activity organized by the company’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Committee. The activity was held in the mountainous area of Tabunan, Cebu City on an overcast Saturday, August 30, 2008. For my first outdoor immersion in corporate social responsibility, I planted one mahogany seedling and took pictures.
The event was held in association with Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). PBSP is a non-profit consortium of corporations. It is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, leading the advocacy on the practice of corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is the business sector’s obligation in involving itself with the efforts of improving the quality of life among the poor. PBSP as an advocate of this philosophy focuses its programs on integrated area development, technology management, capability building, enterprise development and local governance.
A memorandum-of-agreement exists between PBSP and FSCP for this yearly activity - FSCP to provide funds and planters and PBSP to take charge of the site preparation and seedlings. A PBSP representative is assigned to the participating company. Danny Cabantug voiced this event for PBSP.
We assembled in FSCP at around 7:15AM. After 30 minutes, four vehicles headed off to Tabunan from Lapu-lapu carrying about 45 participants. When we reached the designated stop, we descended a slope to our adopted area for tree planting.
In the Filipino setting, a short prayer always commences most activities.
Danny and Boy Wahing then explained the rationale of the activity, site selection and the ground rules. PBSP has prepared around 700 to 1000 mahogany and pili seedlings. Tabunan is part of the Central Cebu Protected Area and a recognized natural watershed.
Reforestation is being done to achieve 50% forest coverage for watersheds such as this one. PBSP also tapped the locals of the area to prepare the holes for planting. After the short orientation, the planting (and the clicking) officially began.Shiela Oyao, a fellow engineer, paused and posed for this shot.
They all cramped in a row to fill the frame for this shot. Maricel Gudes (second from the last) is a regular visitor of this site and the one who invited me to this activity. She is joined by Nelson Montañez, Eva Igot (another blog visitor), Susan Alazas and Lupe, a line inspector I only know by nickname.
Jinky Arevalo, the chair of the EHS Committee, with trowel and seedlings in hand also granted me a pose.
The planters eventually ran out of holes. Danny instructed the locals present in the area to make some more.
When it seemed that all the holes were filled in with seedlings, the group (inherent to Filipinos) decided it was time for picture taking.And shutters closed and opened. Practically, I could not give in to their requests as much as I want to. After a while, some decided to have refreshments. Coconuts were abundant in the area and were sold at an overwhelmingly low price. The locals obliged.
After several minutes of poses, we all headed back to our vehicles. We descended further down the valley to Tabunan River where we took our lunch. When I saw the river and the footpath ascending towards the opposite mountain, I recognized that it was the same river we trekked a month ago when we scaled down Mount Manunggal.We trekked upriver to reach another FSC adopted spot. Underneath a tree opposite the area was the lunch site.
The dry area underneath the tree was quite small so the seating positions were constricted. Lunch was served and eaten in proud Pinoy style: using hands.
The cool waters of the river made lunch refreshing and prepared the group for the walk back to our vehicles. When I said that I will take a picture along the footpath, Susan, Eva and Genisa turned back and smiled for the camera.
I was surprised to see a watermark in the bank of the river. So before finally leaving, I took some pictures of the wooden post. I was able to take one picture with a truly candid shot. The rest had poses. Louelle Lumauag graced this shot.
So after five hours and one seedling later, I was safely back in Lapu-lapu, culminating the activity with a fruit shake, siomai and tempura. Thanks to Maricel Gudes, Roric Magdayao and Jinky Arevalo for my participation in this activity!To justify the lone seedling, my environmentalist friends told me that the role I played to this rivet of corporate social responsibility is not purely that of a planter, but that of a scribe - to document and help facilitate the awareness that corporations also have obligations to fulfill and to contribute, not only to its employees but to society as a whole, in many different forms - be it one seedling at a time.
Let the world discover your experiences and thoughts on Corporate Social Responsibility. Email your articles and photos to PBSP at jmcubijano@pbsp.org.ph.
Monday, September 01, 2008
PBSP’s Buhisan watershed rehab project gets support
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 10:13:00 08/31/2008
Property developers Landco Pacific Corporation (Landco) and its partner, Genvi Development Corporation joined the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) in the Central Visayas to help the PBSP in their advocacy to rehabilitate the Buhisan watershed in barangay Buhisan, Cebu City.
Representatives of the two realty firms signed a memorandum of agreement with the PBSP for the “Save the Buhisan Watershed” project late last month.
Landco and Genvi agreed to provide P350,000 to PBSP for the purchase of indigenous tree species for the period August 2008 to July 2010.
Employee volunteers from the two companies will conduct occasional visits to the site to monitor the trees planted.
The PBSP will assign a reforestation site within the Buhisan watershed and forest reserve where Landco and Genvi can plant trees.
Landco executive vice president Francis Ceballos said the company's partnership with PBSP is part of Landco's efforts toward the welfare of the community and the environment, especially those where their projects belong.
Landco is the developer of Monterrazas de Cebu, a 200-hectare premier mountain development that transverses barangays Labangon, Guadalupe and Banawa in Cebu City.
First Posted 10:13:00 08/31/2008
Property developers Landco Pacific Corporation (Landco) and its partner, Genvi Development Corporation joined the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) in the Central Visayas to help the PBSP in their advocacy to rehabilitate the Buhisan watershed in barangay Buhisan, Cebu City.
Representatives of the two realty firms signed a memorandum of agreement with the PBSP for the “Save the Buhisan Watershed” project late last month.
Landco and Genvi agreed to provide P350,000 to PBSP for the purchase of indigenous tree species for the period August 2008 to July 2010.
Employee volunteers from the two companies will conduct occasional visits to the site to monitor the trees planted.
The PBSP will assign a reforestation site within the Buhisan watershed and forest reserve where Landco and Genvi can plant trees.
Landco executive vice president Francis Ceballos said the company's partnership with PBSP is part of Landco's efforts toward the welfare of the community and the environment, especially those where their projects belong.
Landco is the developer of Monterrazas de Cebu, a 200-hectare premier mountain development that transverses barangays Labangon, Guadalupe and Banawa in Cebu City.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Battery recycling project helps ecology, students
July 19, 2008 10:18:00
Bernadette Parco
Cebu Daily News
A battery manufacturer and distributor firm launched in Cebu a campaign to collect and recycle used lead acid batteries.
The Balik Baterya campaign is Oriental and Motolite Corp.’s flagship project for corporate social responsibility that would benefit the ecology and public school students.
“We wanted proper disposal and recycling to prevent toxic material from being ingested by animals, plants and from contaminating our water supply,” said Noly Cayabyab, vice president for corporate social responsibility.
Lead acid batteries are the ones used in motor vehicles and industries.
For every donation of a used battery, payment of P325 to P500 will be made by Oriental and Motolite Corp. to the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), with proceeds to be used for the improvement of education services of public elementary schools.
The donor can even specify which area the education assistance can be focused on.
The firm is one among 25 companies which joined the PBSP Visayas Corporate Social Responsibility Expo held at the SM Cebu from July 17 to 20.
The expo called "A Better Life: PBSP's Celebration of Corporate Social Responsibility" includes a photo exhibit, lectures, the relaunch of a coffee table book project and the Visayas launching of the Motolite Balik Baterya Program.
Levi S. Villanueva, vice chairman of the PBSP in the Visayas, said the expo shares a wide range of experiences of companies engaged in CSR.
In his speech opening the expo, he invited the public to also see products of PBSP-assisted cooperatives and companies in the ongoing Best Visayas Trade Fair at SM City.
Learning sessions were held on enterprise development, corporate-community partnerships and health options in the workplace.
In the battery recycling project, proceeds will go to textbook donations, organizing teacher training seminars and remedial reading camps.
A deed of donation will be issued for the used batteries and this can be translated to tax credits for the donor company.
Cayabyab said the PBSP and Motolite will set up drop off points and arrange for the the hauling of the used batteries.
These batteries will be sent to the Philippine Recyclers Inc. (PRI), which converts the batteries into pure lead, lead alloys and plastic chips while the sulfuric acid in the batteries are treated. The PRI will then issue a Certificate of Treatment to the donor company.
In the Visayas, the focus is on the setting up of learning resource centers in the name of the donor company that would collect 100 ULABS and a donated value of P40,000.
Used dry cells that contain nickel, cadmium, and mercury, the kind used in appliances, are also accepted.
However, there is no cash value to be exchanged because the Philippines lacks the technology to recycle the batteries.
“We will only be able to store them,” said Cayabyab to keep them from contaminating the ecology.
During PBSP's CSR celebration, nine (9) Metro Cebu companies and organizations signed a memorandum in support of the Motolite-PBSP Balik Baterya Program. They are: Airlift Asia - Cebu; Cebu Daily News; Fairchild Semiconductors; Lear Corporation - Philippine Engineering and Technology Center; Petron Corporation; Shangri-la's Mactan Resort & Spa; Union Bank of the Philippines; Villa del Rio Homeowners' Association; and Wellmade Motors and Development Corporation.
Mr. Rito Apas, Mandaue Terminal Manager of Petron Corporation and member of the PBSP Visayas Executive Committee, helped launch the Motolite-PBSP Balik Baterya Program.
Bernadette Parco
Cebu Daily News
A battery manufacturer and distributor firm launched in Cebu a campaign to collect and recycle used lead acid batteries.
The Balik Baterya campaign is Oriental and Motolite Corp.’s flagship project for corporate social responsibility that would benefit the ecology and public school students.
“We wanted proper disposal and recycling to prevent toxic material from being ingested by animals, plants and from contaminating our water supply,” said Noly Cayabyab, vice president for corporate social responsibility.
Lead acid batteries are the ones used in motor vehicles and industries.
For every donation of a used battery, payment of P325 to P500 will be made by Oriental and Motolite Corp. to the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), with proceeds to be used for the improvement of education services of public elementary schools.
The donor can even specify which area the education assistance can be focused on.
The firm is one among 25 companies which joined the PBSP Visayas Corporate Social Responsibility Expo held at the SM Cebu from July 17 to 20.
The expo called "A Better Life: PBSP's Celebration of Corporate Social Responsibility" includes a photo exhibit, lectures, the relaunch of a coffee table book project and the Visayas launching of the Motolite Balik Baterya Program.
Levi S. Villanueva, vice chairman of the PBSP in the Visayas, said the expo shares a wide range of experiences of companies engaged in CSR.
In his speech opening the expo, he invited the public to also see products of PBSP-assisted cooperatives and companies in the ongoing Best Visayas Trade Fair at SM City.
Learning sessions were held on enterprise development, corporate-community partnerships and health options in the workplace.
In the battery recycling project, proceeds will go to textbook donations, organizing teacher training seminars and remedial reading camps.
A deed of donation will be issued for the used batteries and this can be translated to tax credits for the donor company.
Cayabyab said the PBSP and Motolite will set up drop off points and arrange for the the hauling of the used batteries.
These batteries will be sent to the Philippine Recyclers Inc. (PRI), which converts the batteries into pure lead, lead alloys and plastic chips while the sulfuric acid in the batteries are treated. The PRI will then issue a Certificate of Treatment to the donor company.
In the Visayas, the focus is on the setting up of learning resource centers in the name of the donor company that would collect 100 ULABS and a donated value of P40,000.
Used dry cells that contain nickel, cadmium, and mercury, the kind used in appliances, are also accepted.
However, there is no cash value to be exchanged because the Philippines lacks the technology to recycle the batteries.
“We will only be able to store them,” said Cayabyab to keep them from contaminating the ecology.
During PBSP's CSR celebration, nine (9) Metro Cebu companies and organizations signed a memorandum in support of the Motolite-PBSP Balik Baterya Program. They are: Airlift Asia - Cebu; Cebu Daily News; Fairchild Semiconductors; Lear Corporation - Philippine Engineering and Technology Center; Petron Corporation; Shangri-la's Mactan Resort & Spa; Union Bank of the Philippines; Villa del Rio Homeowners' Association; and Wellmade Motors and Development Corporation.
Mr. Rito Apas, Mandaue Terminal Manager of Petron Corporation and member of the PBSP Visayas Executive Committee, helped launch the Motolite-PBSP Balik Baterya Program.
CSR not just for good times
Sun Star Cebu
July 18, 2008
CORPORATE social responsibility (CSR) is more vital when there is a slowdown in the economy.
Jose Antonio Aboitiz of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) Visayas Executive Committee said CSR programs should not be limited only to “times of plenty.”
“If the companies are hurting a bit (when the economy is not good), then more so the community,” he said in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Aboitiz, together with other members of the PBSP Visayas Executive Committee, opened a four-day CSR expo yesterday as part of the organization’s 20th anniversary celebration at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall.
The expo aims to promote the CSR efforts of PBSP and to invite more companies to take part by investing in the different products of PBSP-assisted cooperatives, community-based organizations and the micro, small and medium enterprises in the Best of Visayas Trade Fair.
Aboitiz confirmed that there has been a slowdown in CSR efforts among PBSP’s member-companies in the region not only because of the current economic situation. He said CSR efforts are now competing with sponsorship activities for conventions, concerts and even class reunions—activities which Aboitiz referred to as “less noble and less altruistic in purpose.”
Harder
“It has become harder and harder to get companies to support (social progress),” he added.
He said, though, that CSR efforts are not just about giving of funds for different projects. For one, a company may align its business practices towards being more responsible to the community it serves. He added that companies can also encourage its employees to volunteer in CSR projects.
During the opening expo, PBSP also introduced its coffee table book project dubbed, “A Better Life, Stories of Corporate Social Responsibility.” The book, which is set to be released in the first quarter of next year, features over 200 full color pages showing the different success stories of PBSP projects.
The proceeds of the book sale will go to an unrestricted funding for the Visayas group to be spent on programs in the region. The programs include “orphan projects” or those that need to be done but nobody wants to do,” Aboitiz said.
Yesterday afternoon, Aboitiz also gave a talk on “Corporate Citizenship 101,” where he clarified that CSR is not just for large corporations but is a cooperative effort of the government, civil society, the private sector and media. (DME)
July 18, 2008
CORPORATE social responsibility (CSR) is more vital when there is a slowdown in the economy.
Jose Antonio Aboitiz of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) Visayas Executive Committee said CSR programs should not be limited only to “times of plenty.”
“If the companies are hurting a bit (when the economy is not good), then more so the community,” he said in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Aboitiz, together with other members of the PBSP Visayas Executive Committee, opened a four-day CSR expo yesterday as part of the organization’s 20th anniversary celebration at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall.
The expo aims to promote the CSR efforts of PBSP and to invite more companies to take part by investing in the different products of PBSP-assisted cooperatives, community-based organizations and the micro, small and medium enterprises in the Best of Visayas Trade Fair.
Aboitiz confirmed that there has been a slowdown in CSR efforts among PBSP’s member-companies in the region not only because of the current economic situation. He said CSR efforts are now competing with sponsorship activities for conventions, concerts and even class reunions—activities which Aboitiz referred to as “less noble and less altruistic in purpose.”
Harder
“It has become harder and harder to get companies to support (social progress),” he added.
He said, though, that CSR efforts are not just about giving of funds for different projects. For one, a company may align its business practices towards being more responsible to the community it serves. He added that companies can also encourage its employees to volunteer in CSR projects.
During the opening expo, PBSP also introduced its coffee table book project dubbed, “A Better Life, Stories of Corporate Social Responsibility.” The book, which is set to be released in the first quarter of next year, features over 200 full color pages showing the different success stories of PBSP projects.
The proceeds of the book sale will go to an unrestricted funding for the Visayas group to be spent on programs in the region. The programs include “orphan projects” or those that need to be done but nobody wants to do,” Aboitiz said.
Yesterday afternoon, Aboitiz also gave a talk on “Corporate Citizenship 101,” where he clarified that CSR is not just for large corporations but is a cooperative effort of the government, civil society, the private sector and media. (DME)
Friday, July 18, 2008
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Taiyo Yuden Philippines plants 10K seedlings at Buhisan
Employees of Taiyo Yuden Philippines planted 10,000 native and endemic tree seedlings on a four-hectare site in Toong, Cebu City.
The activity is led by their EMR Director Koichi Iguchi, General Managers Toshihiko Uemura and Akira Takahashi, Assistant General Manager Keiichi Kimura, and EMs Shozaburo Kanai, Satoshi Miyamae, Toshiaki Nakano, and Koji Taketome.
Taiyo Yuden Philippines has been a partner of PBSP for its reforestation efforts since 2001. The company will continue to adopt four hectares for reforestation every year until 2015.
Veco employees plant trees with PBSP
More than 70 employees of the Visayan Electric Company (Veco) planted 12,500 seedlings over five hectares of the Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve.
This activity is in partnership with the Visayas Regional Office of PBSP.
In 2010, Veco also partnered with PBSP for a five-year reforestation park project in the Cebu Hillylands. The Veco Refo Park Project aims to plant 1 million trees over 540 hectares of the Cebu Hillylands.
Art 'N' Nature's Venus Genson is Woman Entrepreneur of 2012
Congratulations to Ms. Venus Genson for bagging the Women Entrepreneur award for her trailblazing feats in social entrepreneurship and community development through Art 'N' Nature Manufacturing Corporation.
The award is one of the citations given during the recently capped Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2012 awarding ceremonies.
Ms. Genson is also the president of the Venus Group of Companies, a member company of PBSP.