The Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) was held in Manila recently with more than 400 registered delegates from around the world including delegates from Ayala Land, Ayala Corporation, Manila Water, and Globe. The conference tackled the subject matter “Sustaining CSR in Difficult Times” and was presented by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). It was packed with various learning sessions that provided new thinking and standards on CSR that companies may use as a strategy for raising the level of its CSR “beyond profit, compliance and form.” The AFCSR aimed to further clarify CSR objectives of doing “good” beyond corporate interests, social agenda and public relations.
The AFCSR featured a powerhouse line-up of guest speakers starting with Mr. Washington Sycip, Chairman Emeritus of AIM and founder of SGV & Co. who delivered the opening remarks focusing on historical reflections on crises. Other speakers were Shelley Esque, Vice President for Legal and Corporate Affairs of Intel Corporation, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (JAZA), Chairman of Ayala Corporation, Jorg Hartman, Executive Director of German Technical Cooperation, Dr. Bradley Googins, Director Emeritus of Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, Mercedes Lopez Vargas, Director of the Lopez Memorial Museum, and Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, Chairman of Brunei Economic Development Board.
In his plenary speech, JAZA put emphasis on positive trends driving a new level of engagement in CSR and Sustainability. He underscored the need for collaboration among businesses and engaging the “base of the pyramid” in order to promote poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation. He also zeroed-in on a triple bottom line approach in setting up long-term solutions to address the problems of poverty, social inequity and climate change. JAZA noted that businesses are increasingly open to the idea of managing their enterprises guided by this sustainability framework of incorporating social, economic and environmental goals in the way they do business. Finally, he reaffirmed the Ayala Group’s commitment to sustainable development and made reference to its group-wide and individual GRI sustainability reports as the way we measure and manage our efforts in sustainability and CSR.
The AFCSR had numerous Special Interest Sessions, featuring the best and brightest resource speakers from all over the region. Our very own CEO, Mr. Antonino T. Aquino, presented an inspiring case study on the Ayala Land Sustainability Journey. In his talk, ATA shared that Ayala’s commitment to sustainability and environmentally-sound practices, goes way back to it early years when it started to develop Makati.
“Ayala has managed to surpass the wildest expectations at that time, transforming a mere suburb of Manila into what is now the Makati Central Business District. That was as a result of the application of right sustainability practices such as master-planning communities and making use of modern waste water treatment facilities. Waste water treatment was actually pioneered in Makati,” said Mr. Aquino. He added that, “And it did not stop there. Our sustainability journey in Makati has continued to move on and has since improved. As part of our master-planning, we have now embraced the aspect of pedestrianization. We know that in today’s environment, if we want to make a dent relative to our carbon footprint, we need to encourage people to walk and this is why we continue to build walkways and pedestrian–friendly communities,” he added.
Mr. Aquino continued his presentation on Ayala Land’s journey by featuring Ayala Alabang Village, Cebu Business Park, Bonifacio Global City, and NUVALI developments. He highlighted the unique sustainability elements in each of the projects and touched briefly on the company’s 5 Pillars of Sustainability.
The highlight and culminating activity of the conference was the gala dinner and awarding ceremony for the Asian CSR Awards during which Ayala Land was an Asian CSR Excellence Awardee for its program entitled “ALI Green Training Series: Fostering a Sustainability Mindset within Ayala Land”. The company was chosen among 211 entries from 132 organizations from 114 countries in the “Best Workplace Practices” category, together with two other finalists from Singapore and the Philippines. Ms. Pinky Ruiz, ALI Vice President and Head of Human Resources and Public Affairs, accepted the award on behalf of Ayala Land. Also present were AFCSR delegates Jorge Marco, Macky Maceda, and Suzette Naval, and the ALI Corporate Learning and Development team of Gail Perez, Sheila Bermudez, and Joy Saclolo