Filipino business tycoons who spoke before the delegates of the Philippine Digital Convention (PH Digicon) 2021 iterated their commitment to implementing sustainable programs and practices to achieve a triple bottom line.
In the second plenary session of this year’s PH Digicon, Al Panlilio, President and CEO, PLDT Group; Lance Gokongwei, President and CEO of JG Summit Holdings; Bernie Liu, Chairman and CEO of the Penshoppe Group; Christopher Po, Executive Chairman of Century Pacific Food, Inc.; Kevin Tan, CEO of Alliance Global Group Inc.; and Joseph Tanbuntiong, Chief Business Officer of Jollibee Group led the discussion on the revolutionary changes in the Philippine business landscape.
Panlilio said that sustainability is one of his fulcrums and has been a part of PLDT’s business model for years, incorporating sustainable development in their strategies to align their initiatives to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
PLDT
The PLDT Head said they launched the country’s first carbon fiber cell tower, which has reduced carbon dioxide emission by up to 70 percent compared to steel. He also mentioned the group’s aim to use renewable energy sources to bring down power consumption and boost energy efficiency for their data centers.
Jollibee
For Jollibee, meanwhile, Tanbuntiong said they have been reducing waste by shifting from disposable to reusable wares and turning to biodegradable options such as paper for their packaging.
Alliance Global Group
Moreover, for Alliance Global Group CEO Kevin Tan, the business has been set up to not be a profit-centric company but also to aim for a triple bottom line which includes environmental sustainability and social impact.
Tan also shared that they are committed to generating over five million direct and indirect jobs in the next 15 years; thus, they heavily invest in industries that can produce the most jobs and multipliers in job creation, such as business process outsourcing and tourism sector.
Penshoppe
Likewise, for the clothing brand Penshoppe, Liu shared that waste in the retail and the fashion business has been labeled as one of the biggest polluters. He said that excesses end up in dumpsites “because the consciousness of waste is not there among many brand owners and retailers.”
Liu highlighted that reducing waste is something they take seriously by adopting global standards on the number of stock keeping units and inventory.
Pacific Food
Furthermore, for Century Pacific Food, Po said they integrate the sustainability mindset in their day-to-day business by following the Three P’s framework, which refers to Protein, People, and Planet.
JG Summit Holdings
Additionally, for JG Summit Holdings, Gokongwei said they acknowledge the significance of sustainability; thus, they integrate this in their management process.
He also added that their sustainability practice follows the UN SDG, which centers on five objectives: shared success, resource secularity and resource efficiency, education and development, providing better choices, and climate action.
The Philippine Digital Convention is the most prestigious digital thought leadership event hosted by PLDT Enterprise. Titled “REVOLUTION”, this year’s PH Digicon which ran from October 6 to 8 featured over 120 industry leaders and experts, sharing their expertise on topics such as technology predictions, industry evolution, emerging technologies, among others.
Relive the three-day convention like no other via content on demand available exclusively on phdigicon2021.com.
