On June 28, a remarkable event took place deep within the lush forests of Mt. Anobang-Lobi in Brgy. Kagbana, Burauen, Leyte in partnership of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF). Two critically endangered Philippine Eagles, Carlito and Uswag, were released back into their natural habitat, symbolizing a significant step towards the conservation of this majestic species.

Our journey to witness this historic release was both challenging and exhilarating. Brgy. Kagbana, one of the most remote communities in Leyte, has been home to the Mamanwa Tribe since the 1980s. It is a place where time seems to stand still, and nature thrives unspoiled.

A Filipino-owned paint company has achieved Lead Safe Paint (LSP) status for its range of paints, covering architectural, marine, automotive, traffic, textile, and industrial applications. This significant milestone comes after a thorough third-party certification process, confirming that the paints contain less than 90 parts per million (ppm) of lead. This limit is considered the strictest worldwide for lead content in paints.

The company's commitment to safety and quality shines through this achievement, as it underscores their dedication to providing products that meet international standards. With lead being a well-known hazardous substance, this certification ensures that consumers can trust in the safety of the paints for various uses, from architectural projects to marine applications.

In a statement, the company expressed its pride in attaining the Lead Safe Paint certification, emphasizing the importance of responsible manufacturing practices. By adhering to the stringent regulatory limit for lead content, they aim to contribute to environmental protection and public health. This recognition also highlights the company's role in promoting safer alternatives in the paint industry.

With this certification, customers can have peace of mind knowing that they are choosing paints that prioritize safety without compromising on quality. As the company continues to innovate and uphold its commitment to excellence, it sets a positive example for the industry and demonstrates the value of sustainable and safe paint solutions.

Enercon Asia, a prominent company specializing in energy and power system integration solutions, is expanding its services in the Philippines. This expansion aims to meet the increasing demand for sustainable energy solutions in the market.

In response to the global challenge of achieving energy sustainability, businesses worldwide, including those in the Philippines, are adopting more efficient energy consumption practices. Recognizing this need, the Philippine Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has emphasized the importance of enhancing energy usage efficiency.

 

The far-reaching consequences of the global water shortage are now felt worldwide. As per the World Wildlife Fund, approximately 1.1 billion individuals across the planet lack access to clean water, while 2.7 billion people experience water scarcity for at least a month each year. What's even more concerning is that by 2025, it is predicted that two-thirds of the world's population may encounter water shortages, which will also harm ecosystems.

As the gravity of these issues becomes increasingly apparent, several countries have taken significant steps to forge a more sustainable future for the Earth. Noteworthy examples include Singapore's water management plan and The Netherlands' intricate conservation practices. SM Mall of Asia has been involved in various sustainability and environmental initiatives, including water recycling among others.

As part of the SM Green Movement, the SM Foundation has recently introduced a rainwater harvesting arrangement at the Brgy. Irawan Birthing Facility located in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. This undertaking is aligned with their objective to bolster environmental preservation efforts and secure the well-being of upcoming generations.

SMFI Health and Medical Programs Senior Project Manager Albert Uy inspects the water catchment to ensure it reliability.

In a concerted endeavor to amplify water preservation and adept administration within the premises, the ingenious contrivance adeptly gathers rainwater coursing down from the rooftop and conduits. Skillfully navigating its course through meticulously crafted vinyl-coated mesh filters, this ingenious system stands as a vigilant sentinel, unwaveringly upholding the sanctity of the water's quality. A capacious reservoir boasting an impressive 800-liter capacity stands as a testament to this orchestrated effort, earmarking the harvested water to satiate the establishment's non-potable demands with elegance and efficacy. From the nurturing caress bestowed upon verdant flora to the meticulous cleansing rituals, and even to the discrete yet essential act of toilet flushing, every droplet derived from this meticulous process serves a noble purpose, epitomizing the fusion of ingenuity and responsibility.

 

SM Supermalls, in collaboration with its corporate social responsibility arm, SM Cares, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), local government units and partner schools and organizations joined the rest of the world in celebrating Earth Day at SM malls nationwide on April 22, 2023.

With the theme "Invest In Our Planet, Invest In Our Youth," SM Supermalls and SM Cares lined up various activities that aimed to raise awareness among children and their families about the importance of coming together across various sectors to take care of the environment. SM malls nationwide simultaneously held relevant and impactful celebrations with activities such as Children’s Storytelling, Coloring, and Sustainability Tours, gathering 1700 children and 350 employee volunteers. These activities aimed to encourage everyone in the family, particularly the young ones, to protect and respect Mother Earth.

Earth Day is an annual celebration led by the Earth Day Network that puts the spotlight on issues that are affecting the environment. First held in 1970, Earth Day was the result of a need for a unified response against various environmental problems like pollution and resource depletion. Today, the event is considered the biggest environmental movement in the world, with millions joining celebrations every year.

 

World Wildlife Day is an annual celebration that takes place every 3rd day of March. This day is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of protecting wildlife and their habitats. The United Nations General Assembly first declared March 3rd as World Wildlife Day in 2013, and it has been celebrated every year since then.

The theme for World Wildlife Day changes every year and it varies. The theme for this year, 2023 is "Partnerships in Wildlife Conservation". This year's theme emphasizes the importance partner agencies, organizations and individuals. Ensuring a greener future for the next generations is not just the work of a lone individual but of a collective effort from everyone living on this planet. To enjoy the benefits of a healthy and diverse natural world. The theme also highlights the need for collective action to address the threats facing wildlife and their habitats.

 

Hamilo Coast through its developer, SM Prime’s Costa Del Hamilo, Inc. safeguards a 20-hectare mangrove forest, the largest of its kind in Nasugbu, Batangas. Together with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF-Philippines), Hamilo Coast continues to preserve over 50,000 mangrove trees to date as it remains committed to its advocacy for environmental and social sustainability.

Hack4Food: Agriculture and Food Innovation Challenge 2022 aims to foster creativity and collaboration in solving the challenges facing agriculture and food systems. The agriculture and food value chain -- from production to distribution, and up to consumption-- can substantially gain from clever imagination and novel thinking.

The Philippines is home to an estimated 111 million people spread across its 7,641 islands. Ensuring food sustainability and inclusivity for its growing population is serious business. Achieving the desired state of agriculture will require a lot of work from both the public and private sectors. The youth of our country have a substantial stake in propelling the developmental progress of agriculture as they will inherit all its gifts and ills.

This one-week virtual hackathon challenges the youth to step-up and make a positive impact in agriculture and food challenges. It is open to all stakeholders passionate about the fate of the planet and its inhabitants and committed to make a difference.

Hack4Food is brought to you by the Rotary Club of Makati (RCM), in collaboration with Rotary Club of Bay, Rotaract Club of Makati, and the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP). Challenges

• Improving the lives of farmers/fisherfolks through enhanced economies of scale (i.e., reduced production costs, increased yields, decreased cost per unit of output);

• Empowering farmers through collective action and by aggregating their outputs into viable clusters that improve operations and profits;

• Enhancing farmer profits through direct matching of producer and buyer; and reducing the participation of middlemen to the lowest possible level without adversely affecting the supply chain;

• Supporting and encouraging farmers to engage in crop diversification, which has been proven to help fertilize the soil;

• Implementing digital technologies and data analytics which enhance overall farm productivity and efficiency;

• Creating object detection technologies which can aid in production and/or distribution decisions;

• Designing value chains that take into account climate change and other sources of risks;

• Developing forecasting models and tools that guide decision-making in value chains;

Prizes

Eligibility

• Groups of 2-5 or individuals
• Filipino citizens within the Philippines
• No age limit

Registration
Please visit hack4food.co for more details. Deadline is on Saturday, February 26th, 2022 at 11:59 PM.

Contact
For any questions and concerns, please e-mail at info@hack4food.co.

In just a span of one month, I have been to a few events that tackled the issues concerning the environment and more particularly with Climate change. It is a global issue, or rather it is now considered a crisis that everyone needs to react to and do something about it. Environmental organizations today are pushing for immediate solutions.

Just recently, I find myself rushing and coursing through the traffic of EDSA. It's really becoming a problem and one of the causes of carbon emissions. The government should really find ways to control this. Anyway, I was late but still was able to grasp what was Lamudi is pushing through with the talk.

The issue of Climate Change is one that is pushing the Philippines to act upon its weak spots and harness its strengths. “It’s inevitable,” Lamudi CEO Bhavna Suresh says during the media roundtable. This is in partnership weth Holcim Philippines and Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA). Though the country may be facing a dire situation, there is plenty to be done in response to climate change, from big, industrial efforts to small, household changes.

Lamudi's first panel of discussion is about Sustainability Efforts for the Philippines of NGOs and Private Organizations. NGOs, private organizations, and green developers were represented in the discussion, which tackled the roadblocks to green development in the Philippines and determined the efforts already in place to steer the country into a greener future.

Highlighting Resilience

“Most of our coastal municipalities want to be cities eventually. How do we push them towards not just sustainability but also push them to also look at measures that will make them resilient as well?” Atty. Angela Ibay, Head of the Climate and Energy Program of the World Wide Fund for Nature, posed an important question at the roundtable, steering right into the thick of the important topic of sustainability and climate change.

Angela Ibay, Head, Climate and Energy Program of the World Wide Fund for Nature

In a country that is dotted with high-rise mixed-use buildings and humble coastal homes, the effort to save the environment is tightly coupled with the measures developers can take to safeguard the value of their legacy. One solution, something as simple as planting trees, encourages the growth of foliage and relieves some of the urban heat island effects our cities are experiencing right now. However, it is not enough.

“It’s not a question anymore of whether you can control climate change or not. It’s about adapting to the effects of climate change. It’s here. We are experiencing it now,” says Wesley Caballa, Senior Manager for Sustainability of Costa Del Hamilo Inc. According to Caballa, Hamilo is actively pursuing efforts to protect mangrove forests to do their part as a company.

Hamilo is one of many companies that have started making changes in keeping with a more climate-conscious business ethos. Climate change has not spared the Philippines with its onslaught, and with lives at stake, developers cannot sit around and wait.

Wesley Caballa, Senior Manager for Sustainability of Costa Del Hamilo Inc.

“We are already in an area of the world that is highly, highly susceptible to all these natural disasters, and climate change made us more vulnerable to that,” adds Justine Santos-Sugay, Director for Resource Development and Communications of Habitat for Humanity.

Addressing Roadblocks to Sustainability

The Philippines has not been remiss when it comes to sustainable efforts. One of the problems developers and real estate experts face, however, is misinformation or lack of dissemination at the grassroots.

“When you ask a common fisherman, ‘What do you know about climate change?’ Sometimes they say it’s synonymous to disaster without knowing why,” adds Caballa. “It’s really important for them to know what is wrong, what climate change is all about.”

Santos-Sugay weighs in: “When you think about it, when you look at the issue of climate change, climate change seems to exaggerate or re-highlight a lot of the already pre-existing social themes.”

Justine Santos-Sugay, Director for Resource Development and Communications of Habitat for Humanity

One issue all Filipinos will relate to, especially in the Philippine capital, is the water shortage. Despite the typhoons that visit the country and leave damage in low-lying areas, there is water shortage because the rainfall missed the dams that are meant to supply water to the majority of the city. Ferdz dela Cruz, former Chief Executive Officer of Manila Water Company, Inc., emphasizes the urgency of the matter: “It’s up to us to make hard choices for us to be resilient. There are no easy choices at this point. For us to make that, we need to have a constructive dialog and without the misinformation.”

Ferdz dela Cruz, Former Chief Executive Officer of Manila Water Company, Inc.

Dela Cruz also mentions the disparity in the supply and demand for water supply. According to him, “There are two issues on water--there’s the supply side and there’s the demand side. On the supply side, there is a roadmap of what needs to be done, but there are delays in the execution of the roadmap. There’s always opposition to a big water project.”

Long-term solutions to water shortage and climate change are further hampered by the lack of initiative at the individual level. According to Dela Cruz, people forget about the problem once they have water, but it quickly resurfaces when another water shortage is felt.

Sustainability in the Commercial and Industrial Sectors

Much of the effort real estate developers have put into sustainability can be seen in the commercial buildings they have strategically positioned in key cities. Jaime “JJ” Fernandez, Strategic Management Consultant of Menarco Development Corporation, mentions the savings Menarco Tower is able to pass on to its tenants through its sustainable design. According to Fernandez, “There is an estimate that the tenant will save about 20% in terms of energy consumption because the way the building is built is very efficient.”

Fernandez also highlights the human aspect of thinking sustainable. “Prospective tenants would rather pay a little bit more rent” when they know the building will take care of their employees.

This, paired with Dela Cruz’s observation that people will be more responsible if the problem pinches their bill, makes the case for green developments: rather than lose money in inefficient designs, developers, tenants, and residents can save by prioritizing sustainability.

James Buskowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Buskowitz Group

The Philippines, which receives ample sunlight because of its equatorial location, can do more to utilize solar energy, one of the most efficient ways to be sustainable. James Buskowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Buskowitz Group, explains that projects harvesting solar energy come in levels: “Residential scale has always been the goal, but not in the beginning. Typically, when a country starts developing solar projects, it always starts with utility, then it goes to commercial-industrial rooftops, then it goes residential.”

JJ Fernandez, Strategic Management Consultant of Menarco Development Corporation

Ar. Amado de Jesus, Vice Chairman of the Philippine Green Building Initiative

Now, it's really great that even big companies like Lamudi are creating solutions even in simplest ways.