Unilever Philippines won the Waste Management Award category of the Europa Awards 2022 by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP). This, on the heels of an investigative report by Reuters that said the multinational has worked to undercut laws aimed at eliminating sachets in at least three Asian countries: the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and India.
The other winners announced June 23 were as follows:
Clean and Green Energy Award — Vivant Foundation, Inc.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Award — Mondelez Philippines
Green and Inclusive Finance Solutions Award — ENGIE Services Philippines
Green Buildings Award — Union Bank of the Philippines
Green Workforce Award — Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.
Smart and Safer Mobility Award — Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation
Startup for Sustainability 2022 Award — Ampersand Design Think Lab Corp.
Water Resource Management Award — Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI)
“We view each company we work with as a ‘barangay,’” said Barbara Kitane, CEO and founder of Ampersand Design Think Lab, a branding, design, and publishing studio with a focus on sustainability and culture for corporations. “We believe that leadership is responsible to guide and raise the barangay, according to universally accepted living standards sensitive to local and cultural contexts of a life well-lived.”
Securing and committing the required capital for decarbonization can be a main barrier to it, said Louella Caridad, general manager of ENGIE Services Philippines, which designs and implements energy efficient technological solutions.
“With ENGIE fronting the financing required to implement our low-carbon solutions, we fully de-risk the sustainability journey for clients, accelerating their move from intent to action,” Ms. Caridad said.
According to ECCP president Lars Wittig, it received about 85 initial entries this year.
“The number of entries we received demonstrates the growing commitment of the business community to adopt sustainable business practices in their core operations and strategies,” Mr. Wittig said, adding the Chamber hopes “the Europa Awards will serve as an instrument to promote and strengthen stakeholders’ commitment and efforts in light of the urgency of sustainability.”
Winners in each category received a trophy designed by designers Rita Nazareno and Gabriel Lichauco of Nazareno/Lichauco for Zacarias1925, a brand that places a contemporary thrust in the traditional craft of hand-weaving.
SGV & Co. was the official tabulator for the awards.
ECCP also launched on June 23 the second edition of its Sustainability Whitebook, which contains its policy recommendations on ten thematic areas: mobility, energy efficiency, clean energy, waste management, agriculture, finance, green buildings, green workforce, sustainability for start-ups, and water management. The Whitebook includes how these policy advocacies are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Philippine Development Plan.
The ECCP is a bilateral foreign chamber that promotes European interests in the Philippines and vice versa. — Patricia B. Mirasol
