President Cedie Lopez Vargas urges continuous communication among LGFI membersThe Lopez Group invested P852.9 million in various corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in 2014, the year for which complete data are available. The survey covering 2015 CSR investments is still ongoing, pending external audit of the year-end financial statements of member companies.

Presenting to some 50 participants at the first Lopez Group CSR Council (LCC) meeting for 2016 held on March 30 at the Lopez Museum, Faith Bacon of Lopez Group Foundation Inc. (LGFI) said the amount fell from P1.4 billion in 2013 when investments in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance peaked in response to the havoc wrought by super typhoon Yolanda and the earthquake that affected Bohol and Cebu. Data are being collected from eight foundations and the 17 corporations of the Lopez Group that have CSR initiatives.  

 LGFI president Cedie Lopez Vargas called on LGFI members to continue communicating in order to achieve synergy and expand the impact of their respective projects.

Updates were given by the following: Marianne Quebral of the OML Center for Climate Change, who said the center has given out P26.1M in grants in the last two years; Josine Reyes of ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc. (ALKFI), who stressed that ALKFI’s programs center on children, disaster relief and rehabilitation and environmental protection; Tinky Cruz of Ang Misyon Inc. (Orchestra of the Filipino Youth), who reported a 1,000% increase in beneficiaries on a 30% increase in budget; Jared Echevarria of Calidad Humana who introduced the concept which began as a personal project of former Chilean ambassador Roberto Mayorga; Edric Calma of Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc., who reported that a survey of 42,000 learners showed that schools that used Knowledge Channel outperformed those without K Channel by 45%; Catherine Colmenares-Cabrillo of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) School Rebuilding project reported completion of 30 buildings with 85 classrooms benefiting 5,000 students; Tracy Peralta of EDC’s BINHI, a reforestation program using indigenous endangered species with 100% survival rate of reforestation efforts; Jun Dumlao of EDC and Ronna Bautista of First Balfour Inc. who introduced the Zero Hero campaign which aims to reduce human impact on the planet by reducing waste; Dimpy Jazmines of SKY Cable Corporation, who talked about Walk the Talk, a monthly walking program that caters to health and fitness needs of Lopez Group employees and their family members and friends; and Agnes de Jesus of the First Philippine Holdings (FPH) Corporation Corporate Sustainability (CS) Group, who said during the open forum that her team is in the process of completing workshop materials for the rollout of the CS initiative in eight FPH subsidiaries.

Dario Pagcaliwagan of LGFI, who closed the program, noted the need to map the geographical presence of LCC activities to increase opportunities for coordination, facilitate resource sharing and enhance social and environmental impact. (Story/Photo by: Carla Paras-Sison)

EDC’s Jun Dumlao reports on the Zero Hero campaign