In its continued commitment to preserve and protect Mother Earth, Pioneer Adhesives Foundation, Inc. (PAFI) in coordination with the local government unit under the leadership of the Municipal Mayor Leonila P. Montero spearheaded a tree planting activity called Planting for the Planet in Panglao, Bohol last November 23.
PAFI Executive Director Martina Spakowski welcomes the volunteers and gives a few reminders, before commencing the tree planting activity.
A Pioneer volunteer gently places a seedling into the ground.
Each volunteer is tokened with a stainless steel reusable straw to further promote environmentalism and the refusal of single use plastics.
Volunteers sign a tarp with an image of a tree; one name per leaf as a mark of their participation in the activity.
Over a hundred volunteers composed of Pioneer Adhesives, Inc. employees and business partners rolled up their sleeves and planted 200 seedlings in the beautiful island of Panglao. This tree planting activity, which was a meaningful part of the Pioneer Adhesives National Conference, is just one of the many initiatives the foundation has under its environmental campaign “Our Earth Our Responsibility”.
SM Supermalls marked another milestone in its pursuit to make each day better for all at the launch of SM City Trece Martires’ solar system, held in Trece Martires City, Cavite. At the ‘switching on’ ceremony, SM highlighted that the solar system rollout all over the country was only part of the many sustainability programs SM has been doing for years.
At the launch of The Green Switch from left to right: Senior Vice President For Marketing Jonjon San Agustin; SM Vice President for Operations Lisa Silerio; SM Supermalls President Annie Garcia; Mrs. Aiza De Sagun, representing Trece Martires Mayor Melendres De Sagun; Solar Philippines President Leandro Leviste; Executive Assistant Vincent Bae; Engineer Ernesto Cenizal; and Regional Operations Manager Dominador Caringal, Jr.
The SM City Trece Martires solar facility houses 2,914 solar panels capable of generating 0.5 megawatts of electricity, enough to fully charge 130,000 cellphones, light up 15,500 10-watt LED lamps, run 4,500 30-watt electric fans, and provide power to 300 households. The use of solar energy promotes clean air and saves the environment by helping reduce carbon footprint from electricity produced from combustion of fossil fuels.
Other Sustainability Programs
Other sustainability programs of SM include the ‘Trash to Cash’ recycling markets in SM malls, and the integration of transport terminals in malls to mitigate traffics for cleaner air. With disaster risk reduction taking center stage on sustainability, SM has been building ‘resilient’ malls with water catchment basins to help manage flood-prone areas.
SM Prime, alongside UNISDR and ARISE Philippines, also hosts the Top Leaders Forum. The theme for 2017 is ‘Business for Resilience – Towards a Resilient Philippines’.
As a private sector conference aspiring to find concrete measures to make businesses more resilient against disasters, the Forum this year underscores invaluable collaboration between the science and technology community and the private sector towards global disaster preparedness.
Technology Partner
Leandro Leviste, Solar Philippines President and Founder
At the helm of SM’s partner in promoting eco-friendly shopping in the country is Solar Philippines Founder, Mr. Leandro Leviste.
Leading the largest developer of solar rooftop power plants in Southeast Asia, Mr. Leviste was recognized in the Forbes Magazine 2016 30 under 30 Asia, a roster of young game-changers, entrepreneurs, and social leaders who are under 30 years old.
With SM’s solar system rollout and other green programs, SM continues to go beyond mall development and management as it integrates environmental sustainability into its operations to ultimately support communities for a better tomorrow.
For exclusive news about SM Supermalls, visit www.smsupermalls.com or follow SM’s official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; and get an insider access to all the fun happenings at SM Supermalls nationwide through SM’s Viber Public Chat.
Tweet your thoughts, upload and share your photos about your memorable moments at SM, then use its official hashtag #EverythingsHereAtSM.
BIC Product (Asia) Pte Ltd, in cooperation with its distributor partner in the Philippines – Filstar Distributors Corporation, is set to kick off its biggest social campaign in Asia, #BICBrightFutures.
As Champions of Education, BIC® believes that a bright future is for everyone. As such, BIC® will be giving half a million Stationery products – the biggest donation in Asia to date – to Children’s Hour, Yellow Boat of Hope, and Kariton Klasrum to help kids as they pursue their dreams.
The campaign culminated in a one-day event at KidZania Manila on October 26th. An estimated 200 children from Children’s Hour and Kariton Klasrum participated at the event.
For one day, the children were encouraged to have fun while exploring the adult world by immersing themselves in over 100 role-play activities in the play city. Using BIC® pens, they also plotted out their goals and dreams in a special BIC® Bright Futures workbook.
Efren Peñaflorida, an education advocate, teacher, and social worker, was at the event to talk to the kids about the importance of going back to school and how it will help them build a brighter future. Peñaflorida is also the founder of Kariton Klasrum.
“Our main focus, since Kariton Klasrum’s inception, has always been about bringing education to less fortunate children. Through this event, we will be able to show them that a bright future is possible for them as long as they plan for it and persevere to achieve it,” said Efren Peñaflorida, founder of Kariton Klasrum.
“Many children are in great need of encouragement from the adults in their lives to push themselves to work hard for a better future. We are happy that our kids will walk away with a sneak peek at what their own futures can hold, as well as a new hope,” said Net Garcia, Children’s Hour Executive Director.
“We have always believed that bright futures are written by hand. As adults, many of us have become what we are today because we put pen to paper and wrote down our ambitions. That act of writing down our aspirations makes the dream seem real. Today, we want to inspire less-fortunate children to dream and work for their futures, because after all, everyone deserves a bright future.” said Frederic Dumon, BIC Asia Deputy General Manager.
BIC® feels strongly about giving back to communities where the Group is present in the form of product or financial donations and volunteering. As part of its strong societal commitment, the BIC® Corporate Foundation for Education was launched in 2016 focusing on fighting for universal access to education as a basic human right. Through this foundation, BIC® is engaged in the fight against school drop-outs, access to education for girls and women, and environmental education. The global company has made 112 donations to promote education giving more than 6 million pens to children in need in the same year.
BIC is a family-owned company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and a world leader in stationery, lighters, and shavers. For more than 60 years, BIC has honored the tradition of providing high-quality, simple, inventive, and reliable choices for everyone, everywhere, every time. A world leader in consumer goods, 30.9 million BIC® products is purchased every day worldwide (18.9 million Stationery products, 4.2 million Lighters, 7.1 million shavers, and 0.7 million promotional products).
Filstar Distributors Corporation prides itself on having been the exclusive licensee of Hallmark in the Philippines since 1974 and the exclusive distributor of BIC® Stationery products since 2001. Since then, Filstar has evolved to be a distributor of these two distinguished brands and other world-class brands that supplement and enhance the self-expression industry. In 2013, Filstar expanded its partnership with BIC® to cover BIC® Lighters and Shavers categories.
Find more about BIC® from the following online references.
Essilor Vision Foundation (EVF)’s Eye Can Succeed campaign had another successful run at the Higher School ng University of Makati (HSU). During the event, EVF staff examined the eyesight of more than 6,000 HSU students in grades 11 and 12. Prescription glasses were also distributed to those in need.
The event was also made possible with the help of volunteer optometrists and HSU students led by Dean Engr. Estrella Chan (third from left). The advocacy is set to visit other public high schools in Metro Manila and targets to provide free eye check up and prescription glasses to 10,000 Filipino senior high school students so they can pursue higher education and achieve success through better vision.
Also in photo are (L-R) Essilor Philippines optometrists and lens consultants Dr. Donna Acibar, Dr. Jennifer Parmerola and Dr. Jane Radovan; marketing executive JV Velasco; and marketing specialist Renze Sevilla.
For more information, visit Essilor’s website at www.essilor.com.ph/eyecansucceed, and follow @EssilorPH on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Armed with its mission of improving lives through better careers and the advocacy of a job for every Filipino, JobStreet.com, the country’s number 1 job site, takes part in Project Inclusion.
Joining the JobStreet.com contingent headed by Country Manager Philip Gioca (far left) are representatives of Unilab Foundation headed by Grant Javier (middle, in white), Project Inclusion’s Program Manager.
Healthy eyesight is essential to learning and achieving success. It allows us to pick up skills and also enables us to achieve our tasks. Unfortunately, at least ten in every 100 Filipino students suffer from poor eyesight.
This concern has led Essilor Vision Foundation (EVF) to team up with leading actor and brand ambassador Piolo Pascual to launch Eye Can Succeed, a program geared at providing free eye check-ups and free prescription eyeglasses to help 10,000 senior high school students pursue higher education and achieve success.
EVF kicked off the advocacy campaign at Rizal High School, which has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest secondary school in the world, by having licensed eye health professionals discuss the importance of healthy vision, proper eye care, and optometry as a career option for Grades 11 and 12 students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) academic strand.
With the assistance of volunteer optometrists, EVF examined the school’s 4,000-strong Grades 11 and 12 students and distributed free prescription glasses to students who are in need.
The campaign is focused on senior high school students who are vulnerable to vision problems due to long hours of reading and exposure to blue light from digital devices like laptops and computers. They are also at a critical stage in their lives, where the pressure of choosing a career path looms before them.
EVF aims to ease some of their concerns by giving them free eye examinations and eyeglasses when needed, so they can have clear vision which is critical to pursuing their studies and achieving their dreams.
Jinky Navo, Essilor Philippines Marketing Manager
“Poor eyesight is a rampant issue among young Filipinos simply because very few are aware on the importance of having a regular eye check-up,” noted Essilor Philippines marketing manager Jinky Navo.
“Through Eye Can Succeed, which we have initiated with our brand ambassador Piolo Pascual, we aim to highlight the importance of good vision in achieving one’s dreams and success.”
As Essilor’s brand ambassador, Piolo is a strong advocate of healthy eyesight for Filipinos. He believes that the campaign will not only help students succeed in the near future, it will also help them perform well in their daily tasks and see life clearly.
He said, “Education plays a huge role in the future of these young Filipinos, and poor eyesight will only hinder their progress in learning. By giving them thorough eye check-ups and access to free prescription eyeglasses, they will no longer struggle with vision problems in their lessons, allowing their natural intelligence to shine through.”
This perspective is shared by Lauren Wyper, Essilor Vision Foundation (EVF) associate director of communications. She said, “It is alarming to learn that many of our target public school students have never had their eyes checked up at all. Launching the Eye Can Succeed campaign here in the Philippines not only helps fulfill the foundation’s mission of enabling Filipinos to have better lives through better sight, but also enables us to spread awareness on the importance of proper eye care through an expanded network consisting of academic institutions, the media, and local campaign ambassador Piolo Pascual.”
Virginia Mambrebe, Rizal High School Principal
Virginia Membrebe, Rizal High School principal, remarked, “We are very grateful and honored for being the first to benefit from EVF’S Eye Can Succeed school tour. Through the free eye check-ups and prescription glasses of the campaign, our students are given a great opportunity to have better vision which is vital for their education.”
The Essilor Vision Foundation is committed to eliminating poor vision and its lifelong consequences, and to providing underprivileged people the opportunity to live a better life through better sight.
For more information about EVF and the Eye Can Succeed advocacy campaign, please visit Essilor’s website at www.essilor.com.ph, and follow @EssilorPH on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
BIC Product (Asia) Pte Ltd, in cooperation with its distributor partner in the Philippines – Filstar Distributors Corporation, is set to kick off its biggest social campaign in Asia, #BICBrightFutures.
“Our main focus, since Kariton Klasrum’s inception, has always been about bringing education to less fortunate children. Through this event, we will be able to show them that a bright future is possible for them as long as they plan for it and persevere to achieve it,” said Efren Peñaflorida, founder of Kariton Klasrum.
“We have always believed that bright futures are written by hand. As adults, many of us have become what we are today because we put pen to paper and wrote down our ambitions. That act of writing down our aspirations makes the dream seem real. Today, we want to inspire less-fortunate children to dream and work for their futures, because after all, everyone deserves a bright future.” said Frederic Dumon, BIC Asia Deputy General Manager.
This concern has led Essilor Vision Foundation (EVF) to team up with leading actor and brand ambassador Piolo Pascual to launch Eye Can Succeed, a program geared at providing free eye check-ups and free prescription eyeglasses to help 10,000 senior high school students pursue higher education and achieve success.
EVF kicked off the advocacy campaign at Rizal High School, which has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest secondary school in the world, by having licensed eye health professionals discuss the importance of healthy vision, proper eye care, and optometry as a career option for Grades 11 and 12 students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) academic strand.
As Essilor’s brand ambassador, Piolo is a strong advocate of healthy eyesight for Filipinos. He believes that the campaign will not only help students succeed in the near future, it will also help them perform well in their daily tasks and see life clearly.
For more information about EVF and the Eye Can Succeed advocacy campaign, please visit Essilor’s website at 
You must be logged in to post a comment.