Local artists and celebrities have joined the cause to protect and preserve the environment as the leading telco and digital services provider PLDT Inc. and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. announced its continued and stronger commitment in creating a more sustainable future for families, communities, and the country.
Singer-actress Pops Fernandez, along with musical artists Joey Ayala, Unique Salonga, Rice Lucio, and Telay Robles, have joined hands with PLDT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan and newly-appointed PLDT Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Chaye Cabal-Revilla, at the launch of PLDT’s Sustainability Program, dubbed “Gabay Kalikasan.”
The event signaled the opening of a three-day Sustainability Fair at the Legazpi Street entrance of PLDT Makati General Office last week which also coincided with the National Climate Change Awareness Week and the 91st anniversary of PLDT. At the same time, a collaborative Gabay Kalikasan street artwork by renowned muralist and environmental advocate AG Sano, who led and created “SmART for Nature,” was unveiled. The 145-feet mural covers the exterior of PLDT Makati General Office and was a joint effort between Sano and PLDT-Smart. #SmartPlanet also introduced a phone recycling system that presents a proper way of reusing discarded mobile devices to avoid harmful effects of electronic waste on people’s health and on the environment.
Pangilinan said, “We as Filipinos have a powerful motivation to be active when it comes to taking care of our planet. We are at the frontlines of climate change. Several recent international studies have warned that the Philippines is among the countries that are being most adversely affected by the changing climate. Let us take action to protect our planet. And let us create hope for a better future for our people.”
At the helm of the newly-institutionalised PLDT-Smart Sustainability Group, PLDT SVP and Smart Chief Financial Officer Revilla said, “PLDT and Smart go beyond business. Caring for our environment is just as important as taking care of our people and hitting our profit targets. The impact of climate change affects everyone pervasively. This includes our safety, our health, our existence.”
She added, “At this critical point for our environment, we commit ourselves to provide impassioned, stronger, and more proactive campaigns that will allow us to conduct our business in ways that will secure the future of our children. And to protect these future generations, it has become crucial that we protect our home, our Earth. More than for compliance, we want Sustainability embedded in PLDT and Smart’s DNA and culture,” Cabal-Revilla concluded.
