KCFI Presents in AmCham Sustainability and CSR Summit
BY MARIANNE YZABELLE P. LARON | June 11, 2019
Putting premium on social responsibility, sustaining multi-sectoral collaboration, and prioritizing quality education for the children were the key messages of Rina Lopez Bautista, President and Executive Director of Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI), as she addressed fellow executives during a sustainability and CSR summit hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce Philippines (AmCham) – North Luzon Chapter last May 21 at the Clark Marriott Hotel in Pampanga. The event entitled “Empowering Businesses by Gearing-Up Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility through Collaboration” was hosted by AmCham Philippines Executive Director Ebb Hinchliffe and AmCham North Luzon President Ralph Morales.
Bautista delivered the keynote speech where she highlighted the efforts of KCFI in helping uplift the quality of basic education in the country and explained that CSR initiatives should be embedded in a company’s business operation.
“Businesses should make doing good a central part of their business and not just by giving to charity, said Bautista. “It is prioritizing environmental and social challenges, putting it at the front seat and not in the back burner of the organization like another [corporate social responsibility] (CSR) initiative or philanthropic activity.”
Towards sustainability. Filipino and international executives attended AmCham’s Sustainability and CSR Summit (Photo courtesy of AmCham North Luzon)
Bautista also emphasized the importance of collaboration amongst businesses in addressing social challenges especially in education. “I must say though that what Knowledge Channel Foundation is doing now is something that we do not want to do alone and cannot do alone,” Bautista said, “facing this social challenge of preparing our children for the 21st century is everyone’s responsibility, all sectors both public and private need to be on board,” she added.
ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, Inc. (ALKFI) Managing Director Susan Afan also presented during the event. She reiterated the sense of urgency in addressing today’s societal concerns with respect and care in mind. “[By practicing] bayanihan or synergy, we can make a difference from the bottom up,” she said.
Aside from KCFi and ALKFI, nine other foundations and non-profit organizations presented during the event and shared their experiences and best practices in the fields of human resources, environment (e.g. disaster resilience, climate change), social work, education, and human rights.