Connect with us

Ethical Biz

Holcim pushes for more women in workforce to drive performance

Holcim Philippines, Inc. has been recognizing employees who significantly contribute to business performance aligned with its core values. In over a decade that the company has implemented its Saludo employee recognition program, four women have won the top prize—the Mahusay Employee of the Year award.

Published

on

Since 2008 building solutions provider Holcim Philippines, Inc. has been recognizing employees who significantly contribute to business performance aligned with its core values. In over a decade that the company has implemented its Saludo employee recognition program, four women have won the top prize—the Mahusay Employee of the Year award.

The latest female Holcim Philippines employee to win this top award is Luningning Donato, an engineer heading the quality assurance team of the company’s plant in Norzagaray Bulacan. Donato was recognized last January for leading 2020 initiatives that improved the quality of products, raised efficiency of operations, and generated substantial savings.

Conferring its highest employee award to a female employee is important in Holcim Philippines’ efforts to attract and retain more women. It shows that in a company with over a thousand employees who are mostly men, women are provided the same opportunities to excel and be recognized for their contributions.

Holcim Philippines is keen on diversifying its talent pool of, which only 21 percent are women in 2020. The company believes that improving gender diversity can enrich the company with new perspectives that trigger innovative ideas and approaches that boost performance.

The company’s top management is leading this drive. In a message to the company for National Women’s Month this March, Holcim Philippines President and CEO Horia Adrian reiterated that the organization will to push for more female talents to enter and thrive in the company.

“I would like to see more women empowered in our company. I would like to see more women in leadership positions, operations and the market. I am convinced they will help us build a better company,” he said.

This mindset from the top management reflects on the initiatives implemented to make the company more welcoming to women such as building more female lavatories and breast feeding stations in all its sites. The company also requires a female candidate to be included in all of its recruitment for vacant positions. Furthermore, Holcim Philippines regularly holds National Women’s Month celebration at all sites to show appreciation for female employees’ contributions.

The company already has some notable achievements since it focused on improving diversity and inclusion. For instance, a woman heads its plant in Mabini, Batangas. And the company’s Senior Vice President for Finance and Vice Presidents for Strategy, Legal and Compliance, and Communications are women.

Another woman holding a top leadership post is Det Tansingco, a Senior Vice President for Organization and Human Resources. She believes that it is important to show women that they can have a successful career in an industrial company like Holcim Philippines.

“Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics or (STEM) are fields that are the building materials industry heavily gets its talent from. These are dominated by men not just in the Philippines, but all over the world. To get more women into these disciplines, we need to show female talents that they can succeed in these as well,” she said.

Tansingco said that for the past four years, the company has been sharing the stories of its excellent female talents on Holcim Philippines’ social media account during National Women’s Month. This year, Holcim Philippines featured Donato and other female leaders responsible for initiatives to improve the company’s environmental performance, create new digital platforms to engage customers, work with communities, and maximize the efficiency of operations to serve the market.

Tansingco is hopeful the positive reception to these campaigns will help the company attract more female talents, make current ones stay, and encourage the men in the organization to help develop the next generation of lady leaders.

“Sustainability and innovation are two of our focus areas in growing the company. We need people who have the curiosity and passion to drive these. Expanding our talent pool improves our ability to get people with these values. Through our campaigns, we’d like inspire female employees that they have a place in STEM and show that our company welcomes them,” she added.

Tansingco is confident that the company’s consistent efforts to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion will help it sustain gains in this area and develop more female leaders.

“We look forward to having more women join Holcim Philippines and add their perspective in transforming the company for the better,” she said.

Ethical Biz

Aircrafted KIDS initiative of Emirates reaches 700 young students across Asia

With 1300 bags already distributed across Africa, the Asia Aircrafted KIDS delivery is part of a larger initiative by Emirates to repurpose and upcycle materials for the benefit of children across the globe.

Published

on

Supporting children’s education and making meaningful connections within the communities it serves, Emirates has engaged with several educational entities across Asia; to provide 700 handmade schoolbags and essential stationery supplies directly to young students. Each schoolbag is a piece of history—a limited-edition bag from Emirates’ Aircrafted range, made from the fabrics and parts of Emirates’ iconic aircraft.

With 1300 bags already distributed across Africa, the Asia Aircrafted KIDS delivery is part of a larger initiative by Emirates to repurpose and upcycle materials for the benefit of children across the globe.  

Aircrafted Kids by Emirates goes to Asia

In India, Emirates collaborated with Smile Foundation India, a respected institution that provides education, healthcare, and livelihood programs to children aged between 6-14 years. In Bangladesh, Emirates partnered with Kanan, Thikana (Shelter Home), and Ahsania Mission Shishu Nagari – three sister entities across Dhaka that provide shelter for women and children, and a safe place to nurture education and wellbeing. In Pakistan, Emirates worked with SOS Children’s Villages, a renowned entity which serves local communities by creating a nurturing and inspirational space for financially disadvantaged youths to continue their education. In the Philippines, Emirates has been a long-time partner of Virlanie Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to help disadvantaged children reach their full potential and reintegrate them into society. Through the Emirates Airline Foundation, Emirates has a long history of supporting children’s welfare programs, and Aircrafted Kids is an extension of this work.

Emirates has a local office in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, so each entity was visited by the Emirates representatives who helped pack the bags and distribute them and were eager to connect with the organizations who do such important work in the community. Inside the bags, Emirates provided school supplies such as stationary, calculators and essentials, as well as a variety of books that can be shared throughout schools.

The next stop on the Aircrafted Kids schoolbags trail is Egypt, with more destinations in the MENA region to follow.

The making of Aircrafted Kids schoolbags

As part ofan environmental strategy that includes responsible consumption, Emirates committed to repurposing more than 50,000 kilograms of materials, from 205 aircraft that are undergoing a cabin interior refit and refresh. The team at Emirates Engineering brainstormed a myriad of ways in which the old materials could be reused and upcycled and settled on a range of sturdy backpacks. The high-quality seat fabric of Emirates Economy Class seats is 95% wool and 5% nylon, a flat weave structure sourced from Germany and Ireland which is ideal for upcycling due to its durability and non-flammable nature.

In a dedicated workshop at Emirates, a team of 14 EngineeringMaintenance Assistants creatively designed and tailored a whole range of backpacks for children of different ages. The Emirates Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand team then identified charitable entities, schools and foundations, where the bags could be distributed for most impact, communicating with the NGOs on what their preferences would be. The teams spent weeks researching styles, ensuring the bags were safe and comfortable for children to use. Across all the bag designs, the fabrics were professionally laundered, then further deep cleaned by hand, leather-conditioned for the accents, and thoroughly disinfected before being sewn into unique pieces. Brand new lining was added to the bags, along with functional zippers and adjustable straps, before being packed into specially branded ‘Aircrafted Kids’ boxes and shipped to their final destinations.

With the transport and logistics fully supported by Emirates’ SkyCargo teams, and dnata Logistics across the continents – Aircrafted Kids by Emirates connected the community of employees within Emirates to achieve a meaningful goal.

Aircrafted by Emirates Limited Edition Luggage for sale

Emirates fans can also get involved in this ‘connecting communities’ initiative, by purchasing limited edition luggage in the coming months, as the Aircrafted by Emirates retail range prepares to launch a second phase of the capsule collection. Like the first collection, which sold out in a matter of days – proceeds after costs are donated to Emirates Airline Foundation supporting humanitarian projects around the world. Customers and fans can also donate to Emirates Airline Foundation any time, and help children in need.

Continue Reading

BizNews

Consumers value animal welfare more than environmental sustainability when buying meat and dairy products – study

While consumers consider sustainability important, other factors such as taste, quality, and animal welfare take precedence in their purchasing decisions.

Published

on

The treatment of animals rates higher than green issues when consumers choose meat and dairy products.  

That’s according to a new study, which suggests that while consumers consider sustainability important, other factors such as taste, quality, and animal welfare take precedence in their purchasing decisions.

On product labels, consumers valued information regarding animal welfare, food safety, and health and nutrition. The results can help producers to market particularly sustainably produced food products in a more targeted way and make them more attractive to consumers.

The study was conducted across five European countries—Czechia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK to identify the attributes that are most important to consumers buying meat or dairy products.

Taking part in an online survey, 3,192 participants were asked to rate the importance of 18 different factors when shopping for meat and dairy products on a scale from 1 (not at all important) to 5 (extremely important):

  • ·Attributes – freshness, quality/taste, healthy eating, nutrition, price, processing, special offers, convenience of use/preparation, and familiarity of brand.
  • ·Animal welfare attributes – animal welfare, outdoor-reared/free range, and pasture-fed.
  • ·Attributes related to environmental sustainability – locally produced, sustainable packaging, food miles, carbon footprint, and organic.
  • ·Social sustainability – Fair trade or producer/farmer fairly paid.

Across all surveyed countries, consumers consistently prioritised freshness, quality/taste, and animal welfare as the most important attributes. In contrast, environmental factors such as food miles, carbon footprint, and organic production were deemed less important in influencing purchasing decisions. However, sustainability labels were perceived as helpful among consumers.

Study co-author Dr Andy Jin, Senior Lecturer in Risk Management in the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Our study highlights the complex interplay of factors that influence consumer behaviour when buying meat and dairy products. Consumers indicated that information related to animal welfare, food safety, and health and nutrition was considered more important than environmental sustainability when making food choices.

“The findings demonstrate the importance of labelling strategies that encompass multiple aspects of product attributes, beyond environmental considerations alone.”

The implications of the research extend further than consumers to policymakers, producers, and retailers in the food industry who are striving to meet evolving consumer demands for more sustainable products.

Dr Jin added: “Labels on their own are not enough to change behaviour, especially for consumers who have low or no behavioural intention to buy sustainable meat or dairy products.

“These results should be translated into additional policy measures, such as nudges or behavioral interventions, helping individuals translate their attitudes into behavior and facilitating the choice of sustainably produced products.”

The research, published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, was conducted by the universities of Portsmouth and Newcastle in the UK, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, University of Córdoba in Spain, Mendel University in Czech Republic and Agroscope from Switzerland.

Continue Reading

Ethical Biz

Blackbough founder Jemina Ty leads environmental awareness campaign with locals

The Blackbough team, composed of young, creative, and passionate individuals who champion various causes such as marine life conservation and environmental preservation, includes team members based on Siargao Island.

Published

on

In the picturesque paradise of Siargao Island, Jemina Ty, the creative force behind the globally celebrated swimwear brand Blackbough, takes the helm as the leader spearheading a sustainability campaign, hand in hand with the local community.

With its pristine islands, stunning white sand beaches, and sprawling coconut fields, Siargao Island has captivated beach-lovers and adventure-seekers from all over the world. However, this idyllic destination in the southeastern region of the Philippines is facing threats due to plastic pollution and environmental degradation. In response, Blackbough recently organized a beach cleanup campaign to protect Siargao Island and raise awareness among locals and tourists alike.

Ty pointed out, “By 2050, there’s a good chance that we’ll see more plastic in the ocean than fish. That’s why through this initiative, we hope to create a chain reaction and encourage people to be more mindful of their actions and to make choices that nurture the environment.”

Under Ty’s leadership, Blackbough became a widely followed international swimwear brand with a heart for sustainability. The company is committed to reducing its environmental footprint by using recycled nylon, investing in ethical factories, repurposing scrap fabrics to accessories, and incorporating recyclable and reusable packaging options. By offering stylish and eco-friendly swimwear, Blackbough encourages customers to make more sustainable choices.

“At Blackbough, we believe that every journey towards sustainability begins with a single step. Leveraging Blackbough’s global presence, we aim to showcase the beauty of our Philippine islands and the importance of taking care of them.” 

The Blackbough Swim Team led by Chief Executive Officer and Founder Jemina Ty accumulated a total of 100 sacks of plastic waste and debris during their coastal clean-up activity at Malinao Beach, General Luna, Siargao.

The beach cleanup event took place at Malinao Beach, General Luna drawing over a hundred volunteers from diverse backgrounds, including tourists, locals, and stakeholders. Their collective effort resulted in the removal of 100 sacks of plastic waste and debris, offering participants a firsthand perspective on the detrimental effects of pollution on the island.

The Blackbough team, composed of young, creative, and passionate individuals who champion various causes such as marine life conservation and environmental preservation, includes team members based on Siargao Island. Ty acknowledged their commitment, saying, “Siargao is not just a location for us; it’s also home to many of our amazing team members. I recognize that it’s my responsibility to contribute positively to the communities and societies where we operate.”

Beyond cleaning up the beach, Blackbough’s campaign is a call to arms for travelers, environmental enthusiasts, and conscious consumers to begin their sustainability journey. Siargao Island is just the starting point for Blackbough’s beach cleanup initiatives, marking the launch of their Clean Beach Campaign, a series of beach cleanup activities in collaboration with various local communities across the Philippine islands as part of Blackbough’s advocacy for sustainability and environmental protection.

Ty believes in being proactive when it comes to addressing environmental issues. Ty emphasized, “I think that we should not wait for our beaches to reach a critical level of degradation before we act. We hope for everyone’s support as we pursue our mission to protect the country’s beaches. Together, we can make a lasting impact and inspire others to join us on this journey.”

As part of its journey towards sustainability, Blackbough has launched a fundraising drive dubbed “Donate to Clean our Coasts” on its website’s checkout page, running until mid-October. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised through this campaign will be dedicated to supporting the International Coastal Cleanup Philippines, a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to cleaning up marine debris and promoting ocean conservation. Blackbough has also pledged to match the cumulative donations made during the month of September.

To learn more about Blackbough’s fundraising initiative, please visit https://blackboughswim.com/pages/our-commitment.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Like us on Facebook

Trending