Business E-Journal: November 2022
Our main activity for this month was the recently concluded Sustainability Forum, which was combined with our Annual General Membership (AGM) Meeting held at Seda Residences, Makati. We will discuss the highlights of our chamber's achievements this year, which are all in the chairperson's report in the next issue but for now, let us focus on our partnership with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has been conducting training for our member-firms in ramping-up capacities for sustainability reporting for free as part of our cooperation agreement.
Through the support of GRI, we published our first installment of the Impact Stories featuring sustainable practices and initiatives of SwissCham members and encouraging others to practice reporting to provide a systematic review of contributions towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This partnership has also enabled us to conduct the Sustainability Forum with no less than the Chairperson of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee, Senator Grace Poe as the keynote speaker. While Senator Poe centered her presentation on the country's various programs and legislative updates for resilient and sustainable economic development pathways for the Philippines, we heard two of our very own member companies (Stamm International and Holcim Philippines) showcasing their contributions to the economy, environment, and people. As many of you have requested, we have secured a copy of the entire keynote speech, which you can read in the cover story.
We are also delighted that our Swiss compatriots in the country are doing some meaningful work in Mindanao through the NAK-Humanitas of Switzerland in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) in building classrooms and sanitary facilities in Davao de Oro. This is indeed a very worthy initiative, and we intend to hold fund-raising activities such as the Ramseuir Fun Golf Day that was recently held in Silang, Cavite. There will be more special events next year as your Board of Directors designated a working committee for this purpose.
For this issue, we are thankful to the contribution of Mario Biscocho (John Clements) for his insights on human capital development in the Philippines. We have likewise featured ERNI for your Swiss software engineering needs; SATECO, which manufactures very precise silicon keypads found in most, if not all, vehicles globally; and IMPACT Acoustic, which transforms thousands of plastic bottles into beautiful and functional acoustic products.
Let me end this brief by inviting all our members to keep us informed of the many activities you do for the economy, environment, and people, including projects with impacts on human rights - the fundamentals of sustainability. Enjoy reading, and as always, feedbacks are very much welcomed.