A testament to the company’s progress in its journey toward being a top ESG telco in the region, PLDT posted the highest Sustainability Perceptions Value (SPV) among all brands listed by Brand Finance in its rankings at US$222 million.
SPV indicates how much brand value a company has that is tied up in sustainability perceptions among stakeholders.
Among the initiatives cited as having contributed to PLDT’s high SPV are the Group’s Decarbonization Roadmap, deployment of solar panels in five PLDT and Smart facilities and expansion of digital infrastructure to democratize access to communications.
Under the Environment pillar, PLDT continues to champion circularity, focusing on plastic and eWaste. Together with private sector partners from the Planet Pillar of the Global Compact Network Philippines (GCNP), the local chapter of the UN Global Compact, PLDT and Smart copresented webinars on enabling a circular economy for MSMEs, and co-led a monthly community drive to promote waste segregation and recycling in Quezon City.
With the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido), EcoWaste Coalition and the Global Economic Facility (GEF), PLDT and Smart also held an e-Waste collection drive at their own offices to increase employee awareness and call on employees to surrender their e-Waste for proper disposal.
Under the Social Pillar, PLDT championed diversity and inclusion in the workplace in its groupwide campaign for the LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in June, which featured seminars on allyship and self-awareness for employees, as well as support for the Pride March in Quezon City through a contingent of LGBTQIA+ employees and allies.
Recently, PLDT and Smart were recognized by the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) as two of five Philippine companies who have completed the Workplace Gender Equality (WGE) Assessment using Gender Equality Assessment, Results and Strategies (GEARS), with People Group leading the follow-through on commitments. Out of 15 Action Plan Commitments, seven have been completed with a focus on Improving Gender Workforce composition, WGE training and recruitment, selection and promotion, whereas eight long-term commitments are in progress.
Helping open opportunities for visually impaired persons, PLDT and Smart, in partnership with non-profit organization ATRIEV, conducted free Android accessibility training via an application
text-to-speech feedback that allows visually impaired persons to use smartphones independently. ATRIEV was established by a group of blind computer enthusiasts to break
barriers and go beyond the limitations of persons with visual impairment.
PLDT and Smart have also linked up with TikTok and the Department of Agriculture -Agricultural
Training Institute (DA-ATI) in boosting farmer and fisherfolk income through the ‘Buy Local Bazaar’ program, furthering the Group’s efforts to uplift the agriculture and fishery sectors through technology-enabled livelihood opportunities.
Under the Governance Pillar, the PLDT Group published its annual Sustainability Report and
participated in various fora to communicate its progress in championing sustainability and spreading the word on the importance of embracing sustainability, undertaking digital
transformation, and aligning business strategies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
PLDT and Smart also emphasized the importance of upholding the company’s corporate governance principles amidst challenges, how customers are pushing for sustainable enterprises, and how digitization will help reduce corruption in the public sector at a business roundtable hosted by GCNP’s Planet Pillar, as well as discussed sustainability global practices and possible areas for collaboration with NTT.
