Philippine IT and Telecom Firms are ‘Going Green’

By Alexander Villafania [June 16, 2010]

MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA – Thanks to the Al Gore documentary An Inconvenient Truth and environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace, government agencies and private companies have begun implementing projects aimed at protecting the environment and mitigating human impact.

High tech companies are also jumping into the fray. Some companies have started by incorporating environment-friendly materials in their next line of products, such as Apple’s lead-free devices and Samsung’s energy-efficient home appliances. In some cases, they utilize alternative energy sources for their operations.

But it doesn’t stop there. These companies are also holding their own green projects that involve their employees as well as the community they belong to. They essentially want to give back to the community and to the environment. More than this, these companies know the long-term economic impact of a damaged or weakened ecology.

Besides, “green is in”, according to Philippine Green Building Council President Christopher Cruz de la Cruz.

Here are some of the list of these companies and a few of their own green corporate projects:

• Globe Telecom Goes Green – The company started implementing environment programs in 2005 with solid waste management and used lead acid battery disposal. Part of this is the Eco-Action project where the company will be planting 250,000 trees in the next five years.  

• Smart Communications Alternative Power for Cell Sites – In 2009, Smart Communications won the “Green Mobile Award” during the GSM Association Conference in Barcelona. Smart was among the pioneers of using alternative power for their cell sites. Forty-one sites are powered by wind energy while 27 are hybrid of wind and solar.

• Sony Road to Zero – The Japanese electronics giant has a long-term global project aimed at reducing their greenhouse gas emission in their manufacturing process in the next five years.

• Nokia Recycling Project – Nokia commands the biggest mobile phone markets in the Philippines so it is just obvious to note that Nokia would produce the most number of discarded mobile devices. Nokia Philippines implemented a recycling program by putting trash bins in several malls where people can discard their used electronic devices, even non-Nokia items.

• HP My Backyard – In 2009, HP Philippines tied with the Center of Excellence Public Elementary School in Tondo, Manila for its My Backyard project, which inculcates ecology safeguards among students. They also had celebrity singer Charice Pempengco sing their jingle.

• Intel Philippines – Prior to the departure of Intel’s manufacturing plant in the Philippines, the chip giant has had various CSR projects that dealt with the environment. They are among the companies with a long list of environment-related initiatives, which they integrated into the International Science and Engineering Fair.

• IBM Smart Planet – It’s not exactly a CSR project for the environment but what IBM does is to get clients to implement their own cost-effective, energy-efficient and high capacity IT infrastructure. The result in adapting the IBM Smart Planet would be lower energy utilization, and low carbon emission.

Having a CSR project helps a company get closer to its employees and with communities that are in need of help. But it becomes even nobler when the environment is put on top of all priorities. The smallest project dedicated to the environment can go a long way.