By Marinel E. Peroy
Putting the spotlight on adopting sustainability compliance and practices for modern-day businesses, the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Philippines (ICCPI) successfully spearheaded its first edition of The Philippine Sustainability Now Forum 2024 last May 16 (Thursday).
Held at the Dusit Thani Manila, the event gathered industry stakeholders which aimed to support the acceleration of growth as well as prioritize the transition towards a resilient, equitable, and sustainable economy. This event was co-presented by San Miguel Corporation, and in partnership with the Philippine Energy Alliance (PE2), the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI), and CRIF Philippines.
With this forum, attendees get to navigate through the multiple sectors for having a sustainable nation and also foster connections that would drive economic and environmental progress moving forward.
Advocating Sustainable tourism
According to one of the speakers, Ms. Elvie Sanches-Quiazon, PCCI Regional Governor and GM Vivera Hotel & Resorts emphasized that the tourism industry in 2023 was heavily focused on sustainability. Some of the initiatives are green aviation fuels that mitigate the impact of air travel; emphasis on biodiversity conservation, and slow travel and staycations which gain traction leading to reduced negative impacts on mass tourism.
Sanches-Quiazon also shared how the Philippines is progressing towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ranking 95th among 163 countries.
With collaboration and proper implementation of policies, sustainable tourism is achievable in the Philippines. Likewise, having stakeholders’ engagement and a robust relationship with the government are highly recommended.
Moreover, the event’s highlight was the Sustainability Pledge — where all guests in the vicinity took a vow to prioritize sustainability practices such as minimizing waste, conserving energy, reducing carbon footprint, and being an example to others as an advocate of sustainability. This part of the forum was also timely as May serves as the Month of the Ocean.
The event was filled with exchanges of insights, helpful experiences, and extraordinary ideas. Indeed, the audience was able to garner nuggets of wisdom as an entrepreneur, a staunch supporter, or simply an individual who creates an impact (big or small) as an epitome of sustainability.
The ICCPI: The Philippine Sustainability Now Forum 2024’s notable speakers include: Commissioner of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-Atty. Javey Francisco-, Director of the Energy Utilization Management Bureau, Patrick T. Aquino, CEO of ItalPinas Development Corporation, Inc., Architect Romolo Nati, CEO of iONTEK Power Solutions Corporation- Miles Ballestar and CEO of Sunsmart Solar Power Technology- Jenny Maano, among others.
The event was also sponsored by the Araneta Group, Security Bank, Dusit Thani Manila, Stratbase, DATEM Inc., Accenture, GFTC International Trading, Sunsmart Solar Power Technology, Inc., Eastern Communications, and iONTEK Power Solutions Corporation, respectively.
