BPI pushes for Sustainability Awareness Month in June

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is organizing a series of activities in June, in partnership with various local and international institutions, to establish the Philippines’ first Sustainability Awareness Month.

“With four decades of following the principles of People, Planet and Profit since the 1980s, BPI is in a good position to help jumpstart the country’s maiden month-long Sustainability campaign via a Sustainability Awareness Month, or SAM, which we intend to become an annual Philippine tradition,” said BPI President and CEO Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco.

“Through this month-long campaign, we can help Filipinos realize that the Philippines is among the most vulnerable in the world when it comes to natural disasters such as typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.  More importantly, we aim to discuss how companies, communities, and citizens can collectively help tackle the problem of climate change.”

For BPI, sustainability does not stop at encouraging recycling and minimizing consumption of single-use plastics. It also means providing opportunities for financial wellness for individuals, communities, and businesses from different economic backgrounds, as well as financing geared towards a greener economy and resilient society.

A good number of the Bank’s sustainability efforts have centered on green financing covering big and small projects related to Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and Climate Resilience which includes Green Buildings, as well as Sustainable Agriculture.

Aside from that, the Bank helps support small businesses, self-employed micro-entrepreneurs as well as overseas Filipinos. BPI encourages savings, financial responsibility, investing and preparing for a financially secure future.

“More than just helping our clients attain better financial returns, BPI strives to achieve sustainability by creating shared value for its stakeholders that include clients and shareholders, employees and our communities. The faster we transition into sustainable lifestyle and habits, the faster we see economic returns not only in every Filipino’s home but for the country as well,” Limcaoco said.

He believes that achieving economic gains that benefit various stakeholders through Environmental, Social, and Governance-related projects is key to achieving true Sustainability.

In celebrating June as Sustainability Awareness Month with the theme “Banking on Sustainability for a Lasting Future,” BPI has lined up various online activities for its clients, employees, and communities, to ensure that sustainability is championed across its key stakeholders.

BPI is supporting the International Finance Corporation as it continues to espouse the use of the Building Resilience Index (BRI) as well as the green building certification standard called EDGE, short for Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies, in an event slated on June 9, 2022.

A forum dubbed Environmental and Climate Risks: Identification to Mitigation will be held a week later, on June 16. Speakers will come from BPI, Climate Change Commission (CCC), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and BPI MS Insurance.

BPI’s social development arm, BPI Foundation, and Bayan Academy will launch the BPI Small Enterprise Acceleration Lab (BPI Seal) Track 1: Small Enterprise Growth Agenda (SEGA) “Empowering small and micro enterprises to achieve sustainable development” on June 17.

The Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) will also lead the discussion Managing Transition Risks for Sustainability, scheduled on June 24.  

On June 28, PIC Philippines and BPI will lead a presentation on Sustainability Imperatives for the Swine Industry and Philippine Economic Updates.

Capping the roster of special events in June, a webinar by the Philippine Star will feature BPI and other subject matter experts to discuss From Surviving to Thriving: The Making of a Sustainable Philippines.

“Even with the recent rise of digital banking, access to financial services remains a significant barrier to prosperity for majority of our fellow Filipinos.  Aligned with our aspiration to help build a better Philippines – one family, one community at a time, we consciously strive to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth for every Filipino,” Limcaoco added.

For the third consecutive year, BPI has just been named the Best Sustainable Bank in the Philippines by FinanceAsia, one of the region’s leading finance publications.

BPI has also won sustainability awards by Global Finance for the second year in a row with the 2022 awards for Financial Leadership in Sustaining Communities in the Asia Pacific Region and Best Bank for Sustainable Finance in the Philippines.