JAZA cites work alignment with SDGs

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp. chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala recently put the spotlight on companies that are stepping up efforts to align their work with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

Zobel said while most companies are judged by profit and loss statements, it “was equally important to look at how companies can contribute to issues like employment or health and be able to put a framework around it.”

He said it is time for private corporations to be recognized for such efforts.

“My thinking continued to evolve: using the concept of shared value from Harvard School… about beginning to align the goals of the company with the development goals of the country.”

Zobel shared the journey of Ayala on sustainability in an informal chat with CEOs and high-level executives held recently at the Shangri-La Hotel at the Fort.

 The CEO SDG Circle Forum is one of the major initiatives of the Global Compact Network Philippines (GCNP) this year.

GCNP is the local entity of the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary initiative whose primary goal is to inspire and promote collaboration primarily among business corporations by encouraging the alignment of strategies and operations with 10 universal principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.

Ayala Corp. chief finance officer and managing director Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, explained why SMEs can follow the sustainable path.

With SMEs contribute to 99 percent of the country’s employment they  only need  to take one or two SDGs that are relevant to their business to start with.

He said it is more important to find out what would work well for the business so that it can also help grow the business and the community it operates in.

“It is about building business models around sustainability,” he said.