HOPE founder Nanette Medved-Po bags Asia Society Game Changer Award
One of my palanggas, Nanette Medved-Po, founder and chairwoman of HOPE and Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX), will receive this year’s Asia Society Game Changer Award on Oct. 27 at Cipriana 25, Broadway in New York.
The prestigious award-giving body recognizes individuals, organizations, and movements that have inspired, enlightened, and shown true leadership in areas that reflect Asia Society’s core pillars of policy and business, arts and culture, and education.
Nanette will be cited for impacting many through her initiatives that improve public school education, providing agriculture interventions for smallholder farmers, and creating environmental programs that address the problem of plastic waste and carbon sequestration.
Previous honorees included Aga Khan; Alibaba founder Jack Ma; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai; tennis champion and advocate Naomi Osaka; award-winning architect I.M. Pei; and world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
The Asia Society Asia Game Changers Awards & Gala will honor a powerful group of climate change and sustainability leaders. The other awardees are former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and COP26 President Alok Sharma.
“It is an incredible honor to be one of the recipients of this year’s Asia Society Game Changer Awards. I hope that any work we have done might inspire others to be unafraid to try and be the change they want to see in the world,” Nanette.
Nanette launched HOPE in 2012 with a mission to demonstrate that businesses that invest in social good would be rewarded by the market.
In partnership with the Department of Education, the HOPE in a Bottle product commits 100 percent of profits to building public school classrooms.
In 2014, the organization expanded into agriculture interventions to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers.
This led to the “Million Tree” program, which not only provides free high-quality coconut seedlings and market access to farmers, but also builds 100% additional carbon sequestration capacity in the Philippines, which is in one of the areas worst hit by the climate crisis.
In 2018 another environmental program was introduced through “Aling Tindera,” which engages women micro-entrepreneurs to purchase plastic waste from their communities so that these do not leak into nature, and can be fed back into the circular economy. This market-based mechanism has allowed companies around the world to voluntarily take responsibility for their plastic footprints, while providing economic benefits that lead to behavior change.
Many local governments have partnered with HOPE and PCX to help ease their heavily taxed waste systems. In 2020, PCX published the very first Plastic Pollution Reduction Standard, which provides a framework for the implementation of a credible and verifiable plastic offsetting program.
HOPE was the first certified BCorp in the Philippines and has consistently won “Best for the World” each year since its certification.
We are so proud of what Nanette is doing and may she continue the good work she has been doing for some time now. Take your well deserve bow, Nanette!
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Christmas in a cup
Can you feel Christmas in the air, dahlings?
Seattle’s Best Coffee gets everyone in a festive mood with the release of its newest beverage offerings: The Javanilla Holiday Collection.
The Javanilla is a signature Seattle’s Best Coffee beverage that’s rich and smooth with a shot of espresso, ice cream, and milk topped with whipped cream, making it a delightful holiday treat in a cup.
The Javanilla Holiday creation comes in two new flavors: The Salted Caramel and KitKat Javanilla, and the signature Classic Javanilla. All these drinks combine the delectable taste of coffee and ice cream. With its rich and thick texture, these holiday must-haves will definitely give you that unforgettable coffee ice cream indulgence.
The Classic Javanilla is made of coffee ice cream with espresso shot, and milk finished with whipped cream on top.
The Salted Caramel Javanilla is an espresso-based drink made with creamy salted caramel ice cream and milk, topped with whipped cream.
The KitKat Javanilla is a refreshing drink made with coffee ice cream combined with KitKat spread and espresso shot. It is topped with whipped cream and chopped KitKat chocolate wafer for that ultimate chocolate experience, palanggas.
The new Javanilla Holiday Collection is available at Seattle’s Best Coffee.
