The Aboitiz Group, onward to the 21st Century
Companies, including sprawling giants, need to continuously adapt to the changing times to last through generations. They need to move along with the tides and ensure that one's business survives.
For the Aboitiz Group, however, it's so much more than that. One of the biggest conglomerates in the country has embarked on a "Great Transformation" growth journey that isn't simply about surviving a changing world but also thriving in it. The result: a maverick “techglomerate” for the 21st century.
At the core of this growth spurt are the company’s people, an intensified commitment to advance business and communities, and a revitalized dedication to a sustainable future.
Essential to this is their OneAboitiz Sustainability Framework, a blueprint for their growth strategy anchored on sustainability.
The framework involves a triple bottom-line approach that balances the interests of people, planet and profit; and works alongside a commitment to aligning business practices with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
What this means on the ground is that the tech innovations the group has planned to underscore growth across all its business units are simultaneously utilized to uplift the communities they serve.
The Aboitiz Foundation
Modernizing resources, revamping services
Aboitiz Foundation and Smart provided training equipment for Aboitiz Smart Coops including Sagip Multi-Purpose Cooperative (right photo). The donated Digiskarte packages and kits contain smartphone, Smart Bro pocket wifi, Smart retailer kits and load wallet.The Aboitiz Group’s commitment to giving back to its communities traces its roots back over a century ago when its forefathers first established their business in Leyte.
Don Ramon Aboitiz, the group's patriarch, began initiating its philanthropic efforts. After decades of giving to various worthy causes in an informal manner, and with the increasing magnitude of assistance needed across the country, the Aboitiz management decided to find a more efficient and effective way of helping.
Thus in 1988, the Aboitiz Group established the Aboitiz Foundation to address the social and economic development needs of marginalized sectors of society.
Today, the foundation, through all the group’s business units, develops and implements corporate social responsibility programs or “CSR 2.0” projects that aim to co-create resilient, safe, empowered, and sustainable communities. These projects are aligned with the group’s core competencies, are scalable nationwide, and create a deeper social impact on the communities and beneficiaries they serve.
One of the projects under the foundation’s Enterprise Development Program is Byaheng Digiskarte, an innovative program benefitting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) for farmers through digitization efforts. The project is in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, the Cooperative Development Authority, and the Department of Trade and Industry.
Under Byaheng Digiskarte is the Aboitiz Smart Coops program. Launched during the pandemic, the program helped cooperatives’ means of livelihood by partnering with PLDT's wireless subsidiary Smart Communications in conducting digital skills training for coop members.
The project is an ICT-based capacity development program designed to help coop members expand their digital skills and knowledge. It essentially promotes the use of basic digital tools such as social media to more complex services such as e-commerce and online payment systems to accelerate the development of their MSMEs.
The Aboitiz Smart Coops Training covered the following topics: smartphone functions and uses; accessing the internet and understanding its uses; identifying social media, messaging, and online transaction apps such as Facebook Marketplace; learning internet safety and protection from scams; and familiarization with mobile money.
Food
Food security is obviously a major global concern and top priority at Pilmico Foods Corporation, the Aboitiz Group's food subsidiary.
To address this and reinforce their commitment to the UN’s second sustainable development goal of Zero Hunger, Pilmico is incorporating innovations within the business to improve efficiencies and help ensure the continuous improvement and creation of products that nourish the lives of customers.
As the group’s flour division celebrates its 60th anniversary milestone, they continue to be one of the key players in the flour manufacturing industry. Pilmico will continue becoming a partner for growth to all its customers and stakeholders with the quality products for the next 60 years.
From hog feeds (Elite XP) to aquaculture (Aquamax) to pet food (Maxime, Woofy, Tommy), Pilmico is always on the lookout to create products that are relevant to the market it serves. In addition, and due to the rise in protein consumption in Asia, Pilmico also caters to a new sector in the industry and another protein alternative, rabbit feeds (Kunemax).
For its Farms division, The Good Meat continues its expansion in Greater Luzon so that more people can have access to safe and high-quality meat.
Sustainability
Sustainability is the long-term ambition driving the Aboitiz Group forward on its Great Transformation growth journey.
It knows that sustainability isn't just a buzzword. It's how things should work to ensure that businesses last through generations. More importantly, it ensures that a business' impact on the environment and greater community is positive. Ecologically sound initiatives are thus necessary to manage this impact.
In the words of Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin Aboitiz, “The Great Transformation is more than just what we need to do today. It’s about who we want to be tomorrow. It’s about looking beyond the present and towards a sustainable future. This is only the beginning.”
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