Globe's Bangon Pinoy enriches lives through CSR

MANILA, Philippines - From providing topnotch service to coming up with unique products for its subscribers, Globe Telecom has certainly had its fair share of success in the industry. But more than just a thriving business, it is also a company that aims to transform and enrich lives through communications via its various CSR projects which it has been steadily working on through the years.

A different approach to CSR

Given that the company hasn’t put up a separate foundation for its altruistic endeavors, it consistently tries to find clever ways to make its CSR projects an integral part of the company’s business operations. In line with its innovative business strategies are Globe’s three main advocacies which focuses on entrepreneurship, education and the environment.

Integrating Globe’s CSR efforts into its business has to do with the company’s thrust to deepen community engagement in helping uplift the lives of the people.  According to Ernest Cu, President and CEO of Globe, “The company establishes deeply-rooted relationships with communities where it operates.” According to Cu, part of their efforts is to create job opportunities such as the company’s caretaker program which requires the security agency assigned for Globe’s cell sites to employ someone who’s from the community where the cell site is located. “We help provide livelihood for the communities and the residents are the beneficiaries of the company’s CSR projects. That’s how we establish and strengthen our engagement,” says Cu.  While CSR and sustainability are almost always perceived as an external program, Cu says that is part of a continuing business transformation. “CSR and sustainability will be increasingly critical in delivering growth not only for the enterprise, but for a much broader community of stakeholders. This certainly brings new challenges for our business, our CSR and sustainability strategies.” 

While the company’s CSR efforts are more geared towards putting up sustainable development projects in the various communities that it serves, the company is also quick to respond to emergency situations just like with the recent devastation brought about by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. In response to this tragedy, the company launched a new program called Bangon Pinoy. However, aside from providing relief goods and assistance to communities that were affected by the storm, Globe hasn’t forgotten to also find suitable development programs that everyone can benefit from in the long run.

Keeping the spirit of bayanihan alive

Jeffrey Tarayao, head of Globe’s community relations and corporate social responsibility, shares that just for Bangon Pinoy activities alone, 700 Globe employees have already volunteered to help out. From clean up duties, repacking relief goods, to visiting fellow Globe employees in affected areas, everyone at Globe has put in time and effort to help out in whatever way they can.

On a wider scale, the Bangon Pinoy team and its army of volunteers have also visited the Gawad Kalinga Camacho community in Marikina to lend a helping hand for the community’s clean up drive. The group also visited Concepcion Integrated School to restore the school’s broadband Internet connection and also bring new computers for the students and faculty members. In addition, the Bangon Pinoy team, with the cooperation of local government units and different church groups, has also set up several Libreng Tawag, Libreng Internet, and Libreng Phone Charging stations in affected areas in Metro Manila and North Luzon. The team is also scheduled to distribute farm implements in Globe Gawad Kalinga Bayan Anihan farms in Luzon.

According to Tarayao, “Bangon Pinoy became a unified way for us in the company to deal with disaster preparedness, disaster relief and rehabilitation. Before, we were more focused on disaster response, but here, we have a very clear concept of what we want to happen in terms of preparing Filipinos to make sure that they are equipped in such times.”

Sustainable projects for Filipino communties

Aside from Bangon Pinoy, the company is also busy with other CSR projects such as Text2Teach, the Internet in Schools program, and the Bridgecom Sa Bayan enterprise development program. In the coming months, it will also be spearheading new CSR projects which will mainly focus on education. The company has also published its first Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report which is modeled in compliance with the internationally recognized guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative or GRI.

Always forward looking and gearing towards achieving sustainable growth, Globe’s CSR and sustainability projects continues to stay true to the company’s mission of transforming and enriching lives through communications. Each project is also a representation of the company’s core values which consist of Customer First, Accountability, Excellence, Innovation, Teamwork, and Integrity.