PBSP calls on businesses to foster social conscience

CEBU, Philippines — The Philippine Business and Social Progress (PBSP) is calling on establishments to join its cause in doing business with high social conscience.

“We encourage companies to take a look and have an open mind,” said Jose Antonio Y. Aboitiz, PBSP Visayas Regional executive committee chairman and trustee, calling on the business community to practice good business by evolving in professional social corporate responsibility platform.

Now on its 30th year, PBSP-Visayas is strengthening its foothold as the leader for organized philanthropy.

In an interview with Aboitiz during PBSP’s 30th Anniversary celebration held at the Bai Hotel, he said now that corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become mainstream, which means businesses are embracing the CSR practice, it is also important that companies can be professionally guided on how to effectively implement CSR programs, like environmental compliance and engage employees in the spirit of voluntarism, among others.

At present, PBSP-Visayas has more or less 70 member companies and organizations. It moves to expanding its membership-based in the region, Aboitiz added.

“By introducing the concept of inclusive business, we provide a new mode of expressing corporate citizenship that creates shared value – enabling business to fulfill its profit goals while affecting positive change in the lives of the poor,” he stressed.

Besides, Aboitiz explained that participating in a broader scale CSR movement, does not only give goodwill to companies, but it also builds good reputation for them in the community.

“The mainstreaming of CSR is probably PBSP’s most enduring legacy. PBSP in the Visayas certainly helped to bring this about. Many companies learned how to do it through our engagements.

Many other foundations learned from our systems,” Aboitiz noted.

PBSP is the largest corporate-led social development foundation in the Philippines.

Committed to poverty reduction, PBSP is the first of its kind in Asia leading the promotion and practice of corporate social responsibility.