FOR corporate do-gooders, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is just the start. The new trend among large and well-established corporate organizations is to integrate sustainable-development programs—not just mere philanthropic activities—to their core businesses.

Considered a notch higher than CSR programs, sustainable-development reporting is the voluntary disclosure of information to the public about the nonfiscal performance of corporations over a certain period of time.

In a nutshell, this documentation of a company’s social development and environmental practices—which is usually released together with annual financial reports—delves on their businesses’ lasting environmental, social and economic impact.

With this, companies are perceived to be more transparent and accountable to their stakeholders and investors, customers, business partners and the very community where they operate.

In the Philippines, such reporting is not as pronounced as it is overseas. Nonetheless, it has become the cornerstone of Manila Water Co. Inc.’s value system. The company, which services the east zone of urban Metro Manila, has incorporated sustainable-development activities into its business goals since it started operations in 1997.

According to Manila Water president Antonino T. Aquino, venturing into corporate social and environmental initiatives has been a key strategy in achieving its business goals. This is the reason it created its own sustainable-development department.

“We are extremely proud of the fact that our company boasts of being the only local company that annually publishes a sustainability report based on the Global Reporting Initiative, the internationally accepted index of corporate social and environmental performance. We have been publishing this report for the past three years now,” Aquino said in an interview with BusinessMirror.      

Integrating sustainability

FOR a giant utilities company like the Manila Water, sticking to its corporate sustainability is no easy task and probably just as difficult as performing its core business of providing water services to its more than 5 million customers.

A closer look at the highly decentralized organization reveals that the whole service area of Manila Water is divided into eight business areas or branches wherein all the customer needs are addressed. Each branch is then partitioned into district metering zones handled by a territory, which is in turn subdivided into district metering areas managed and operated like “mini-Manila Water” companies.

“Everything is broken and drilled down into manageable sizes,” said Lyn R. Almario, Manila Water’s sustainable-development manager. “Similarly, we perform our sustainable-development programs this way.”

Among the sustainable-development initiatives of the east zone concessionaire are the Kabuhayan Para Sa Barangay (KPSB) projects, the Tubig Para Sa Barangay (Water for the Poor) program, watershed management, the Lingap projects and corporate volunteerism.

“They are all part of our everyday business within the territories,” Almario stressed. “They are not viewed as tasks independent of our ordinary functions; rather as extensions to the services that we provide to the communities.”

Serving communities

WHILE organic growth through generation of profits is the name of the game for any service-oriented company, Manila Water ensures that it also gives importance to the local areas where it operates.

In fact, Almario said the company has “always maintained that the communities are the core of our business.”

Since the nature of its business is a basic necessity, she noted that “it is but imperative that we provide it to all our customers.”

Indeed, Manila Water always modifies its Tubig Para Sa Barangay program which, to date, has benefited more than 1.2 million people, or a quarter of the concessionaire’s customer base, to further meet the needs of the communities it serves. The Ayala-owned service company is at present embarking on its latest innovation of providing complete water and sanitation facilities.

“Manila Water offers to advance the cost of installation of pipes and faucets after-the-water meter, as well as construction of toilets,” said Almario.

Apart from seeing to it that all its coverage sites have proper water supply, Manila Water makes sure that it creates an impact on the lives of the people within its concession area—particularly on poor or low-income communities—through its sustainable-development thrust.

“We always believe in providing the same level of service to all our customers regardless of class,” Almario reiterated. “These communities, of course, are the ones that have the least capability to afford services they need.” 

To help better the lives of its underprivileged customers, Manila Water initiated the KPSB project—a capacity-building program engaging community-based cooperatives to provide products or services that are part of the Manila Water supply chain. 

Launched in 2005, this program has already seven cooperatives for partners and assisted 18 other communities. They are provided by the company with the initial capital they need, as well as proper training and supervision, to fabricate products such as a meter set assembly, meter protectors and sign holders, to name a few.

To ensure that there is no market risk involved on the part of the local-based cooperatives, the water concessionaire buys everything they produce for as long as the quality is right and that they comply with the schedule. To date, the water firm has issued more than P18 million worth of purchase orders to these cooperatives.

Such a continuous viable-livelihood program “has been proven to not only improve the quality of life of people through jobs generation, but also create a subindustry that will support the water sector,” according to Aquino.

Almario added that these projects also bring to the community “a renewed sense of empowerment, and the belief that there is hope after all.”

Safeguarding water sources

Since it is the environment that provides the basic resources integral in its operations, Manila Water works to ensure that threats to water sources are properly addressed. For instance, it has invested on watershed management as part of its corporate-responsibility initiatives.

To help protect water reservoirs across the country, Manila Water is pushing massive reforestation efforts in coordination with several other agencies, both public and private institutions. 

“We are currently focusing on Ipo Dam, and we are always on the lookout for partners to help us reforest this badly damaged watershed,” Almario said.

“Also, we are developing programs on recycling water, renewable energy and groundwater protection and other environmental programs.”

Although Manila Water is mandated only to provide up-to-the-meter facilities, it has expanded its service to also make available water and sanitation facilities to public institutions, including schools, markets, hospitals, orphanages and even jails.

Through its Lingap projects the company has rehabilitated water lines, installed drinking fountains, cleaned cisterns or elevated tanks, desludged septic tanks, repaired toilets and replaced toilet fixtures, among others, “to ensure that they have access to safe and potable water, as well as sanitation facilities,” said Almario, adding that this will also promote hygiene and sanitation among the consuming public. 

Meanwhile, to elicit volunteers from among its employees, a corporate-volunteerism strategy has been put in place, which includes, among others, an emergency response team (Sagip-Buhay) that gives basic first aid and other forms of assistance to local communities in times of need, such as during fires and typhoons. It is also heavily involved in disaster-prevention activities.

“This has proven to be a best practice as it promotes and preserves everybody’s involvement,” Almario noted.

Good business sense

MANILA Water believes that its efforts in terms of sustainable development have helped its business by reinforcing its mission and, at the same time, enhancing its corporate image.

With the numerous benefits of corporate-responsibility programs to the local communities, the environment as well as to public institutions and those in need, doing good obviously makes good business sense for the company.

“They [the community and other beneficiaries] in turn serve as our stewards and champions in looking out for ways to preserve the level of service that we provide—in terms of asset management and customer service—thereby decreasing the potential losses we could have incurred in our operations,” stressed Almario, adding that such activities “also helped us get funding from several multilateral agencies.”

“With these, we will always ensure that there is a perfect alignment between our sustainable-development programs and our business goals. In this manner, there is assurance that our sustainable-development goals will be met in the course of our business operations,” Almario added.

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