MANILA, Philippines — In time for the 51st year of the world celebrating Earth Day last April 22, the one time when there is a concerted effort to pay respect and give Mother Nature its due, Philstar.com lists some of the best practices companies have come up to protect the world and the environment amid the onslaught of COVID-19.
'Pinasiglang Mundo'
The Department of Finance and the Climate Change Commission packed a full-day of web casts for Earth Day. With the theme "Pinasiglang Mundo" inspired by this year's global theme "Restore Our Earth," talks are centered on climate change education, the global plastic-free movement, governments and policymaking, and sustainability.
EarthDay.org listed activities
Other activities and their details can be found here. Guests can just check out their preferred location, time and activities they would want to know about anywhere in the world.
Support sustainable farming with organic tea
To highlight the positive properties of organic tea, English Tea Shop introduces a serene mandala on its new packaging.
The new-look emphasizes the organic label of the teas, as the company firmly believes in the concept of sustainable farming and how using organic leaves helps bring better wellness benefits for its customers.
Represented in the Philippines by Clever Cats International Company, with their teas exclusively available at Robinsons Supermarket, The Marketplace and Shopwise stores nationwide, English Tea Shop is a favorite among tea enthusiasts for its blends of organic and sustainably-sourced ingredients that come together to produce sensational brews.
Coming from the previously more playful and light-hearted teapot emblem, the brand is now introducing a mandala-inspired brand element. A geometric figure representing the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism also means circle in ancient Sanskrit language. For the brand, the mandala represents the virtuous support system the brand aims to build between small businesses, society and the environment at large, which is at the heart of everything they do.
Additionally, to make it even more appealing to the wellness-conscious audience, the word "organic" is now front and centered to emphasize the brand's commitment to being 100% free from synthetic chemicals.
With the distinction of receiving the SGS Covid-19 Control Program Certification, the brand is committed to providing quality products that have passed the standards of the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. This means that the warehouse and production facilities of the brand have been found to adhere to the highest standards of safety while protecting their employees and teas.
Spotlight on Philippine water pollution
Discovery is putting the sounds of nature in the spotlight with its regional campaign "#StartWith1Thing: Compose for the Earth." The sobering reality that the beautiful sounds of nature are diminishing due to human activity and must be resolved is the guiding principle of this campaign. Discovery addresses one environmental issue per country across the region including light pollution in Malaysia, illegal fishing in Singapore, and water pollution in the Philippines.
The overarching idea is that with collective effort, even focusing on improving one issue at a time will allow the awesome sounds of the planet to be heard again and be preserved and appreciated for generations to come. This applies to simple acts that people can do in their daily routine like using reusable items such as water bottles, utensils and eco bags.
United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador and Founder of CORA and The Sustainable Planet Founder Antoinette Taus lead the campaign launch in the Philippines. Hear her message for this year’s Earth Day on Discovery's Facebook and Instagram.
Google pushes for carbon-free energy
Google announced several updates and initiatives this Earth Day week including its progress towards its goal to operate entirely on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, a powerful Google and Arts Culture project, and an animated video Google Doodle.
Google and Alphabet chief executive officer Sundar Pichai said, “This commitment goes beyond being carbon neutral--which we’ve been since 2007--and matching our operations with 100% renewable energy, which we’ve now done over four consecutive years.”
Sundar continued, “Within a decade, we aim for every Google data center, cloud region, and office campus to run on clean electricity every hour of every day. And today I’m proud to announce that five of our data center sites — in Denmark, Finland, Iowa, Oklahoma and Oregon — are now operating near or at 90% carbon-free energy.”
Google has committed approximately $4 billion to purchase clean energy from more than 50 wind and solar projects globally through 2034. Last year, many of those projects came online, including hundreds of new wind turbines and hundreds of thousands of solar panels, which are helping to improve carbon-free energy performance at several Google data centers.
In 2020, Google Arts & Culture and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) launched “Heartbeat of the Earth”--four interactive and educational experiments by artists exploring scientific climate data to make them more understandable by people.
The project added a new set of climate experiments created by artists Giorgia Lupi, Felicity Hammond, Cristina Tarquini, and Sey Min.
The Lagoon (g.co/thelagoon) is one of the newest additions to the project. It is an immersive and durational video collage work by Felicity Hammond depicting an imaginary coastal city slowly submerging in water over 80 years. Over 8 minutes, a series of photographs shows the landscape being erased by water until completely submerged. There are also six online animations of the Southeast Asian coastal cities.
For its annual Earth Day Doodle, Google launched an animated video.
The video Doodle tells a story of reforestation and planting trees across generations, showing how doing a small part can lead to a positive impact for the planet. It links to a page that shows a brief description of the concept, a highlight for the Sustainability Collections page launched in honor of Earth Day, and a personal write-up from the Doodler herself Sophie Diao on her creative process developing the Doodle.
“I knew I wanted to create a narrative about the importance of trees, so I started by researching everything I could about reforestation techniques and best practices. I was inspired by the stories of people who had planted trees when they were very young and cared for them throughout their lives, and people—sometimes as a community, other times working individually—who made it a goal to reforest a place, whether it be one the densest cities in the world or an arid desert that used to be lush and green,” Sophie shared.
Globe, WWF develop environmentally friendly digital platform
Globe has partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines in the development of a digital platform dedicated for environmental education for students, the youth, teachers and the general public. The web-based and mobile application will feature multimedia content such as animated videos, films, stories, digital modules, quizzes and puzzles and other educational resources. It will also have an environmental footprint calculator and calendar, and interactive educational games.
“Through this collaboration with WWF-Philippines, we hope to raise knowledge and awareness among the public on the significance of environmental conservation and sustainable practices that will help combat climate change, which is a global issue that Earth Day looks to address,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP for Corporate Communications.
"The intensity of our environmental problems coupled with the worsening effects of climate change underscores the need for all of us to come together, and the first step to being part of the solution is through awareness and education. Our actions, big and small, are important in ensuring a livable and healthy planet for future generations," said Katherine Custodio, Executive Director, WWF-Philippines.
The giant telecommunications company recognizes that the protection and preservation of the environment are the responsibility of all. Thus, it encourages its customers to do their part.
Here are ways they can participate in the movement:
1) Donate old, non-working electronic gadgets through Globe’s E-waste Zero program. It encourages people to donate their old, non-working electronic devices via participating Globe Stores, select malls and offices of partner organizations.
To date, more than 1.4 million kilograms of ewaste were donated, collected and recycled responsibly. To see the full list of drop off points or request for free door-to-door pickups, go to Globe’s Sustainability website.
2) Prevent single-use plastics from entering the ocean. Bring reusables everywhere as this eliminates the need for plastic spoons, forks, straws, cups and stirrers. Cloth bags may also be used when buying items. Properly segregating plastic waste also helps.
Globe’s 'Wag Sa Single Use Plastic (WasSUP) campaign stands against single-use plastics within its main corporate office. This program is in collaboration with Green Antz Builders Inc. where clean and dry plastics are shredded and brought to the latter’s facility in Arca South, Taguig for further processing and conversion to eco-bricks and eco pavers. The program also advocates a zero waste lifestyle and educates Globe employees on how avoidance of single-use plastics can protect the environment.
3) Decrease carbon footprint by supporting reforestation programs. Globe’s partnership with Hineleban Foundation and The Mead Foundation allows the public to help safeguard our forests through the use of Globe Rewards and GCash. To date, a combined 159 hectares have been planted with pioneer species Calliandra and indigenous tree species such as Narra, White and Red Lauaan, Mamalis, Bitaog in Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur, as well as, Vetiver grass and various native tree species in Iba, Zambales. These efforts lead to a conservative estimate of 25,083.13 metric tons of carbon dioxide sequestered.
Every 100 Rewards points donation is equivalent to one tree. To donate to Hineleban, download the Globe Rewards app (https://www.globe.com.ph/rewards.html#GRewardsApp) and click the “DONATE” banner. Tap “HINELEBAN100” and press “REDEEM." To support the Mead Foundation, go to https://mead-foundation.org/trees/ and scan the QR code using the GCASH app. Every P100 donation is equivalent to one native tree planted.
4) Reduce your personal environmental footprint. Shift to electronic billing to help reduce paper consumption and conserve natural resources. Use online financial platforms like GCash to send money to other GCash users, transfer money to a bank, save money, invest, pay bills, pay for food, goods and other services all from the safety and comfort of your homes. Telehealth services such as KonsultaMD also give you immediate access to a team of Filipino doctors without the need to go to the nearest medical facility. Konsulta MD can be accessed via its 24/7 hotline (02-7798 8000).