EVERY month, an average of 30 employees of global delivery services company EY GDS Philippines plant seeds of hydroponic vegetables on “sky farms” atop certain buildings to generate enough yield and funding in a fight against hunger. Then, sometime in the year, the rest of the company’s 2,500 professionals are invited to plant mangroves with partner nongovernmental organizations in the province of Capiz to restore forestry and prevent land erosion. Those who want to learn more about environmental protection are encouraged to take on additional learning badges as they upskill on topics like climate change, sustainable procurement, the circular economy and sustainable finance.
These corporate social responsibility programs, according to EY GDS executives who held a media roundtable last week, are a response to pressing issues of our time like climate change, while fulfilling a Generation-Z workforce’s passionate desire to actually do something about it.
Rumi Mallick Mitra, EY GDS’ corporate responsibility leader, described these joint goals as “contributing positively … making sure our own responsible practices contribute to the larger goal of climate stabilization.”
Perhaps more important, a younger workforce that is becoming increasingly climate-conscious is given an opportunity to participate in “… real-time environmental projects … and they can feel that they are directly contributing to environmental action,” said Mitra.
For their sky farm program, EY GDS collaborates with City Farm at the Top, a social-impact enterprise that advocates for urban gardening toward sustainable consumption. The survival rate of the seeds planted are above 90 percent. The vegetables produced and harvested can be found in S&R, supplied to a select number of restaurants and are sold to individual orders through an online shop.
Meanwhile, to date, EY GDS Philippines and its volunteer employees have planted 11,000 trees inside and outside the National Capital Region. When it comes to mangrove restoration, the process involves using a wall of concrete and sanded mangroves that enable the trees to be stronger and, thus, the project more sustainable.
A coastal cleanup. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Beyond the tree-planting and vegetable hydroponics, other eco-friendly CSR programs involve beach cleanups, the active reduction of food waste starting in the office cafeteria and the decreased use of single-use plastics.
EY GDS employees who participate in the programs and study the environmental-related courses are given sustainability badges.
With an eye toward the future, Nitin Dhavale, EY GDS Philippines location leader, hopes to be able to replicate the programs throughout the country with their staff as their ambassadors. He said, “Our purpose is building a better working world, so you can’t build only in one city or one metro … All these programs, in order to bring a larger impact … we want to spread across with the help of our own people.”
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