MANILA, APRIL 19, 2013 – Coca-Cola Philippines has won two awards in the Asia Pacific Enterprise Leadership Awards (APELA) in recognition of exemplary work by enterprise leaders in the areas of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. The award follows the company’s recent pledge to continue its support to customers and their local communities through their CSR programs.
Guillermo Aponte, president and general manager of Coca-Cola Philippines, was given the Commitment to Philanthropy Award for his contributions in the Little Red Schoolhouse (LRS) initiative, which provides classrooms for communities in far flung areas of the country. He also received the Eco-Advocate Award for the Agos Ram Pump initiative, through the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, a project that provides water to upland communities.
The Little Red Schoolhouse (LRS) is the flagship education program of Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc. (CCFPI) that was launched in 1997 to support the Department of Education’s Multi-Grade Program for public elementary schools in remote areas of the Philippine countryside. It is designed to improve access to elementary education by constructing three-classroom buildings fully equipped with chairs, tables, blackboards and comfort rooms. To date, Coca-Cola Philippines has built 101 schoolhouses across the country.
The Agos Ram Pump Project was launched in partnership with Earth Day Network Philippines and the Alternative Indigenous Foundation (AIDFI) to transport fresh water to upland communities without the use of electricity or fossil fuel.
The award-giving body placed a special emphasis on case studies with emotional resonance and focused on charitable programs that can serve as stepping stones for other companies to model.
The APELA was handed out in conjunction with the Asia Pacific Enterprise Cooperation Sustainability Summit 2013 with the theme “Strategies for Corporate Sustainability in Asia Pacific.”
Atty. Adel Tamano, Vice-President for Public Affairs and Communications of Coca-Cola Philippines, and Cecile Alcantara, President for Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, were on hand to receive the awards in behalf Aponte in a ceremony held in Singapore.
“We at Coca-Cola Philippines are committed to refresh the world, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness, and to create value and make a difference. Through the leadership of Mr. Aponte, we were able to maximize the impact of our two leading CSR projects, Little Red Schoolhouse and Agos Ram Pump—both of which are heavily reflective of our global commitment towards well-being, women empowerment, and sustainability,” Tamano said.
The two programs are only half of the company’s CSR initiatives. The other two, which the company has pledged to continue its support, are: NutriJuice program for nutrition and 5by20 STAR program for women economic development.
The conference brought together over 40 speakers and 500 delegates who discussed case studies in sustainable development from Asia-Pacific. More than 2,000 renowned enterprise leaders from across the region, including publicly listed company CEOs and general managers, were surveyed to receive the APELA awards. Winners were selected through a rigorous process of assessment and evaluation including site visits.
In photo: (L-R) Professor Martin Manning, School of Geography Environment and Earth Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, Mr. Li Daiyi President and Co-founder of AP-EC, Alex Wong, Interim Chairman and Co-Founder of AP-EC, along with Cecile Alcantara, President of Coca-Cola Philippines Foundation and Atty. Adel Tamano, Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications, Coca-Cola Philippines.
