Beauty of the Philippines

Multinational companies Coca-Cola and Nokia are very keen in leading the way in the Philippines’ environmental sustainability and demonstrate best practices.

Some 172 Coca-Cola employees recently planted a total of 1,650 seedlings of native tree species at the Caliraya watershed in Cavinti, Laguna. This was their participation in the Haribon Foundation’s ‘Road to 2020,’ an environmental conservation movement to restore one million hectares of the country’s rainforests by the year 2020.

While the Caliraya watershed has been declared a protected area by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), greater efforts must be exerted. In recent years, the area has come under greater threat of deforestaion, soil erosion, and environmental degradation.

For its part, Nokia demonstrates its commitment through its Takeback Campaign, which focuses on the recovery of old mobile phones, batteries and accessories of any brand. For every kilo of raw materials collected, Nokia will make a donation to Bantay Kalikasan for the continued rehabilitation of the La Mesa Watershed.

The La Mesa Watershed covers a total area of 2,700 hectares: 2,000 of which are forest lands and the remaining 700 hectares consists of a man-made lake that serves as a water reservoir. It is the last forest of its size in Metro Manila and it straddles Quezon City, Caloocan City and Rizal Province. It is a vital link to the water requirements of 12 million residents of Metro Manila considering that 1.5 million liters of water pass through this reservoir every day.

The Coca-Cola volunteers arrived at the watershed as early as 8 a.m., some bringing their families to take part in the activity. They were joined by the Coca-Cola Tigers of the Philippine Basketball Association.

Among the 1,650 seedlings of native tree species planted are kamagong, lanete, palosapis, bitaog and narra. Haribon explained that only by planting native tree species can our forests recover their resiliency and conserve biodiversity, optimize our supply of forest benefits and ecosystem services, reduce the risk of natural hazards, and enhance options for sustainable livelihood.

Cecile Alcantara, president of the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, said that as a company that depends on local water sources, officials and employees of Coca-Cola are fully aware that understanding watersheds and how they work is extremely important to the sustainability of the company’s business.

Supporting Nokia in its commitment to be a leading company in environmental performance is renowned photographer Alex Van Hagen, who captured stunning images of the La Mesa Watershed using the Nokia N96 and the Nokia N85.

“Going around the city and taking photos using the Nokia N96 and Nokia N85 was a joy!” exclaims Van Hagen. “Both mobile phones, which have a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and flash, produced clear, vivid, and high-quality images. They definitely brought out the beauty of the flora and fauna at the La Mesa Watershed.”

Nokia’s admirable efforts to preserve the environment haven’t gone unnoticed. Just recently, Nokia won the GSM Association’s first award for Outstanding Environmental Contribution at the 2009 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The association, which represents the interests of the global mobile industry, says Nokia’s global environmental program was selected the best in the industry due to its scale and commitment.

Photos courtesy of the Haribon Foundation.

 

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