Ayala Land, Inc

2017

Most Socially Responsible Company Of The Year

Ayala Land, Inc

Most Socially Responsible Company Of The Year

2017

Ayala Land, Inc.

“CSR programmes have become ingrained into Ayala Land’s policies and standard operating procedures. Testament to this is the leadership of a board-level sustainability committee, the active contributions of the management committee, and strategic business unit-level sustainability leads that underscore the importance of sustainability and CSR in the company.”

Ayala Land, Inc. is a leading property developer in the Philippines. The company’s products and services include residential developments, shopping centres, offices, hotels and resorts, construction and property management. It is primarily known for its large-scale, integrated, mixed-use, sustainable estates that evolve into thriving centres or business districts. These districts serve not only as platforms for economic activity necessary for nation-building, but also provide for the development needs of diverse stakeholders. The developments promote inclusive growth as well.

A profitable organisation with P20.9 billion net income in 2016, Ayala Land ensures that sustainable development policies and practices are fully-embedded in their project development process. The company’s products and services are planned, constructed and operated according to sustainability principles, i.e. minimising impact to the environment and neighbouring communities, and contributing to the economy. To accomplish this, all project spending is guided by the principles of the company’s four sustainability focus areas. First is Site Resilience where the company carefully plans and conducts advanced levels of technical due diligence throughout its properties. This is to make sure that projects have been designed and developed to consider all social and environmental factors that may affect their inhabitants in the near future. The second is Pedestrian Mobility and Transit Connectivity, where the company designs its properties to ensure that these are pedestrian-friendly and that the public has easy and ample access to public transport so as to decrease dependence on private vehicles to the largest extent possible.

The third sustainability focus area is Eco-Efficiency, where the company promotes the conscious use of resources within its properties and developments. This includes energy and water use, waste production and greenhouse gas emissions.

To advance its efforts, it set a target of carbon neutrality throughout its commercial properties by 2022. This will be made possible by a combination of approaches such as the use of natural lighting and air flow, energy conservation, shifts to renewable energy wherever possible, and offsets through forest enhancements across their land banks. It continues to work on targets and metrics in waste and water which it will roll-out in the near future.

Finally, to champion local economic development as a developer of integrated, mixed-use communities, the company’s goal is to build properties that promote enterprise, generate employment, and increase local economic activity, thereby providing opportunities for inclusive growth and diverse social benefits to a large population.

As the company develops different areas, it takes all these aspects into consideration and constantly ensures that it positively impacts, not just its communities, but also the surrounding towns. This is expressed through ‘Alagang Ayala Land,’ the company’s commitment to social development and environmental stewardship, and is reflected in community projects focused on education, skills-training, livelihood, and forest regeneration.

Additionally, the four different focus areas have been designed to minimise impact and take advantage of all opportunities available to enhance ecosystem services and community cohesion. This approach ensures that sustainability is guaranteed to continue as it has become part of the discipline of the company’s business processes from the onset.

The practice of these four focus areas is also supported by a performance management system which form part of our business units’ annual performance ratings. This further ensures that a culture of sustainability is ingrained into the company’s operating procedures and can be continuously sustained in the years to come.

These four focus areas are also the company’s response to material development considerations in the Philippines, a country that is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and is challenged by issues brought about by traffic congestion. Natural resource limitations and socio-economic disparities are also pressing issues for the nation.

The company’s corporate responsibility initiatives over the past year have included the training of sustainability teams within their various units, the rolling out of specific project development guidelines over the four focus areas, which include policies on the use of native trees (site resilience), the promotion of pedestrian mobility and inclusion of transit terminals in its estates and malls, as well as providing technical training for community members so that they can become employable in construction. Its hotels and resorts business unit also conducts a continuing programme for training members of neighbouring communities in the hospitality industry to increase their chances of finding employment.

Moreover, the company has also rolled out a Sustainable Procurement roadmap which aims to encourage all the companies throughout its supply chain to also adopt similar sustainable practices, as well as increasing the company’s roster of providers of green products and services.

Besides its integrated sustainability initiatives, Ayala Land also champions traditional philanthropic initiatives such as Hero Foundation, which it actively assists to provide educational stipends to children of Filipino soldiers who have been killed or injured in the line of duty. Since 2009, the company has gifted its partners with Christmas Cards that represent monetary donations to the foundation. Their shopping malls are also venues for Hero donation boxes that promote, among their customers, not just the value of generosity, but also a genuine appreciation for the sacrifices of Filipino soldiers.

As the company aims for carbon neutrality, it will strive to protect forests through forest regeneration projects within its land bank. The company has gathered employee volunteers to join Assisted Natural Regeneration activities wherein they conduct weeding and planting expeditions in order to facilitate the regrowth of vegetation in these areas. The company will also work with non-profit organizations in their carbon forest sites to ensure that the initiatives also benefit community members in the area.

As construction is a major driver of jobs for the company, it endeavored to create a partnership with a government institution – the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) through its subsidiary Makati Development Corporation to develop talent among the community and ensure a continuous supply of skilled workers in its properties. Via the embedding of sustainable practices and metrics into the company, Ayala Land ensures that future generations of employees are able to continue the practices that have been started in the past years. This also ensures that expressions of the company’s corporate responsibility programmes address the future needs of Filipino society by using and taking advantage of the organisation’s core competencies.

CSR programmes have become ingrained into Ayala Land’s policies and standard operating procedures. Testament to this is the leadership of a board-level sustainability committee, the active contributions of the management committee, and strategic business unit-level sustainability leads that underscore the importance of sustainability and CSR in the company. These CSR programmes and practices are also carried out throughout the company by employees themselves because of the sustainability principles that have been embedded into the organisation’s value chain. For the company, its CSR campaigns have been designed to connect with its employees, influencing its value chain to adopt sustainable development principles.

To further encourage contribution from employees towards their participation in CSR activities and programmes, the company has incorporated a special leave of four days for employees who contribute time towards CSR activities and company-initiated volunteer work such as forest regeneration, coastal clean-up, and a Department of Education-led back-to-school clean-up drive. All in all, the company’s CSR activities and programmes have netted them increased economic value, resulting in increased economic value distributed.