Thriving Through Generations:
JG Summit’s Sustainability Agenda - On the Right Track

At its core, sustainability is all about meeting the needs of the present without jeopardizing the capability of future generations to meet their own. For JG Summit, Sustainability is both a strategy and mindset, shaping how we do business and how we work together in building a more sustainable future.

As one of the largest conglomerates in the country, JG Summit has long been at the forefront in the adoption of sustainability best practices and innovating the way our business units operate. Despite the serious challenges posed on us by the pandemic, we pledge our continued support for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

In line with this, we fast-tracked our sustainability approach and proactively transformed our operations as we traverse the new normal. Our long-term strategy has been refined, strengthening our Sustainability Commitments with an emphasis on five focus areas: Climate Action, Resource Efficiency and Circularity, Employee Growth and Well-Being, Shared Success, and Better Choices.

“A holistic approach to sustainable development enables us to future-proof our businesses and helps us deliver on our Purpose of providing customers with better choices and in sharing our successes with our stakeholders. As we emerge from this health crisis, we have responded with a more resilient organization and carried out a more proactive and customer-centric strategies to address the ever-changing needs of our stakeholders,” said Lance Gokongwei, JG Summit President and CEO.

Climate Action

We acknowledge that the carbon footprint of large organizations is a major contributing factor to human-induced climate change. Thus, together with our strategic business units, we are transitioning our businesses to low-carbon operations and strengthening our climate-related risk management.

As part of our decarbonization efforts, we are expanding the use of renewable energy to power our businesses. Two of our business units, Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) and Universal Robina Corporation (URC), are leading the way in our shift to renewable energy.

To date, RLC has installed rooftop solar panels at 24 of its Robinsons Malls, which are capable of generating 30.79 megawatts in total. In 2021, solar energy provided over 20% of our mall’s electricity requirements, preventing the release of over 18,887.47 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere last year.

Apart from its solar power initiatives, RLC is also developing resilient and low-carbon spaces through efficient land use planning and green building design.

Meanwhile, our transportation unit, Cebu Pacific, is in the process of modernizing its airline fleet and improving fuel use. As of 2021, Cebu Pacific has ordered 16 Airbus A330neo (New Engine Option) aircraft, which consumes 25% less fuel than previous generation aircraft. The country’s leading carrier has also begun using sustainable aviation fuel for its aircraft deliveries, a major step toward achieving its net zero emissions goal by 2050.

Resource Efficiency and Circularity

In a circular economy, businesses must critically examine the end-of-life cycle of their products. Across the group, we aim to consume resources responsibly and recover solid waste from our operations, products, and services.

High up in our agenda are plastic waste recovery and recycling initiatives, which we are currently exploring with Gokongwei Group business units such as URC, RLC, Robinsons Supermarket, and other stores.

Water is also valued as a precious commodity. At URC, our food manufacturing business unit, water conservation strategies were developed under the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Water” program. From switching to stainless steel pipes and fixing leaks to harvesting rainwater for reuse, URC’s efforts led to the conservation of 11.5 million cubic meters of water from 2018 to 2021, as well as an improvement of the company’s Water Use Ratio by 49%.

On the other hand, our banking unit Robinsons Bank (RBank) saved 13.5 metric tons of paper in 2021 with the growing adoption of its RBank Digital App, a digital platform that paved the way for branchless and paperless banking. The push for digitalization is also a testament to RBank’s commitment to serving its customers even during difficult circumstances.

Employee Growth and Well-Being

At JG Summit, we invest in our employees’ professional growth and well-being. In line with this thrust, we put into place an encouraging environment with fair work conditions, the assurance of equity, and a relentless focus on safety for all our employees. These have enabled us to attain an excellent employee retention rate of 97% across the group.

Ensuring that our employees’ needs are addressed, we continue to develop programs for their upskilling and career development. More than 1,000 JGS employees have access to about 16,000 courses, content, and live sessions as part of the JG Summit Executive Development Program.

Apart from providing employees with opportunities to improve their standard of living and fulfill their potential, we remain steadfast in protecting their overall well-being. In 2021, we attained a 99% vaccination rate among our workforce, including third-party workers. Our telehealth services have also been successful, having provided 16,430 employee consultations since its inception.

Shared Success

“As our business grows, so do our stakeholders.” Creating shared success for our stakeholders is one of the main reasons why we exist.

Among these stories of shared success is URC’s partnership with local farmers. In 2021, we donated 133.8 tons of Granola potato seeds to around 700 farmer beneficiaries in Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, and the Cordillera Administrative Region. This initiative not only helped each farmer earn an average net income of Php 135,000 per planting cycle, it also helped them become more self-sufficient.

For its part, RBank is a staunch advocate for financial inclusion – considered an important enabler for sustainable development – reaching out to the unbanked and underserved segment of our population. Through RbankMo, which uses the agency banking or “branchless banking” operations model, customers can open an account, withdraw cash using any BancNet ATM card, deposit money into an RBank savings account and even pay their bills — all without venturing far from their homes.

To ensure this initiative’s success, RBankMo partnered with Premiumbikes Corporation (PBC) and Alabat Island Online Shopping (AIOS) in 2021.

One of the country’s leading motorcycle dealerships, PBC has over 200 stores nationwide, many of them in rural communities with limited access to financial institutions. More than 100 of its branches are RBankMo outlets, which led to the opening of 1,980 new accounts, an average of Php 65,000 in daily transactions at each PBC store, and approximately Php 6 million in total transacted value in 2021.

AIOS is engaged in general merchandise, wholesale, retail, and online selling, serving the community of Alabat Island in Quezon Province. With no traditional bank branches or ATMs on the island, the two AIOS branches now serve as the island’s alternative bank. This is especially important for beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

Since becoming part of the RBankMo platform in November 2021, AIOS has logged almost Php 1 million in total transacted value from more than 200 transactions from November to December 2021.

Better Choices

As a highly diversified conglomerate, JG Summit takes pride in its mission to provide customers with better choices across a wide swathe of industries. Boosting our company-wide sustainability efforts, we are expanding our consumer product portfolio to provide healthier and more environmentally friendly options for our consumers.

Consumers can enjoy these better choices in the form of healthier options from URC, more affordable yet eco-friendly flights at Cebu Pacific, and green certified buildings from RLC, among others.

Despite the disruption of the pandemic, we have accelerated our digital transformation efforts, strengthened our core businesses, and continue to seek opportunities to keep our sustainability journey on course.