Ayala group of companies
The goal, says JAZA, is "to be an effective enabler for community and social development and to find lasting solutions that will create a permanent improvement in the lives of individuals and communities."
Valued Partnerships
In many of its social undertakings, Ayala collaborates with local and international institutions and government agencies as well as with NGOs, academic institutions, and other business groups. The partnerships transcend individual, parochial or business interests, as key people of different institutions come together to work for a common agenda. These public-private partnerships or social consortia have become instrumental in taking on large issues and pursuing projects of national significance.
Ayala and its executives have been at the forefront of these partnerships, among which are Children's Hour, World Wildlife Fund, Habitat for Humanity, and GILAS, or Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for Students.
Ayala strongly and firmly believes in the value of partnerships as through them corporate foundation can extend reach, replicate and scale up successful programs to address a wider market.
Employee Volunteerism
Volunteerism, encouraged officially, is a pervasive spirit within Ayala. Almost everyone, from top to bottom in all companies in the group, participates and spends personal time and resources in a chosen cause.
Ayala believes in fostering a strong congruence between the corporate values and the values that its employees live by. In the process, employees become deeply motivated advocates and supporters of Ayala's corporate social responsibility programs.
Change seekers
The conglomerate as an agent of change works with other "change seekers." These include organizations that exert active effort to improve life in the Philippines . They also encompass consumers of Ayala's services and products, Ayala's business partners and suppliers, and employees of companies in the group.
Change seekers, too, are the people the efforts serve: Filipinos who want things to improve.
Clearly the needs are numerous and varied. While there are diverse ways to address them, the results cannot be uniform. For this reason, Ayala focuses on the most effective means and has chosen three "pillars" on which to continue expanding its exercise of social responsibility: education, environment and entrepreneurship.
Within each broad area, it has chosen a "flagship program" that every company in the group can contribute to or implement in a strategic manner.
Education
Education is clearly one of the most important social interventions in the fight against poverty. Over many years, Ayala has provided scholarships, helped schools, and trained teachers and students.
In choosing a "flagship program," the Ayala group has zeroed in on scaling up a program piloted in year 2000 to install Internet-connected computer laboratories in public high schools. This has since been expanded via a consortium into GILAS, or Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for Students, which aims to build such laboratories in all the 5,900 public high schools in the Philippines .
Providing support is GILAS Social Consortium, which consists of telecommunications, hardware and software companies that have come together since January 2005 through efforts led by Ayala Foundation.
The GILAS Social Consortium recently celebrated the installation of an Internet-connected computer lab in the 1,000th school. At that event, JAZA said: "We are aware of the challenges faced by our public education system. It struggles to meet the most basic needs of our children and youth: adequate classrooms, competent teachers, up-to-date textbooks, and learning resources. Surveying the field, we searched for that unique point of intervention where we could achieve the broadest reach and the make the greatest impact in the shortest possible time."
Once every year, the quiet business atmosphere of the Ayala headquarters becomes a frenetic hub when youths fill the premises. Preparations have begun for the Ayala Young Leaders Congress, an annual three-day summit of about 70 college student leaders from all over the country. The Zobel brothers and other top executives participate in the selection of prospective participants.
Now in its ninth year, AYLC is widely recognized as a significant corporate contribution to the formation of the country's future leaders. Its alumni have organized the Ayala Young Leaders Alliance, which today has 16 chapters around the country actively and independently displaying community leadership in such matters as disaster response and inter-faith dialogue.
Within communities for bright children from economically disadvantaged families, Ayala has Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education, or CENTEX. The schools is considered by the Department of Education as a laboratory school aimed at developing critical thinking and value-based leadership.
With the support of Ayala Land and Globe Telecom, and many other individual and corporate supporters, CENTEX manages two schools – in Tondo, Manila, and in Bauan, Batangas. A total of 175 students have graduated from the CENTEX schools, and 1,057 are enrolled at present.
Environment
Through specific projects in clean water campaigns, waste management, and reforestation, Ayala strives to integrate the guidelines for sustainable development in its commercial activities.
One of its more robust programs is in solid waste management. Through Ayala's efforts, around 35 percent of the total number of buildings in Makati participate in a program that has reduced the total residual volume by 14 percent, from 350 cubic meters to 302 cubic meters per day. This program has yielded 11,659 metric tons of recyclables collected from 2001 to 2006, generating P42 million in revenues.
Among Ayala companies, Manila Water has the greatest potential to touch lives directly in communities. Its continuous undertakings to improve and widen its operations enhance the living conditions of millions of households.
Manila Water has vigorously expanded its service to areas in Metro Manila, especially to areas benefiting poor communities. These include "Sanitasyon Para Sa Barangay," which constructs communal septic tanks or sanitation systems for clusters of low-income communities, "Lingap Ospital" a water supply and sanitation endeavor for public hospitals, and "Patubig Sa City Jail," a water supply and sanitation program for city and municipal penitentiaries.
