Sta. Lucia Land on the road to sustainability

The chief sustainability officer (CSO) of Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (SLLI) seemed the odd man out in the gathering of chief information officers from the Philippines and other Southeast Asia countries at Dusit Thani Manila hotel last 18 to 19 September.

The ASEAN CIO Association (ACIOA) forum and exhibition co-hosted by the Philippines CIO Association and CIO Forum Foundation focused on cloud security solutions and technology as well as regional digitalization. ACIOA, however, invited SLLI CSO Jeremiah T. Pampolina to become part of the organization as it aligns its mission with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“I was invited to be part of its executive committee on green and sustainability,” Pampolina said at the sideline of the two-day meet.

The concurrent SLLI chief compliance officer and vice president for investor relations and corporate planning said his role at ACIOA is to share the company’s sustainability experience to help small and medium enterprises and startups adopt best practices. He will also collaborate on digitalization efforts and support sustainability initiatives.

“We’re just starting our journey in sustainability. Our experience in going through it will benefit other organizations,” he said.

According to Pampolina, SLLI’s sustainability efforts include the ongoing digitalization of the company’s operation and data. He recalls that when he started with the company 11 years ago, storage of papers and legal documents takes up a lot of space in their office.

“To get a file is old school. You will look for it. It takes time. Now, we’re still in the process of digitalization, but all our major files are now digital. So we just log into a computer, you don’t need to reprint. Before, this big room is a file storage. Imagine, over 50 years’ worth of files,” according to Pampolina.

SLLI also complies with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) requirement on submitting yearly sustainability report since SEC came out with the regulation covering all publicly-listed companies.

The company’s CSR gives opportunities to persons with disabilities and women.

Pampolina added that SLLI is embracing clean energy with the solar panels installed on the roof of the Sta. Lucia mall in Cainta, Rizal. There is also a plan to gradually replace the traditional lampposts in all its 300 property projects nationwide with a solar version.