Tree planting is one of the profound yet simple ways to contribute to environment preservation, and for One Meralco Foundation (OMF) this forms part of a sustainable reforestation program that also provides livelihood to Philippine communities.
The social development arm of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), along with its partners, recently planted 100,000 native trees in the Laguna-Quezon Land Grant (LQLG), a 6,765-hectare forest land that forms part of the Sierra Madre mountain range that stretches from Siniloan, Laguna to Real, Quezon.
The newest initiative, which falls under OMF's One For Trees (OFT) program, boosts the trees planted in the area to 202,004. As with other abundant natural resources, the LQLG forests are threatened by unsustainable human activities like illegal tree cutting and slash- and-burn farming. Fuel wood collection and mining are also rampant which resulted in forest degradation.
OMF's partners Fostering for Education and Development, Inc. (FEED) and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) joined the recent community tree-planting activity, which aligns well with their own respective advocacies.
"FEED's effort in reforestation puts into the core empowering the community into becoming stewards of the forest. Through capacity building, training and raising their awareness, we ensure that planting is sustainable, inclusive and economical to them," FEED Director for Partnerships Anne-Marie Bakker says.
Also supporting OMF in its advocacy to empower and sustain communities through OFT are 26 organizations and Meralco's own Supply Chain Management Office, which has constantly helped in raising funds for OFT and joined community tree-planting activities.
"OFT started from an idea to plant trees. But having seen its actuality, we realize how that idea became a medium of collaboration with Meralco, the NGO, academe, the community members, and our donors who proactively helped us for this significant cause. Now, we realize that this idea has touched lives and continues to benefit many," Meralco Chief Supply Chain Officer Maria Luisa V. Alvendia shares.
Volunteers from the donor organizations eagerly participated in the tree planting activity.
Joan Puntual, an executive assistant in one of the sustainability partners of OFT, Trigold Security and Assistance Agency Inc., said: "As business partners of Meralco, we adhere to the same commitment of nurturing and preserving our environment. The One For Trees program provided us a platform to make this a tangible commitment for our organization to actively support and participate in."
"The One For Trees program served as a learning for us on the significance of pushing environmental sustainability at the forefront of an organization's objectives. Joining and volunteering for OFT motivated us to encourage more members of our organization to take part in preserving and rehabilitating our environment," Corporate Sales Manager Ana Luz Pablo of Tyremart Inc., another donor organization, added.
"Part of OFT's focus is to encourage volunteers and raise their awareness through actual immersion. OFT provides a platform for many stakeholders to be involved and experience learning by joining community kickoffs. OFT as a program emphasizes that for reforestation to become a truly sustainable endeavor, collective action is imperative," explains OMF President Jeffrey Tarayao.
OFT is implemented nationwide. It has partnerships and plantation sites in San Miguel, Bulacan (Green Earth Heritage Foundation), Siniloan, Laguna (FEED), various local government units in the Province of Bohol (PROCESS BOHOL – Participatory Research, Organization of Communities and Education towards Struggle for Self-Reliance of Bohol), Butuan, Agusan del Norte (BCWD – Butuan City Water District), and Pangantucan, Bukidnon (XSF – Xavier Science Foundation).
Earlier this year, One Meralco marked a significant milestone in its sustainability journey with the successful planting of over two million trees across. To date, a total of 2,103,065 trees have been planted and nurtured in different parts of the country under OFT a testament to the power of grassroots partnerships to impact lasting change.
OFT advocates multi-dimensional sustainable solutions to address reforestation and environmental protection, and conservation in the Philippines while empowering communities through economic and social development.Since its launch in 2019, OFT has contributed to a greener future in different parts of the countr y including Bohol, Bukidnon, Aklan, Agusan del Norte, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, Quezon City, as well as Panay, and Cebu, where reforestation sites of Global Business Power Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corporation, are located.
OFT also provides new sources of income for tree-farming families through partnerships with program's people's organizations. These strategically contribute to the aim to plant five million new trees by 2026 in biodiverse landscapes in the Philippines.
The sustainable reforestation program forms part of One Meralco's holistic approach to embed sustainability not just in the business operations, but also in the development of the communities.
Centered on preserving and protecting the planet, OFT is a key initiative under One Meralco's sustainability agenda called "Powering the Good Life" which is deeply rooted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.