“Business will only thrive if the environment will thrive.”
BEER market leader San Miguel Brewery (SMB) Inc. lives up to the statement by strengthening the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the past seven years through staging an annual tree-planting project dubbed as “Trees Brew Life,” under the SMB Buhayin ang Kalikasan CSR Program.
This year is the fourth time that SMB partnered with Barangay Matina Pangi, Davao City for the greening project.
“Our Trees Brew Life project is not only about planting trees but it is also about brewing the foundation for life for generations to come,” Orvilito Bacaltos, SMB area manager in Mindanao said, quoting SMB President, Roberto Huang.
A total of 2,000 seedlings of Malibago, Narra, and Mahogany trees were planted last Saturday, August 13, in Barangay Matina Pangi. These kinds of trees are good in the riverbanks as it prevents soil erosion.
Over 6,000 seedlings have already been planted in the area since the project’s inception in 2013 through the collaboration of SMB workers, the host community, and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office -Davao.
“So far, we are so proud and happy to share with you [what] this successful partnership has produced the past few years,” SMB Human Resources Manager Jose Victor Bernardo said.
He said that there are a total of 1,117 live trees out of the 1,200 seedlings that were planted in 2013 and out of 1,400 trees planted in 2014, 1,234 survived.
Huang, in his message, said that each year SMB will renew the commitment of planting many trees as possible.
The company recognizes that watersheds and forests are valuable sources of food, shelter and shade. The trees aid in soil conservation, sustain biodiversity, and reduce urban heat.
“We will continue to expand our program by engaging in tree-growing activities, revisiting areas where we have already conducted greening initiatives, and undertaking pocket environmental projects in new areas with our program partners,” Huang said.
As a long term plan, SMB aims to double the number of trees that the company planted by 2020.