Country’s premier Corporate Social Responsibility Expo opens

Pres. Aquino to deliver keynote address

In celebration of National Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Week, the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) is hosting the 11th LCF CSR Expo, which brings together an estimated 600 delegates consisting of CSR practitioners, executives, entrepreneurs, and representatives from government, academe and civil society. President Benigno Aquino III will formally open the conference with his keynote address.

Themed “Transforming the Business of Giving Back”, the LCF CSR Expo takes place July 5 and 6, 2012, at SMX Convention Center. The conference will feature insightful discussions on the issues and opportunities that shape the future of CSR.

“Giving back has so many definitions. You can give back by just pure philanthropy. Now we’re in the age of trying to embed CSR to our DNA, our business models. We have moved from pure philanthropy and now we’re trying to put CSR into our processes,” said Augusto Carpio III, LCF chair and executive vice president of Aboitiz Foundation.

“The first thing we want to address is, are we ready for the ‘quintuple bottom line’? We all know what the triple bottom line is—the three Ps or people, planet, and profit. During the 11th LCF CSR Expo, we’ll be exploring two more areas—the ethical framework as well as ensuring financial or economic gains for sustainability,” he said.

Speakers and panelists include Luis Miguel Aboitiz, senior vice president for Power Marketing and Trading, Aboitiz Power Corporation; James Donovan, president and CEO, ADEC Group/F-I-R-S-T Carbon Solutions Corporation; Renaud Meyer, country director, United Nations Development Programme; Lawrence Jeff Johnson, country director, International Labour Organization; Federico Puno, president and CEO, TeaM Energy; Maria Ressa, CEO and executive editor, Rappler.com; William Schultz, president and CEO, Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines; Marites Vitug, president, Journalism for Nation Building Foundation; and Danilo Songco, president and CEO, PinoyMe Foundation.

The breakout sessions adopt the acronym, ‘CSRS’ or ‘challenge’, ‘systematize’, ‘respond’, and ‘sharpening the saw’.  “For ‘challenge’ we define the social issues that corporate foundations want to address. After identifying the social issues, we systematize. What are the processes we need to put in place? Next is, how do we respond or engage volunteers and stakeholders? ‘Sharpening the saw’ is basically to improve the skills of practitioners, for those who want to start their CSR programs or want to learn how to do CSR,” Carpio shared.

“Business now is not just about making profit, it’s about taking care of the community,” says Carpio. “And to do that, you need the heart of the entire organization, the entire corporation, to give way not only for the growth of the company, but also to help communities improve their conditions.”

Every year, LCF strives to “walk the talk” by making the Expo a large-scale green conference. From planning to execution, wastage has been kept to a minimum by using recycled materials and less energy throughout the event.

About the League of Corporate Foundations
The League of Corporate Foundations is a network of over 70 operating and grant-making corporate foundations and corporations that promotes and enhances the strategic practice of Corporate Social Responsibility among its members and the larger business community, towards sustained national development.