League of Corporate Foundations launches LIFE initiative to target child wasting and stunting in the PH

L-R: Edric Calma, LCF Board Trustee and Vice President, Knowledge Channel Foundation; Shem Jose Garcia, LCF Vice Chairperson and Executive Director, Vivant Foundation; Elena Van Tooren, Managing Director, East West Seed Foundation; Dyan Tee, Assistant Executive Director, Metrobank Foundation; Myn Garcia, Deputy Country Representative, Asia Foundation; Jose Gabriel Dimalanta, Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network Secretariat (SUN Network); Joanna La O, Director for Strategy and Program Innovation, Jollibee Group Foundation; Ramon Derige, LCF Board Treasurer and Executive Director, SEAOIL Foundation; Hon. Jim S. Hataman-Salliman, Governor, Province of Basilan; Angie Sapitula-Evidente, Lead Manager, HAPAGASA Program, Assisi Foundation; Enrique O. Canoy, Corporate Communications Head, RMN Networks; Rina Lopez-Bautista, President and Executive Director, Knowledge Channel Foundation; Sebastian C. Quiniones, Jr., LCF Chairperson and Executive Director, Pilipinas Shell Foundation; Austere Panadero, LCF Board Trustee and President, Zuellig Family Foundation; Patrick Aurelio, CSR Officer, RMN Foundation; Suyin Lui Lee, Philippines Country Representative, Asian Philanthropy Circle; Antonio Lambino, President, Ayala Foundation.

Coinciding with the 50th year of National Nutrition Month in the Philippines, the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) has announced the LIFE initiative—which stands for LCF’s Intervention for Food Security, Nutrition, and Empowerment—at the LIFE launch held on Friday, July 5, 2024, at the CSR Expo at the Glorietta Activity Center, Glorietta Mall, Makati City.

LIFE is the League of Corporate Foundations’ flagship project moving forward into 2024 and beyond. LIFE is a League-wide effort to prevent wasting and stunting.  Stunting can have dire and lasting consequences for afflicted children—as well as Philippine society as a whole—if these concerns are not addressed. LIFE aims to decrease, if not eliminate stunting, wasting and malnutrition—one province at a time, based on the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN).

The Province of Basilan is one of the League’s first areas of focus. It will work together with the provincial government and other concerned groups to bring the program to the people of Basilan. Present at the launch was Hon. Jim S. Hataman-Salliman, the Governor of the Province of Basilan.

Stunting affects 26 per cent of Filipino children younger than 5 years. Stunted children can struggle to learn, often perform poorly in school, and may miss many days of school due to ill health. The condition is irreversible; stunted children who reach adulthood may be less healthy and less productive and can earn less than adults who were not stunted as children. Stunting results from poor nutrition of both young children and mothers-to-be, including deficiencies in the consumption of vital micronutrients such as iron and Vitamin A. 

LIFE encompasses nutrition specific interventions including supplementary feeding, micronutrient supplementation, nutrition promotion for behavior change, and nutrition during emergency situations; nutrition sensitive interventions such as a “Greenlihood Program” (provision of vegetable seedlings to target FK1D groups) and WASH interventions; and enabling mechanisms such as the establishment of a nutrition office that will undertake relevant activities such as the conduct of trainings in nutrition.

“Concerned members of the League are working to collaborate on LIFE. We also endeavor to identify, reach out to, and work with other like-minded groups, corporates and government organizations, individuals and civil society groups.“ ~Sebastian C. Quiniones, LCF Board Chairperson and Executive Director, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. 

The LIFE launch was held back-to-back with the launch of the inaugural Medal of Recognition, which upholds outstanding corporate social responsibility initiatives undertaken by organizations which are not members of LCF, and as part of the celebration of National CSR Week in the Philippines. LCF is mandated to lead the celebration of National CSR Week on the first week of July by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 299, s. 2000, including through organizing the yearly CSR Conference and Expo.

For more information please visit the LIFE microsite at bit.ly/lcflife, or contact Celine A. Santillan, LCF Executive Director, at execdirlcf@gmail.com. 

LCF gears up for technology-focused CSR Conference and Expo 2024

LCF gears up for technology-focused CSR Conference and Expo 2024

To help corporates bring about an Inclusive Future through harnessing CSR and ESG

In the face of rapid technological advancements and innovations including Artificial Intelligence (AI), the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) has embarked on a mission to help corporates harness the vast potential of technology, using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting, for the benefit of society. 

LCF is gearing up for the 2024 CSR Conference and Expo—the highly anticipated annual event—which will take place on July 3 to 4 at Dusit Thani Manila, Makati City. 

Aptly themed “Reimagining a New and Inclusive Future”, this year’s CSR Expo will delve into technology, AI and digitalization and will explore how the principles of CSR and ESG can be utilized by corporates to make these technologies truly inclusive. This event aims to help corporates work to ensure that the positive impacts of technology outweigh the negative, in order to benefit the 51% of Filipinos living in poverty. 

The LCF CSR Expo will also provide corporates the opportunity to understand and discuss how AI and other revolutionary technologies can contribute to societal and national development, particularly in advancing health services, resilience, livelihood, education, and financial and cultural diversity and inclusivity.

“The 2024 Conference will imagine a future where people and communities can harness the power of technology, AI, and the digital space, including the careful implementation of AI and other new technologies to form a truly new and inclusive future if aligned with CSR and ESG principles at the outset.” ~Sebastian C. Quiniones, LCF Chair and Executive Director, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc.

A venue for cross-sectoral collaboration

The 2024 CSR Expo expects to bring together over 200 participants, including corporates, actors in social development space, and technology firms that will co-create solutions aimed at achieving meaningful and collective impact. 

“The League’s stand is that technological innovations can be properly harnessed, such that their ill effects upon society can be mitigated; and that technology offers an abiding opportunity for corporate collaboration, whether between corporates or with other sectors, to achieve monumental and lasting impact upon societal challenges both new and old.” ~Shem Jose W. Garcia, LCF Vice-Chair and Executive Director, Vivant Foundation, Inc.  

Outstanding CSR initiatives

LCF is also set to announce the winners of the 2024 Guild Awards on the evening of July 3 at Dusit Thani Manila. The awards program upholds exemplary CSR initiatives undertaken by  LCF members.

For the first time, the League will also be awarding the CSR Medal of Recognition to non-members to acknowledge the work and effort they provide in their respective communities. The Medal of Recognition celebrates the interventional activities of non-members, including Chambers of Commerce, Jaycees, Rotary, Kiwanis, and Top 1000 companies, among others. This special award will recognize the efforts of businesses in seven thematic areas: Arts and Culture, Disaster Resilience, Education, Environment, Enterprise Development, Financial Inclusion, and Health. 

The 2024 CSR Expo will also have a concurrent exhibit at the Glorietta Activity Center on July 4 to 5, highlighting exemplary CSR initiatives undertaken by LCF members and non-members alike. At least 50 exhibitors are to participate in the exhibit. The Medal of Recognition Awarding Ceremony will also be held at the conclusion of the exhibit. 

Established in 1991, LCF is a network of operating and grant-making corporate and family foundations and corporations in the Philippines. The League has continued to be at the forefront of promoting and enhancing CSR practice among its members and the larger business community in the country. Visit the LCF homepage at lcf.org.ph and the 2024 Conference and Expo microsite at bit.ly/2024CSRExpo.