MANILA, PHILIPPINES — City Savings Bank (CitySavings), the thrift bank subsidiary of the Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), has made supporting public schools more sustainable through its initiative, Turning Plastic into School Chairs.
Spearheaded by the Bank’s Branch Operations and Human Resources teams, the goal was to collect as much plastic waste from the employees in a month. The recycling drive gathered almost 2,000 kilograms of waste plastic from CitySavings branches and corporate offices nationwide. These were then turned over to Envirotech Waste Recycling, a company based in Davao City, which produced the school chairs, each made out of 30 kilograms of plastic waste, at a discounted rate.
CitySavings Human Resources Head Hannah Contreras shared, “We are proud of our CitySavings Bankers for their all-out support as sustainability stewards. The success of this initiative clearly showed how the spirit of Ubuntu moved us to connect and partner with our stakeholders and communities to minimize our impact on the environment for a better and more sustainable future. This is employee engagement and sustainability in action.”
A total of 50 chairs were produced and donated to the beneficiaries, Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Central Elementary School in Davao City and Tunasan National High School in Muntinlupa City in support of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Matatag agenda to supplement basic education facilities and services.
During the turnover ceremony, Principal Dr. Ador Querubin mentioned, “Our school population has grown from 6,000 to 9,000 students in the past few years. With this, there is a need to increase the number of facilities to be used by our learners at Tunasan National High School. These sustainably produced chairs donated by CitySavings will not just help 25 students, but generations of students to come.” Principal Querubin also highlighted how sustainable practices can make the learning environment more conducive and comfortable for students.
In Davao City, Principal Riza Lobitos of Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Central Elementary School was grateful for the donation. “We are very excited to use these unique and sustainably produced chairs given to us by our partners from CitySavings. We will have them in our Reading Village and Reading Kiosk to help encourage our students to read more.” The school pledged to support the continuation of this initiative by collecting more empty plastic bottles so CitySavings and its partner can produce more chairs.
As CitySavings incorporates sustainability practices into its operations, the Bank commits to #BEESustainable by continuing its sustainability-driven initiatives that further support our educators and learners while significantly helping the environment. Principal Riza summed it all up as she closed her thanksgiving message during the turnover, “Alam niyo na kung saan kayo lalapit kung nangangailangan kayo. Nandiyan lagi ang CitySavings para tumulong.” (You know who to turn to when you’re in need. CitySavings is always ready to help.)
