PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc. were among the companies recognized at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 75) in New York for supporting the organization’s call for international cooperation, specifically in aspects concerning good governance and ethical business practices.
The world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, the UN Global Compact (UNGC), spearheaded the landmark “Statement from Business Leaders for Renewed Global Cooperation.” PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan and Smart President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio joined the said pact along with over 1,000 international leaders.
Global-level UNGC participant
PLDT and Smart are registered under the UNGC as the only Philippine telco participants. A tier higher than signatories limited to local engagement, participants actively engage with the UNGC at the global level to integrate the organization’s Ten Principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
“PLDT is committed to making the UNGC principles part of company strategy, culture, and day-to-day operations, and to engage in collaborative projects in order to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSGDs),” PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan says.
"The UNGC Statement for Renewed Global Cooperation underscores the commitment of PLDT and Smart to help in nation-building. We are guided by the business basics, espoused in the UNGC Principles, which are essential in creating shared value for business and the society," Smart President and CEO and concurrent PLDT Chief Revenue Officer Alfredo S. Panlilio says.
Fairness, integrity, transparency and accountability
The UNGC Statement presented at the UNGA 75’s Private Sector Forum requires PLDT and Smart to, among others, commit to ethical leadership through values-based strategies, policies, operations and relationships when engaging with all stakeholders. This is expressed in PLDT-Smart’s high commitment to its fundamental policies –corporate governance and code of business conduct and ethics.
PLDT and Smart benchmark against recognized international best practices and consistently monitor developments in corporate governance – considered as the cornerstone of the Group’s strategy. These ensure that all corporate dealings continue to be compliant, effective and appropriate to the business and all relevant stakeholders.
Moreover, the companies strive to go beyond compliance and instill an ethical corporate culture guided by four core values— Fairness, Integrity, Transparency and Accountability—which underpin overall company growth strategy.
These core principles are threshed out in implementing policies, guidelines and procedures such as the Conflict of Interest Policy, Supplier/Contractor Relations Policy, Expanded Whistleblowing Policy, Policy on Gift-Giving Activities, Policy on Gifts, Entertainment and Sponsored Travel, Material Related Party Transactions Policy, Guidelines on Related Party Transactions, and Disclosure Rules, among others.
Apart from ensuring good governance and ethics throughout its business, the UNGC Statement also enjoins PLDT and Smart to invest in addressing systemic inequalities and injustices. The pact also urges active partnerships with the UN, government and civil society to strengthen access to justice, ensure accountability and transparency, provide legal certainty, promote equality and respect human rights.
Call for inclusive multilateralism
Good Governance and Ethical Business Practices are one of the seven sustainability pillars that make up the PLDT Group’s Sustainability Framework. Other sustainability pillars are Awesome Customer Experience and Quality of Service, Growth-driven Innovation, Responsible and Efficient Operations, Effective Environmental Stewardship, Excellence through Human Capital, and Positive Community Impact.
The PLDT-Smart Chief Sustainability Office shall oversee group-wide developments stemming from the UNGC commitment, as the Unit actively supports the UN's call for inclusive multilateralism. "The experience we all shared amid the COVID-19 pandemic drove home the point very clearly for us – the sustainability journey which we, as a large Filipino enterprise, have been navigating for some years now is a quest that we do not pursue on our own," PLDT Group Chief Sustainability Officer, PLDT SVP & Group Controller, and Smart Chief Financial Officer Chaye A. Cabal-Revilla says.
“The PLDT Group plays an active and integral part in a whole dynamic socio-economic ecosystem wherein people rely on each other to act responsibly and conscientiously,” she adds.
For more information about PLDT and Smart’s sustainability initiatives, visit www.pldt.com or send an email to ChiefSustainabilityOffice@pldt.com.ph.