Causes Archives - Page 2 of 3 - The Philippine Beat

WWF-Philippines supports the UN Environment Assembly in pushing for a global treaty on plastic pollution

Posted on March 3, 2022 by jane

From February 28 to March 4, 2022, the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) 5.2 will convene. UNEA 5.2 coincides with the 10th anniversary of its creation and the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Programme. UN Member States are expected to adopt a decision to start negotiations on a new treaty on plastic pollution. More than three-fourths of the UN membership publicly support the development of a new global agreement along with more than 2.1 million individuals, 25 financial institutions, and more than 60 companies globally.

WWF-Philippines is one with the Philippines and other UN countries’ plan to push for this global treaty. The Philippines is a co-sponsor of the Peru and Rwanda Resolution which proposes that UNEA establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with a mandate to prepare a new legally binding global agreement that would form part of international law.

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WWF-Philippines and Grieg Foundation partner to help reduce plastic waste by 50% in certain Philippine ports

Posted on February 10, 2022February 10, 2022 by jane

Remember the Titanic? It was the largest ship of its time during the early 1900s, a product of a British passenger line, the White Star Line. The Titanic weighed over 46,000 tons! That is roughly 104.6 million pounds!

Well, here is some trivia from the sea and it is NOT looking good. According to a study conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), in a project funded by Grieg Foundation, a Norwegian foundation, Filipinos consume about 2.15 million tons of plastics in a year (equivalent to 41 Titanics!) from which 9% are recycled and 35% leak into the open environment. Just imagine — 35% of all that plastic ends up as plastic waste in the ocean EVERY YEAR!!! And the major pathway that leads to plastic waste in oceans is through ports where there is a high level of activity and traffic.

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WWF-Philippines releases its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) roadmap to address plastic pollution

Posted on January 30, 2022January 30, 2022 by jane

World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF-Philippines) recently released an updated report entitled “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme Assessment for Plastic Packaging Waste in the Philippines”. In the first edition of this report released in 2020, it was reported that in 2019, the number of plastic items consumed by Filipinos was 2.15 million tons per annum. Thirty-five percent (35%) of the consumed plastics leak into the open environment, while 33% are disposed of in sanitary landfills and open dumpsites, with only 9% recycled because of our lack of capacity to recycle both high and low-value plastics.

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Watsons continues to change lives — one smile at a time

Posted on November 29, 2021 by jane

Growing up disfigured has a huge impact on the lives of children. Just look at these statistics.

Every 3 minutes, a child with a cleft and lip palate is born. In the Philippines, 1 in 500 children born has a cleft and lip palate condition, a gap in the mouth that did not close during the early stages of pregnancy.

Every year, about 4,500 Filipino babies are born with this condition.

As a mother, I can already imagine how this will affect children with this deformity. Very low self-esteem. Huge possibility that the child will grow up being bullied. Malnutrition, due to the inability to eat well. Poor social interaction. Limited job opportunities.

Organizations like Operation Smile Philippines (OSP) have helped children with this condition since 1982 with medical missions participated in by doctors and other medical and non-medical volunteers. For the last nine years, Watsons Philippines has partnered with OSP and, in the process, transformed the lives of 1,986 patients. This year, Watsons once again partners with OSP as part of its mission to Look Good, Do Good, Feel Good.

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A Pru Life UK study highlights key insights into climate change and how it impacts Filipinos’ health and wealth

Posted on November 19, 2021November 27, 2021 by jane

As I am publishing this article, the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that was held in Glasgow just ended. Simultaneous with COP26, Pru Life UK released the results of an independent study on the impact of climate change to Filipinos’ health and wellbeing and financial security.

The paper was launched via a PRUWise Healthscape PH webinar, Pru Life UK’s banner multisectoral health dialogue platform. Planetary health expert, member of the National Panel of Technical Experts of the Philippine Climate Change Commission, Dr. Ramon Lorenzo “Renzo”’ R. Guinto, who is also the lead author of the study, entitled “How will climate change affect the health of Filipinos in the next decade?”, explained the key insights from the study.

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WWF continues the fight against plastic pollution by advocating an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme in the Philippines

Posted on October 26, 2020October 27, 2020 by jane

The Philippines is environmentally in danger if we do not do anything. Look at these statistics from a recent report undertaken by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), cyclos GmbH, and AMH Philippines Inc, “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme Assessment for Plastic Packaging Waste in the Philippines”.

Filipinos consume a yearly average of 20kg of plastics
Of this number, 15.43kg/capita/year becomes waste
The country has a low plastic recycling rate (9%) due largely to insufficient recycling capacities for high-value recyclables (i.e. PET, PP, HDPE) and the high volume of low-value plastics (including sachets)
The Philippines leaks about 35% of its plastic waste into the environment

35% of all our plastics consumption leak into the environment (soil, water)

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The SAFE STEPS Kids programme teaches kids safety measures while watching Cartoon Network

Posted on July 6, 2019 by jane

Who doesn’t know the Powerpuff Girls? As the mom of four growing kids some years back, I still remember how they were hooked on Cartoon Network and one of the shows they watched all the time was the Powerpuff Girls. Well, the Powerpuff Girls and more of their Cartoon Network buddies are back again, not just to save the world, but to SAVE OUR KIDS!!!

Partnering with Prudence Foundation and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Cartoon Network will be bringing crucial safety information to our kids on their cable channel. Twelve videos, each about 50 seconds long, will feature three topics: disasters, first aid, and road safety. The Powerpuff Girls start off the series with videos on how to stay safe during disasters. Later in the year, We Bare Bears will be featured with first aid tips; and characters from The Amazing World of Gumball will tackle road safety.

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Let’s do our share to reduce plastic waste in the Philippines! Say #AyokoNgPlastik!

Posted on October 25, 2018 by jane

A 2015 report on plastic pollution done by Ocean Conservancy and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment is said to have ranked the Philippines as the third top plastic polluter in the world. A pilot whale was found dead in Thailand with almost 20 pounds of plastic in its stomach. Just the other day, news broke out that microplastics have been found in human feces. It is no longer surprising. If animals ingest plastics by accident and meat is part of our diet, these microplastics will eventually find its way into our gut.

It also does not help that plastics proliferate, especially here in the Philippines, due to the ‘tingi’ (sachet) concept where products are repackaged into one-time use plastic sachets for convenience, sanitation, and affordability by the less fortunate.

Recently, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, together with Ayala Malls and other partner corporations, officially launched #AyokoNgPlastik — a movement that hopes to address these alarming facts by bringing together companies, individuals, and other sectors to minimize and eventually eradicate single-use plastics such as straws, bags, bottles, and caps by refusing to use them.

WWF-Philippines National Ambassadors Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez with WWF Next Generation Council member, Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi

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Electrolux donates washing machines to lighten mothers’ loads…literally!

Posted on May 21, 2018 by jane

As a Mom, I know how much of our energy can be spent washing clothes. I’m lucky. I have a washing machine and someone who helps with the laundry. But so many other mothers of less fortunate circumstances don’t. They need to work hard for other people in order to earn money and still have to wash (often by hand) their family’s clothes when they come home. These mothers often have to set aside quality time that they could have spent with their family because there are chores to do — cooking, cleaning, teaching their kids.

It was right and just in time for Mother’s Day then that many of these mothers were given a respite. Partnering with supply chain outfit CEVA Philippines, Electrolux Philippines donated 200 washing machines to chosen mothers, communities, and organizations.

Called “Love You Loads”, the donation program involved GMA Kapuso Foundation and Gawad Kalinga’s beneficiaries and programs. At a simple turnover ceremony at the Electrolux office, Electrolux Philippines Country Marketing Manager Andrea Soto-Pionilla said that May is “the time where we recognize and share our appreciation for mothers and all the hard work that they do.”

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Earth Hour 2018 is happening on March 24 with its theme #Connect2Earth

Posted on March 14, 2018March 14, 2018 by jane

Save the date – March 24, 2018. On this day, Filipinos nationwide will be observing Earth Hour for the 11th straight year. Its theme, #Connect2Earth, is a campaign to strengthen awareness about biodiversity and climate action.

Earth Hour Flashback

Earth Hour began originally in Sydney on March 31, 2007. The year after, in 2008, Manila joined in. My family and I participated by turning off our house lights. I’ve been trying to participate in some way since then. Initially Earth Hour just involved turning off lights everywhere. Malls and public places began organizing events around this lights-off highlight. But in 2011, Earth Hour launched its theme “Going Beyond the Hour” to encourage all participant cities to do more than just turn lights off for an hour. Today, Earth Hour participants span over 7,000 cities and 180 countries and territories with many sustainable and energy-saving activities year-long. In the Philippines, for example, these Beyond the Hour activities involve:

The deployment of portable solar lamps to replace dangerous and dirty kerosene lamps in Palawan and Mindoro.
The sharing of best practices for communities via the One Planet City Challenge.
The dissemination of climate change solutions via environmental education sessions, training modules, heavy media engagements, and talks.

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