Countries
Ripple effects and cooperation
- We feel that things are going somewhere, that the power plants have positive consequences for the area, says Norberto Pacio, leader of the village council in Tinongdan near Binga, where SN Power and local partner Aboitiz are giving the power plant a makeover.
- The fact that new partners such as SN Aboitiz Power come on the scene gives us more freedom to choose our own development, Pacio says. Look at our recycling projects; we wanted to stop the pollution of the countryside in Tinongdan, and with SN Aboitiz Power’s contribution, this can be achieved. People all over Tinongdan have learned about recycling and reuse.
In Tinongdan, SN Aboitiz Power has also subsidised the building of the community hall, improvement of classrooms in the village school and supported sports education in the school. The women’s association and the association for the elderly have both received funding, as has the recently acquired village ambulance. But village council leader Pacio is most eager to talk about local culture.
- We have signed the ancestral domain sustainable development protection plan together with SN Aboitiz Power, he says. The traditional culture must be upheld, and we are now holding workshops and teaching people traditional handicraft techniques. Our children learn local dances, and we hold an annual festival of culture. We want to grow, but we must also consider how we grow. Not all growth is progress.
EVP Manny Rubio agrees that there are more ways of achieving success than making money. - The people in area, who ensure that the whole thing works in a long term perspective, must feel appreciated, he says. When our employees can say that they are happy, both with their work and with the added value SN Aboitiz Power brings to their community, then we can say that we have achieved success as a company.