In a recent media roundtable highlighting the inked partnership of Holcim Philippines and the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA), Lamudi CEO Bhavna Suresh shared that climate change is inevitable and hinted on the country’s need to respond to climate change whether it’s small incremental steps, or large-scale industrial efforts.
This is why Lamudi is reiterating their position on the matter, to support the building of resilient and sustainable cities, as what’s highlighted at their first panel discussion aptly named “Sustainability Efforts for the Philippines of NGOs and Private Organizations.” Aside from NGOs and private organizations, green developers also attended the talks to discuss the usual hindrances that slow down the green development efforts in the local scenes.
“Most of our coastal municipalities want to be cities eventually. How do we push them towards not just sustainability but also push them to also look at measures that will make them resilient as well?” mentioned Atty. Angela Ibay, Head of Climate and Energy Program of the World Wide fund for Nature.
One glaring and observable effect in the Philippines is the water shortage crisis affecting the country’s most population dense area, which is ironic since a barrage of typhoons seems to be attracted to it yet knowingly misses the dams. This is why former Chief Executive Officer of Manila Water Company Inc. Ferdz dela Cruz, Inc shared that the nascent urgency in addressing the matter.
“It’s up to us to make hard choices for us to be resilient. There are no easy choices at this point. For us to make that, we need to have a constructive dialog and without the misinformation,” said dela Cruz.
He also added that due to opposition in big water projects in their pipeline, pun intended, addressing the supply side of the issue causes execution delays. Since most customers quickly forget about the problem once the supply returns, it quickly resurfaces when another water shortage comes their way making it a recurring problem.
With large-scale organizations at the best spot to influence and call to arms various industry players in making impactful changes, there is no place for miscommunication in order to continue making the discussions sustainable.
“Lamudi is a giant brand. With all the buildings that are together, the organizations that you have a big influence on, you can create a big impact,” imparted Philippine Green Building Initiative Vice Chairman Amado de Jesus. “If you have a bigger role, that’s a bigger responsibility.”
Karina is not your ordinary supermom. She juggles her time bonding with her three amazing kids while being in the loop on the latest happenings in the tech and lifestyle scene. Follow me on Instagram (@digitalfilipina) regularly visit www.digitalfilipina.com for daily dose of updates not just for moms but for everyone!
