Nestlé, Motolite and PBSP honor ‘Balik Baterya’ champions
Most automobiles use lead-acid batteries that are toxic to people and the environment. With the volume of vehicles today, it is hard to imagine how many batteries are discarded every year.
If improperly disposed, lead and sulfuric acid can leak from the battery and contaminate the environment, posing serious threat to the soil and groundwater. Worse, it may end up being ingested by animals and people.
According to the World Health Organization, lead is particularly harmful to children. Every year, about 600,000 new cases of children developing intellectual disabilities are attributed to exposure to this neurotoxin. Apart from this, lead exposure is estimated to cause 143,000 deaths each year mostly in developing regions.
However, lead poisoning can be prevented through various means such as recycling used lead-acid batteries (ULABs). One sustainable solution to address this is the Motolite-PBSP Balik Baterya Program, launched in 2006 by Oriental & Motolite Marketing Corporation (OMMC) and Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).
In the Program, all collected ULABs are properly recycled and its hazardous components treated through the Evergreen Environmental Resources, Inc. (EERI), an ISO 14001- and 9002-certified facility. EERI is an accredited recycler of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
UNITING FOR ENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATION
Recently, 19 partner truckers of Nestlé Philippines were recognized for their support to the Motolite-PBSP Balik-Baterya Program during a simple ceremony held at the Nestlé Rockwell Center in Makati. It was led by Nestlé Philippines’ Supply Chain Management Director Robert Vallender and Technical Director Peter Winter, together with OMMC CSR Officer Connie Deligero and PBSP Corporate Affairs Head Jerome Daclison.
“As a company, we also have our own social responsibility and this is part of our corporate citizenship. Even in our small ways, if we can contribute in saving the environment, that is already a big achievement for us,” said Cristina Caringal, Vice President of Sultan Kudarat Milling & Trading Inc., one of Nestlé’s transport partners with the largest contribution to the project.
Motolite-PBSP Balik Baterya Program aims to properly dispose of ULABs by collecting it from businesses and individuals who share in this advocacy and recycling it. Proceeds from it are used to help improve the quality of public school education through Project LEAP (Learning Enhancement Assistance Package). The project includes classroom construction, provision of facilities and textbooks, teachers training, reading sessions, and supplemental feeding for schoolchildren.
To add strategic value to the program, PBSP has been harnessing the collective power of its member-companies like Nestlé Philippines and their partners to scale up impact. For the past seven years, these transport partners have donated a total of 42,000 kilograms of ULABs amounting to Php1.1 million which helped assist eight public schools through provision of 426 textbooks and 169 school chairs, year-round supplemental feeding for 70 pupils, four reading corners and three reading nooks, as well as the conduct of reading camps for 72 pupils.
“This program is significant because it brings all our transport partners together to work towards a common cause. While we don’t own any trucks at Nestlé, we do engage with a number of Philippine transport companies. If we can inspire them to do their share in protecting the environment through noteworthy initiatives such as this, then our collective efforts will truly help make a positive difference for the environment,” said Vallender.
Nestlé is known for its sustainable business practices like recycling coffee grounds as fertilizer in their farms or as supplemental fuel. As a member of PBSP, the company continues to support programs that help uplift lives of many Filipinos.
To further support Balik-Baterya, Vallender said Nestle is encouraging its employees to actively participate in the program by donating used batteries.
“We shall also reach out to our partner-shipping lines so they too can contribute to this worthy cause. This is a good and sustainable project so let us work together to keep it going and build on it. We take a lot from the planet, it is time we give some back,” he said.
SOLVING PROBLEMS TOGETHER
Winter, meanwhile, stressed the significance of collaboration and being responsible to ensure the continuity of the program.
He said, “We often think that addressing environmental issues is mostly the responsibility of government or that somebody else should do it, but actually, every single person has an important role to play in this regard. This blue planet of ours is very vulnerable to the impact of our actions, so together, we have to find ways to reach further and higher for the benefit of the environment.”
PBSP’s Daclison also encouraged the trucking companies to continue partnering with organizations in the implementation of their corporate citizenship programs.
“Align your initiatives with frameworks that provide you with metrics and consider partnering with organizations to make your contribution consolidated to a more collective action. Your partnership with Nestlé is a manifestation of that. By participating in the Motolite-PBSP Balik-Baterya program, you don’t only get the metric for environmental protection but you also get the metric on how you affected the lives of the kids. Moreover, joining this program also boosts our program goals for education and environment,” he said.