I'm really happy to learn about global brands taking significant steps to help the community and the environment. Aegis PeopleSupport, the global leader in lifecycle management recently kicked off its first "Happy World Eco-Talk" at the Aegis PeopleSupport Center in Makati.
This partnership with emerging business enterprise Rags2Riches (R2R) aims to help educate BPO employees on how they can become "earth warriors" and actively take part in the Aegis PeopleSupport's "Happy World" Corporate Social Responsibility campaign.
R2R is a multi-awarded social business enterprise based in the Philippines. We are blessed to have attended previous events that launched the designs of Filipino couture designers like Rajo Laurel, Amina Aranaz-Alunan, and recently, Oliver Tolentino. The objective is to create high-fashion bags out of discarded materials through a process called “upcycling.” This essentially helps conserve the environment while providing a sustainable source of income for the mothers of the Payatas dumpsite community. Believe it or not, these mothers are the women-artisans who painstakingly weave the fabrics into the high-fashion bags that are sold in upscale stores, both in the Philippines and abroad.
Aegis PeopleSupport commissioned R2R to create bags designed by Rajo Laurel for the employees of the global brand. Taking it a step further, the company also volunteered to provide free English proficiency seminars to the "nanays" of Payatas. The seminar was conducted by Aegis training arm, Aspire, together with their University Linkages Program and the Communications Department.
I'm really hoping that more private and international brands will follow suit. In this day and age, we need more companies who have the heart and courage to aim for the "triple bottomline" as beacons of change.
An R2R artisan demonstrates how discarded materials are weaved and “upcycled” into high-fashion bags while R2R's CEO Reese Fernandez talks about eco-ethical lifestyle
Aegis PeopleSupport’s Vice President for Human Resources Jackie Barrios
joined by R2R’s CEO Reese Fernandez-Ruiz
Lei Cadiz, Aegis PeopleSupport Senior Manager for Marketing; Jackie Barrios, Aegis PeopleSupport Vice President for Human Resources; Reese Fernandez-Ruiz, R2R CEO; and Owen Maddela, Aegis PeopleSupport Communications Manager
