Tag: Sustainability

Manila, Philippines – Acer Philippines recently launched their Acer Day #MakeYourGreenMark campaign in line with their 20th anniversary, aiming to amplify the brand’s message of Acer’s commitment to a more sustainable future to millions across the globe.

The campaign’s unique call to action helped boost Acer Philippines’ sustainability message through a combination of innovative promotions, CSR partnerships, and event entertainment. Notably, Acer Philippines also released their #AceYourWorld original song and music video featuring brand ambassadors Sarah Geronimo and SB19 as part of the campaign.

For the campaign, Acer Philippines mainly staged a ‘Green Mark’ concert featuring a line-up of famous Filipino artists, and fans earned tickets through green initiatives such as donations to The Green Earth Heritage Foundation and plastic contributions to The Plastic Flamingo. 

The concert was attended by 15,000 on-ground and online fans and reached over 714 million people worldwide. More importantly, the campaign raised funds amounting to over million pesos, which will be used to plant 5,401 trees to help in forest rehabilitation efforts and a donation of over 20 metric tons of plastic to be transformed into a range of sustainable construction materials.

MARKETECH APAC also reached out to Princess Laosantos, senior marketing manager at Acer Philippines, to shed more light on Acer Philippines’ sustainability efforts. 

When asked about the reason as to why Acer Philippines went for a concert initiative as a sustainability platform, Laosantos said that it was mainly because music speaks to all ages, which makes the initiative relevant and relatable.

“Our target audience is young, so we wanted to be relevant and relatable to them. What better way to do that than through music? Music is a universal language that speaks to people of all ages, and we wanted to convey our messages in a language understood by many,” she told MARKETECH APAC. 

It is also worth mentioning that prior to this concert initiative, Acer Philippines had already launched key efforts when it comes to sustainability through previous projects and their product lineup. 

“In 2021, we introduced the ‘Earthion (Earth Mission) Project’, which strives to be more sustainable by using recyclable materials and more sustainable processes to engage an ecosystem where our suppliers follow suit. We have also launched the Acer ‘Vero’ line, a range of products made from  20-30% post-consumer plastics in our computers, displays, accessories, and home appliances. We have also pledged to use 100% renewable energy by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,”she said.  

She also added, “We are very proud of the efforts that our employees, partners, and customers have made so far for the planet. We hope that they all continue to be responsible citizens for the environment. We also hope that they spread the word about what Acer is doing. We always say that sustainability is in Acer’s DNA. Sustainability is also the driving force for the future.”

APAC – Hewlett Packard (HP) Enterprise has announced that it has signed an agreement with Schneider Electric to provide customers in Asia Pacific with a broad range of sustainability IT products and services. 

The agreement builds on twenty years of collaboration in the region between the two companies and will see them working together to help customers drive down their IT carbon footprint and emissions.

Under the aforementioned agreement, HPE will offer its portfolio of sustainable IT solutions and services such as HPE GreenLake cloud services which helps enterprises deliver outcomes more efficiently, HPE’s IT asset lifecycle services to give new life to used IT equipment, HPE Services that improve sustainability outcomes, as well as sustainability dashboard on the HPE GreenLake platform which provides visibility, monitoring, and management of IT energy consumption and carbon footprint.

By combining their distinct areas of sustainability expertise, Schneider Electric and HPE will make it easy for customers to seamlessly access sustainability products, solutions, and services available from each company. Which in turn, enables customers a more streamlined approach to manage their organization’s carbon footprints across their entire value chain.

Mohan Krishnan, vice president and general manager of HPE GreenLake Cloud Services, Asia Pacific, said, “This alignment enables our customers to partner closely with HPE and Schneider Electric and seamlessly tap into our collective suite of sustainability offerings. 

Meanwhile, Giuliana Auinger, head of sustainability business, Asia Pacific at Schneider Electric, commented, “This agreement will enable more organizations to take advantage of the decades-long expertise we have in delivering IT solutions to enterprises in the region, and we look forward to helping customers manage their carbon footprint and shift towards clean, renewable energy.”

The new agreement will cover customer engagements across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Singapore – Singaporean bank DBS has recently unveiled its metaverse concept for ‘DBS BetterWorld’, a gamified adventure that leverages the use of the metaverse as a force that promotes sustainability.

In line with the ‘Towards Zero Food Waste’ initiative of DBS in 2020, the virtual experience highlights the global food waste challenge and what Businesses for Impact supported by the DBS Foundation are doing to address the issue.

As part of the experience, players must complete a series of activities inspired by five Businesses for Impact supported by the DBS Foundation and their unique approach to mitigating food waste. 

The five businesses involved are upcycling craft beer makers Brewerkz and Breer, sustainable food retail store GreenPrice, and urban farming practitioners Edible Garden City and Rooftop Republic.  

Players based in Singapore will be treated to extra rewards which can be redeemed via special QR codes accessed using DBS PayLah!. DBS has also included easter eggs for players to discover, including cameo appearances by characters from the bank’s web series, ‘Sparks’. DBS BetterWorld will be accessible to the public once the sandbox’s alpha season 4 is launched.

Karen Ngui, head of group strategic marketing and communications at DBS, and board member of DBS Foundation, said, “DBS believes that it is possible to leverage the metaverse as a force for good. It can be harnessed as an interactive platform to increase awareness of important ESG issues and creatively spotlight those who are finding innovative ways to address them.”

“For starters, with DBS BetterWorld, we have chosen to delve into the challenges of food waste and food resilience, issues that DBS and the DBS Foundation have been championing, in a unique and engaging way. As metaverse technologies mature, we hope to create mechanisms for communities and businesses to translate the outcomes of their virtual initiatives to real world impact,” she added. 

Singapore – Singaporean media company Stellar Ace has unveiled the ‘Green Package’, a first-of-its-kind initiative to support all companies that need to promote their environment friendly efforts. 

Being a part of Stellar Ace’s ‘Green Journey’ workflow, the new offering will be focusing on sustainability,  considering the entire life cycle of each client’s advertising campaign, from the supplies and processes used, to end-of-life recycling.

In this light, Green Package will be committed to the use of eco-friendly FSC certified paper and environmentally friendly inks for printed materials. Large format displays will also be using PET backlit materials and the most recyclable plastic available, ensuring high vividness and contrast for client advertisements while remaining environmentally friendly.

Stellar Ace’s Green Package offers two features with the first one being that every asset purchased by a client to promote their ESG initiatives will be matched by Stellar Ace, effectively doubling the client’s ESG efforts at no additional cost.

The second feature is that clients can choose from three network solution bundles namely Planet Save, Happy Forest and Eco-view which combine OOH, DOOH and Online assets, and are available at half the cost for ESG driven content. Each package will save an estimated 0.022 tons of CO2e in carbon footprint and 199.73 tons of CO2e in light savings per unit. Additionally, the production cost of the free assets will be absorbed by Stellar Ace.

Speaking on this, Jeslyn Tan, managing director of Stellar Ace, said, “We have a responsibility to our planet, and the time to act is now. The Green Package represents our commitment to sustainability and offers our clients a tangible way to enhance their own green initiatives.”

Singapore – Advertising and public relations agency Publicis Groupe in Singapore is taking on a unique endeavour to show its commitment to sustainability and conservation. The communications firm has recently announced the symbolic adoption of Simba, a two-and-a-half-year-old African Lion, at the Singapore Zoo. 

The agency has long been championing conservation and sustainability. In 2020, it formed a Space, Sustainability, Cohesion, and Wellness community, and across 2021 and 2022, it achieved the Singapore Environment Council’s Eco-Office certifications for its office spaces. This time, it takes a stride in being an inspiring example for wildlife conservation. 

The choice to adopt a lion goes back to how the animal has always been a key part of Publicis Groupe’s visual identity, with the head of a majestic lion embedded in its Logo. 

“So, when the time came to think about how the team could play a role in wildlife conservation, adopting Simba felt like a natural fit,” said the agency in Singapore. 

During the adoption ceremony at the Singapore Zoo, Publicis Groupe Singapore was presented with a certificate of adoption and unveiled a commemorative plaque. The leadership team were also joined by employees and their families who were part of the adoption ceremony. Further to this, the agency shared how they were engaged through an interactive session with Simba’s keeper, who shared insights into the lion’s birth, personality, and dedication required to care for him.

Following such initiative, Publicis Groupe Singapore will be offering employees more opportunities to visit Singapore Zoo and learn about Simba and other animals that call the wildlife park home. The intent is to help employees and families to gain a deeper appreciation for the importance of wildlife conservation and a sense of pride in being part of a company that values conservation. 

“Our adoption of Simba reflects our shared responsibility to protect the planet’s precious resources and understand the importance of wildlife conservation,” said Amrita Randhawa, CEO of Publicis Groupe Singapore & Southeast Asia. “We are proud to support Mandai Wildlife Group’s conservation efforts and honoured to be part of Simba’s future – he already feels like a part of the team!” 

Publicis Groupe’s Simba is the first lion cub in Singapore that was conceived via assisted reproduction at the Mandai Wildlife Group’s Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre. As the only offspring of his father, Mufasa, Simba plays an important role in contributing to the genetic diversity and sustainability of African Lion populations in zoological institutions. Publicis Groupe Singapore’s adoption will boost ongoing efforts to ensure its health and well-being.

Singapore – Popular coffeehouse chain Starbucks has announced that it is scaling its Greener Store program across Asia-Pacific in order to set benchmarks for the company regarding its environmental responsibility.

Five Greener Stores across Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are amongst the first in the Asia Pacific region to be certified, with over 20 more expected in 2023. With over 3,500 ‘Greener Stores’ certified across 20 markets, Starbucks is on a path towards achieving its goal of 10,000 Greener Stores total by 2025

The new Greener Stores in the Asia Pacific region help reduce Starbucks environmental impact through performance-based standards that incorporate design and extend throughout the life of a store. Each Greener Store has a unique combination of sustainable features that qualify for third-party verification on a quarterly basis. 

This ranges from features like energy and water efficient equipment and appliances, low-emitting paints and sealants, Grounds for Your Garden program, as well as energy efficient HVAC temperature systems and more. Additionally, the new Greener Stores in Asia include elements that go beyond the standard to deliver more robust energy, carbon, water, and waste reductions. 

In support of Starbucks’ goals of reducing carbon, water, and waste footprints by 2030, the open-source Greener Stores Framework was co-developed with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The framework includes a set of 25 performance-based standards across environmental impact areas such as energy efficiency, water stewardship, and waste diversion, designed to accelerate the transformation of retail towards lower-impact stores. 

Michael Kobori, chief sustainability officer at Starbucks, said that they are excited to continue expanding their Greener Store portfolio worldwide, which is a key step towards reaching their resource positive goals.

He also added that they have already seen results of their Greener Stores in the United States where they first piloted, as well as seeing significant reductions in energy use as well as water being saved.

“With a company of Starbucks scale – any one action, no matter how small, has the potential for massive impact. We are heartened by our partners around the world who are stepping up to adopt our Greener Store standards. This is testament of their energy and passion for sustainability that continues to drive our innovation,” Kobori said.

Sydney, Australia – Media agency Mediahub has announced its partnership with programmatic technology provider Teads to create a global platform first partnership, designed to offer clients a unique Attention Guaranteed Buying model.

The partnership is targeted at streamlining the supply path, focusing on providing better quality impressions with less wastage, which will also assist their clients to reach their sustainability and ESG objectives.

Mediahub’s Head of Digital, Gerry Bowness, said that attention has been a hot topic in the industry, firmly placing itself into the measurement mix, however, he believed it was time to give clients a competitive advantage and provide better buying and trading methodologies that guarantee business results.

He added, “We’ve done extensive work in the Attention space over the past 2 years, culminating in the creation of custom bidding algorithms to give our clients a competitive edge. These algorithms enabled us to optimise campaigns in [real-time], delivering outstanding results – but buying [and] trading methods haven’t evolved at the same pace so we set about to change that.”

Bowness also explained that the unique Attention Guaranteed Buying model will start to move away from buying media on legacy metrics such as CPMs and CPCVs and will provide their clients with a zero-risk buying model that will guarantee results.

Meanwhile, Paul DaBell, head of sales NSW and QLD at Teads said, “Providing creative solutions has always been part of our DNA so partnering with Mediahub and developing a media buying solution that will genuinely benefit clients and grow their business is exactly what we are about.”

Mediahub’s Executive Director for APAC, Andrew Livingston, concluded, “At Mediahub, driving digital innovation reinforces our challenger positioning and with attention metrics emerging as the new beta currency in the digital space, it’s exciting to be at the forefront of the industry with this pioneering partnership with Teads.”

The partnership is effective April 12 this year immediately benefitting all Mediahub clients including recent pitch wins such as BSH (Bosch, Siemens, Gaggenau, and Neff) and Arla (Lurpak and Castello).

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) efforts and corporate practices have gained momentum in recent years, with businesses and consumers becoming more conscious about the impact of their investments and purchases on the environment and society. A PwC report says that institutional investors plan to increase ESG allocation in the next 2 years whilst Hong Kong and Singapore take the lead in Asia-Pacific – backed by financial regulatory authorities moving towards stronger ESG risk and reporting practices. 

From 1 Jan 2023 to 8 Mar 2023, there have been 638 mentions on ESG topics and a 12% lift in engagements across news sources in APAC compared to the previous period, according to Meltwater’s Explore solution.

Based on Edelman Trust Barometer 2022, societal leadership is now a core function of businesses. 88% of institutional investors subject ESG to the same level of scrutiny as financial and operational considerations. Meanwhile, 81% expect CEOs and Founders to be visible in public policy discourse and work their companies have done that has benefited society.

Strong sentiments amongst institutional investors in rejecting or stopping investment with an asset manager due to shortcomings in corporate ESG efforts or strategies, according to the PwC report, show how critical is sustainability in the decision-making process for stakeholders.

As the ESG journey is unique to each business and requires a tailored approach, meaningful reporting with full transparency is crucial to measuring and communicating the progress of a business’s ESG journey. 

However, effective communication, tracking, and measuring the impact of ESG strategies can seem like uncharted waters to some. Investing in such tools opens up a huge potential in driving relevance in communications strategy towards the public and stakeholders. By doing so, businesses can position themselves positively and authentically in the eyes of their stakeholders.

Multinational financial services company Western Union faced a challenge when it sought to assess its reputation and progress in meeting ESG standards. The company’s Social Listening, Analytics, and Insight department found it challenging to access and interpret the large volume of relevant data being generated daily. A tool that enables companies to track and evaluate their reputation across multiple channels, including broadcast news, digital news, blog forums, review sites, and social media platforms is much needed.

Technology of examining millions of posts each day from social media platforms, blogs, and news sites have enormous potential to help businesses make better-informed decisions based on insights and manage their ESG communications and company’s reputation on a global scale more effectively whilst staying up to date on industry changes or initiatives.

With comprehensive and integrated data, it’s easier to keep abreast of how your brand and industry are stacking up in the ESG space – which in turn enables your team to craft impactful initiatives or content strategies in the future.

Watch Meltwater’s on-demand webinar on “Measuring the Impact of ESG Strategies in APAC” to find out how you can track, measure, and optimise the effectiveness of your ESG communications. Get access to the content here.

This feature is done in collaboration with Meltwater.

The article above is written by Weldon Fung, Area Director for Southeast Asia at Meltwater.

Australia – Australia-based frozen food brand Birds Eye has launched a new brand platform titled ‘An Eye For Good’ to showcase the sustainable work they do in order to bring high-quality food products to its consumers.

In collaboration with Wunderman Thompson, the brand platform comes with a 30-second video that shows ways of gathering natural resources, including pair of hands moving to cultivate the land, representing the activities done on a farm.

The video also shows ploughing rows of soil with a fork and using a seed silo like a pepper shaker – situations that are paralleled to how consumers prepare their meals at home, consuming the products that came from nature.

Katie Saunders, general manager marketing at Simplot, an agribusiness company behind Birds Eye, says that the brand platform is an opportunity to communicate about the actions it undertakes to build a more sustainable future.

Melanie Wiese, chief strategy officer at Wunderman Thompson, said that they loved helping Birds Eye due to its important contribution to Australia’s farms and consumers as well.

Lastly, João Braga, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson, added, “We wanted to show Aussies that Birds Eye put the same care into growing our food as they do into cooking theirs – and then bring it to life with an execution that felt as wholesome as a Birds Eye home-cooked dinner.”

Other works from the campaign will be seen on various platforms such as OOH, print, social, and television.

Singapore – Now that consumers are becoming more concerned about being an active player in the sustainability movement, the current period presents a great opportunity for brands and companies to jump on this interest and draw consumers further to step up their efforts in enabling a better society and environment. 

In light of this, the World Wildlife Fund organisation in Singapore (WWF-Singapore) is launching a new webinar this January 10, 2023, which aims to help businesses communicate better their sustainability commitment, specifically in the area of sustainable palm oil. 

The webinar, Palm Oil: Hero or Zero? How to Communicate About Palm Oil, will be pulling industry leaders from WWF-Singapore and Synthesis Sustainability Lab into one space to elaborate on the challenges and misconceptions affecting demand for sustainable palm oil, as well as the right communication approaches to boost consumer awareness and demand.

Joining the discussion are Vivek Kumar, chief marketing and communications director at WWF-Singapore; Audrey Tsen, sustainability lab director at Synthesis; and Gabrielle Malcolm, assistant market transformation manager at WWF-Singapore.

Through the virtual discussion, businesses can learn from industry experts on topics from communicating about sustainable palm oil to meeting consumers’ demand for sustainability in the said webinar.

WWF-Singapore has been working with businesses and communities on the ground to develop tools and guidance for better traceability and transparency within palm oil supply chains, increasing market demand for certified sustainable palm oil and supporting the production of sustainable palm oil in key landscapes. 

The webinar, Palm Oil: Hero or Zero? How to Communicate About Palm Oil, will be held on January 10, 2023, at 3:00 pm (GMT + 08:00). Secure your spot at the webinar HERE.