PLDT, Smart join UNGC commitment to good governance, ethics at UN75

PLDT and its subsidiary Smart Communications were among the companies that signed the “Statement from Business Leaders for Renewed Global Cooperation” at the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN75).

In a release by PLDT-Smart, it said the statement led by UN Global Compact (UNGC), the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, called for international cooperation specifically in aspects concerning good governance and ethical business practices.

PLDT chair and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan and Smart president and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio joined the said pact along with over 1,000 international business leaders.

PLDT and Smart were part of the signatories from the “large businesses” group, or companies that had more than $5 billion revenue and/or over 10,000 employees.

The companies said their participation was “a tier higher than signatories limited to local engagement,” with “participants actively [engaging] with the UNGC at the global level to integrate the organization’s Ten Principles on human rights, labor, environment and anticorruption.” 

“PLDT is committed to making the UNGC principles part of company strategy, culture, and day-to-day operations, and to engage in collaborative projects in order to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs),” said Pangilinan.

“The UNGC Statement from Business Leaders for Renewed Global Cooperation underscores the commitment of PLDT and Smart to help in nation-building. We are guided by the business basics espoused in the UNGC Principles, which are essential in creating shared value for business and the society,” added Panlilio.

PLDT-Smart said its chief sustainability office shall oversee group-wide developments stemming from the UNGC commitment. 

“The PLDT Group plays an active and integral part in a whole dynamic socio-economic ecosystem wherein people rely on each other to act responsibly and conscientiously,” said PLDT group chief sustainability officer Chaye A. Cabal-Revilla. – RC, GMA News