A United Nations body that champions women’s rights recognized First Philippine Holdings Corp. of the Lopez Group for upholding women’s equality and empowerment.
FPH earned the recognition from UN Women when the organization concluded late in October the national or Philippine phase of the 2022 Asia-Pacific Women Empowerment Principles Awards.
It is an annual event in Asia that UN Women holds as a way of recognizing leaders and business organizations that promote gender inclusivity and women empowerment.
UN Women, the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, adjudged FPH second runner-up under the Gender Responsive Marketplace category of the WEP Awards for the company’s ratification and implementation early this year of social safeguards policies.
The FPH social safeguard policies integrate into the value chain the conglomerate’s recognition of gender equality and diversity, on top of human rights, rights of indigenous people, recognition of IP cultural heritage and FPH commitment to protect the environment and manage its assets in a responsible manner.
The integration of the safeguard policies encompasses FPH’s partners and host communities.
Aside from ratifying the social safeguard policies, FPH chairman and chief executive Federico Lopez joined a global movement of top corporate executives who signed the “CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles.”
“Solving the pressing issues of planet and society requires the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders. Guided by the [WEPs], we commit to provide a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for our employees and co-creators [suppliers, contractors], respect the rights of our host communities, deliver the best products and services to our customers and satisfy the expectations of our investors,” Lopez said.
“This focus on gender diversity and inclusion elevates our collective potential to realize the FPH mission of a decarbonized and regenerative future for all,” he said.
FPH serves as the publicly-listed holding company for the power, industrial and real estate assets of the Lopez Group of Companies. The group has been at the forefront of the campaign to protect and enhance the environment aside from espousing GED.
The National WEP awarding ceremonies were held in October in the Philippines, Indonesia and other select countries where the WeEmpowerAsia Program of UN Women is present. The regional awarding ceremony would be held in November.