Ayala Corporation has won Asia’s Best Integrated Report (“Highly Commended”) at the 4th Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ASRA), Southeast Asia’s highest recognition for corporate reporting. The awarding took place in Singapore last March 6, 2019.
“Sustainability reporting has become an important tool for investors and stakeholders to assess a company’s full value. High quality reporting and disclosure allows organizations to communicate how they manage their economic, environmental, social and governance impacts, risks and opportunities to create value in the short, medium and long term,” explained Rajesh Chhabara, managing director at CSRWorks International and the creator of the Awards. “Ayala Corporation’s winning report demonstrates the company’s leadership in sustainability reporting and a deep sense of commitment to transparency, disclosure and value creation.”
The Ayala group’s first Integrated Report is the first of its kind in the Philippines. It shows how Ayala uses its different capitals—financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social, and natural—to create business strategies that would benefit not just the company but the communities that it serves. The report details Ayala expansion from its core businesses in real estate, telecommunications, banking, and water, to more transformative businesses in healthcare, education, infrastructure, industrial technology, and energy that would serve broader markets and create shared value for all its stakeholders. The report also discloses how Ayala supports and aligns its environmental endeavors throughout the company, and the importance of groupwide interconnectivity in matters such as governance, risk management, and investor relations.
“We thank the organizing committee and judges for this honor. This confirms that we in Ayala are on the right direction in communicating our sustainability efforts and overall performance. We continue to innovate to make our reporting platform more comprehensive and informative. This achievement calls us to more action in taking greater responsibility to all our stakeholders. Ultimately, this inspires us to keep our focus towards our purpose of improving lives,” said Ayala Chief Sustainability Officer Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco.
The awards ceremony was hosted by the British High Commissioner in Singapore H.E. Scott Wightman, and was attended by senior business leaders from 13 countries. Also in attendance were dignitaries from other fields such as academia, non-profit, embassies, trade associations and advocacy organizations.
The awards were presented by the Guest of Honor Jessica Cheam, managing editor of Eco-Business, H.E. Scott Wightman, and special guests Dr. Lawrence Loh, Director of Corporate Governance, Institutions and Organizations at NUS Business School, and Dr. Wu Huijuan, Assistant Director, Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Ayala’s award was received by Audrey Chong of Ayala International.
A record 82 companies from 14 countries made it to the final round of the 2018 Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards across 17 categories. Finalists can be viewed at https://csrmatters.com/finalists-2018/