For the third straight year, BDO Foundation was recognized by the prestigious Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) for its outstanding achievement in corporate social responsibility (CSR). The financial education program for public schools–the foundation’s partnership project with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)–was named one of the best in Asia by the award-giving body.
According to AREA, BDO Foundation’s corporate citizenship initiative is among the notable winning projects in 2019. Out of more than 200 entries from 16 countries submitted this year, the foundation’s financial education program is among 64 awardees honored by AREA. The corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank is one of only three Philippine organizations recognized. Other awardees are firms based in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, among other countries.
The award under the social empowerment category and certificate of achievement were presented to BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito at the AREA 2019 awarding ceremonies held in Taipei, Taiwan.
“We share this honor with our partners DepEd and BSP, who made the program possible through their support and expertise,” Deriquito underscored. “It is through our close collaboration and shared advocacy to promote financial inclusion that we were able to develop effective financial literacy materials. As a new school year begins, we look forward to the deployment of the program to more than 800,000 teachers and non-teaching personnel, and 24 million students in over 47,000 public schools across the country.”
In previous years, BDO Foundation was cited by AREA for its rural health units rehabilitation program and its initiative to support persons with disabilities affected by Typhoon Yolanda. This year, AREA recognized the foundation for developing a financial education program that helps the target audience learn lessons on such topics as savings, budgeting, financial planning, investments, managing debt, the responsible use of credit, entrepreneurship and avoiding scams.
The AREA 2019 awarding ceremonies were attended by more than 300 guests that included business executives, government officials, diplomatic representatives, social and community leaders and CSR practitioners. The event was held in conjunction with the International CSR Summit 2019, which served as a venue for delegates from 16 countries to share insights on how to pursue corporate citizenship programs that aggressively promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Organized by Enterprise Asia, AREA honors companies and corporate foundations in Asia that promote responsible entrepreneurship. It recognizes their leadership, sincerity and commitment in incorporating responsible and ethical values, legal compliance, respect for people and individuals, involvement in communities and protection of the environment into the way they run their businesses.
Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization that aims to champion entrepreneurship development across Asia and cultivate a culture of honesty, fairness and responsible entrepreneurship.
Photo caption: Enterprise Asia executives present an award to BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito (center) in recognition of the financial education program for public schools in the Philippines, the foundation’s partnership project with DepEd and BSP.
