MANILA, SINGAPORE, 15 May 2024 – In a strategic move that promises to help Philippines businesses and SMEs in supply chains navigate the rise in ESG regulations and sustainable procurement practices to catalyse growth opportunities, Global Compact Network Philippines (GCNP) has joined forces with Asia’s leading Environmental, Social, and Governance (‘ESG’) data and technology solutions company, STACS, to utilise STACS’s ESGpedia platform to facilitate corporate sustainability and sustainability reporting for Philippines businesses and SMEs in supply chains.
Amidst upcoming regulatory requirements, Philippines businesses and supply chains are under increasing pressure to embrace sustainability reporting and full supply chain transparency.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be launching the full Sustainability Reporting Form (SuRe Form) later this year, with reporting due for Philippines businesses in 2025[1]. Under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), exports to Europe will be subjected to carbon tax on their emissions starting 2026[2], posing major trickle-down effects for Philippines businesses by affecting export competitiveness.
While Philippines companies are increasingly seeking to embark on sustainability, many lack the expertise and resources, especially with SMEs[3] accounting for 99.5 percent of existing businesses in the country. Recognising this, STACS ESGpedia and GCNP have taken active steps to support businesses and equip them with the necessary digital tools to empower their supply chains to comply.
Through the partnership, STACS’s ESGpedia platform will enable Global Compact Network Philippines’ ecosystem of businesses and supply chains to easily kickstart their ESG reporting journey. Using the free ESGpedia Starter Tool, companies and SMEs can report common ESG metrics and calculate their GHG emissions in accordance with GHG Protocol and ISO14064 methodologies. The digital platform simplifies various ESG standards and frameworks, as well as automatically converts operational data like fuel, refrigerant, and electricity consumption to GHG emissions under the standard GHG Protocol, localized to the Philippines.
STACS ESGpedia will be integrating the SuRe Form into its ESGpedia reporting platform. The digitalised SuRe Form tool will be in the form of a digital assessment, equipped with guidance notes to provide businesses additional information on the requirements of the disclosure.
This enables Philippines businesses and SMEs in supply chains to leverage digitalisation to easily kickstart their ESG reporting journey in accordance with their local reporting requirements, and future-proof against looming ESG regulations globally, which will affect Asia’s supply chain competitiveness, especially for carbon-intensive markets.
Benjamin Soh, Managing Director at STACS ESGpedia, said: “Digital enablement is key in helping companies and SMEs navigate the evolving ESG regulations and maintain competitiveness in the global supply chain. We are delighted to be partnering with Global Compact Network Philippines to facilitate SuRe Form reporting for Philippines businesses, helping them better position themselves and manage the increasing ESG regulatory requirements and scrutiny today.”
Ma. Victoria (Vickie) Tan, Chairperson at Global Compact Philippines Network, said: “In the Philippines and across Asia, the regulatory landscape surrounding ESG is rapidly evolving, reflecting the growing recognition of sustainability as a critical driver of economic development.”
[1] https://www.sec.gov.ph/notices/implementation-of-the-revised-sustainability-reporting-guidelines-and-sustainability-reportsure-form/#gsc.tab=0
[2] https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/eu-agreement-carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism
[3] The 2022 List of Establishments (LE) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recorded a total of 1,109,684 business enterprises operating in the country. Of these, 1,105,143 (99.59%) are MSMEs and 4,541 (0.41%) are large enterprises.
For further information, please contact:
STACS ESGpedia (www.stacs.io)
Grace Lim, Senior Marketing Manager
Email: [email protected]
Global Compact Network Philippines (https://gcnp.org.ph/)
Edward Marcel Gacusana, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
About STACS ESGpedia
STACS (Hashstacs Pte Ltd) is Asia’s leading ESG data and technology company, headquartered in Singapore. Its ESGpedia platform powers the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN) Asia-Pacific Green Deal digital platform, the Asia-Pacific Single Accesspoint for ESG Data (SAFE) initiative, and the Singapore-Australia Go-Green Co-Innovation Programme. With more than 5 million sustainability data points, ESGpedia serves as the Nexus of ESG, digitally empowering corporates, SMEs, and the financial sector to ensure compliance towards ESG regulations and attain their ESG goals. ESGpedia is GRI-licensed. For more information, please visit www.stacs.io.
About Global Compact Network Philippines
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative and a global movement with more than 20,000 businesses, 5 Regional Hubs, over 60 Country Networks covering 167 countries, which includes the Global Compact Network Philippines (GCNP).