First Gen bags 2 Anvil trophies

MANILA, Philippines — Clean energy leader First Gen Corp. earned two Anvil Awards during the recent 57th Gabi ng Parangal ceremonies held online by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP).

First Gen’s employee volunteerism program, called “Employee POWER” or EmPOWER,” won a Silver Anvil Award under the Public Relations Program Category; while the company’s interactive webinar series on the environment, dubbed “SEAtizen Story and SEAtizen Travels,” bagged a separate Silver Anvil Award under the Public Relations Tools Category.

First Gen vice president Shirley Cruz said EmPOWER was started initially by the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) team in 2005. “It has since then evolved into an expanded program for environment, school, health, and community welfare activities that the volunteer employees themselves draw up and implement.”

“Activities under this employee-led program not only support the Lopez Group’s core values of nationalism, social justice and employee welfare and wellness; but they also help create a strong bond, boost morale and strengthen engagement among employees coming from different departments in the head office in Metro Manila and from various First Gen power plant sites in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” Cruz, who heads First Gen’s CSR group, pointed out.

Ricky Carandang, First Gen vice president and head of corporate communications, for his part explained that First Gen through its CSR team organized the SEAtizen Story and SEAtizen Travels interactive webinar as part of celebrations to mark the Philippine Environment Month, the World Oceans Day and the Lopez Group’s own Environment Month in June 2021.

Carandang said the two-part SEAtizen Story and SEAtizen Travels webinar “was designed to create added awareness about the need to protect the environment. It gave the coastal communities of Lobo, Batangas, a platform to share with participants from other places stories and videos that showcased Lobo’s thriving mangrove forest.

“The stories and video narrations highlighted the benefits of keeping the mangrove forest not only as a barrier against natural disasters, but also as a vital component to foster a thriving marine ecosystem,” Carandang said. First Gen, which has a strong advocacy to protect the environment, has been helping Lobo protect its marine ecosystem.

The webinar format with lively gamification intervals provided participants a “feel” of a front-seat view of Lobo’s ecosystem although they were holed up at home to avoid Covid-19.

SEAtizen Story and SEAtizen Travels also generated some funds to support individuals and families in Lobo, whose income and means of livelihood were affected by the pandemic.