What better gift can one give or receive this Christmas than something that is relevant, that can make a difference in people?s lives, and make a meaningful impact on Mother Earth.

This holiday, Makati Shangri-La will put on center stage its environmental advocacy?reviving the Ipo watershed in Norzagaray, Bulacan?to provide its staff, guests, patrons and friends the chance to help out.

Through a project called ?Dreaming of a Green Christmas,? people are given the opportunity to ?give? or ?receive? and be the foster parents of as many trees as they want for a minimum pledge of P100 per seedling, says hotel general manager Reto K, Klauser, who is also Shangri-La?s area manager.

The pledges can be made in the name of other people and be given as gifts this Christmas. The trees will be planted in the names of foster parents in January by the hotel staff, business partners, guests, patrons and friends at the Ipo watershed.

But ?Dreaming of a Green Christmas? is much more than just a tree planting program.

It is an endeavor aimed at getting as many people as it can?from hotel staff to patrons and guests, as well as families and friends?to participate in the project and assume greater ownership of their environment.

The foster parents, wherever they are, will be very much part of the process of nurturing their trees.

They will receive electronic certificates confirming their adoption of seedlings and regular updates on the development of their trees.

The updates will come from Makati Shangri-La?s corporate social responsibility team, which takes care of the trees in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources, the agency that facilitates the reforestation program of the Ipo watershed.

The local community in the area is also deeply involved in the reforestation of Ipo, according to Patricia Gallardo, director of corporate social responsibility and sustainability of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.

Eco-friendly gifts

To spice up the project, Makati Shangri-La prepared a list of ?green? gifts for some of the lucky project participants.

These include eco-friendly gadgets such as Apple iPod Nano, iPhone, MacBook PRO, an Asus U6V bamboo laptop, a custom-crafted bamboo bike from Kawayan Tech, a coffee table made 100-percent out of recycled glass and steel called ?Gem? from Eng Chen, and Echo Store?s fashionable bags made of pull tabs from aluminum cans.

Participants also have the chance to go nature tripping and enjoy two-night stays at the Shangri-La Boracay Resort and Spa or at the Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa?a certified marine and bird sanctuary in the Visayas.

Makati Shangri-la believes that the Christmas season is the best time to create a stir and call everybody?s attention to its cause.

?Our mission here is not to go and teach the world what to do. It?s Christmas, we give gifts and we just want to tell the people that if they are buying a phone or a gadget, they may want to consider these types for they appear to be the greenest options,? says Klauser, who is one of the project?s prime movers.

?I just felt it is an all-around, complete experience for everybody that makes so much sense in the scheme of Christmas,? he adds.

Complete experience

A part of the hotel?s corporate responsibility program, this Christmas project is definitely not a mere one-time thing.

It spans beyond the holiday season until, perhaps, it becomes a way of life to many.

?When it comes to corporate social responsibility, I think we should not be opportunistic by choosing only the projects that will get us the biggest exposure. I believe we should be in projects that are relevant. That identified, we should do it for a long time or at least until the time when we can say we really achieved something,? he says.

?The aim is to plant at least 100,000 trees by January and this should continue hopefully until such time that we can look at Ipo and say, ?hey, that?s us.??

The idea of getting people to buy and give trees as Christmas presents started in December last year, and Klauser and his CSR team thought it best to go full blast on it this coming holiday.

?But while we continue something, we dress them up a little bit to make it more exciting and meaningful. Thus, the gifts which are as environment-friendly as the program itself. They are not only gifts, but they can also serve as tools to create awareness,? says the Swiss executive of Makati Shangri-la.

What?s ?green? in iPod?

Most of the gifts are obviously environment friendly. The custom crafted ?Bamboo Bike? from Kawayan Tech and Asus? Bamboo Laptop?which both used bamboo materials for the the cover and casing?aim to promote sustainable development through indigenous technology and materials, reforestation and the planting of bamboo.

Products from Echo Store and Eng Chen promote recycling and the use of natural raw materials. The Shangri-La Boracay and Shangri-La Mactan experience make people better appreciate nature.

But many may ask, ?what?s so green in the iPod Nano, iPhone and MacBook??

Gallardo and her team are convinced that these Apple products are among the most eco-friendly gadgets around.

?The entire concept of these products?the designs and production process involved?was done with utmost consideration of the environment.?

These gadgets are supposedly lower in emission and in energy use, she says.

The iPhone 3G embodies Apple?s continuing environmental progress, according to the materials sent by Makati Shangri-La. Its printed circuit boards are bromine-free, and the LCD display is mercury free.

The iPod Nano is arsenic and mercury free, and is highly recyclable. The use of LED in the MacBook PRO eliminates the need for the use of hazardous materials such as mercury and arsenic.

?These simple considerations, when choosing which products to buy and establishments to patronize, are already a big help to the environment, and that is what ?Dreaming of a Green Christmas? is trying to tell the people,? says Gallardo.