Nestlé wages war versus waste in PH

NESTLÉ Philippines Inc. business executive manager for dairy, health and nutrition solutions Alfredo Dela Cruz and Nestlé chair and CEO Jacques Reber (center) drop empty Bear Brand foil packs into a special container representing the firm’s advocacy of promoting education in the country.

Food and beverage giant Nestlé Philippines Inc. has taken a huge step toward addressing one of the biggest challenges of a growing population—waste.

Christian Lao, vice chair of the National Solid Waste Management Commission, lauds the company for its program converting used Bear Brand packs into school chairs, benefiting 50 selected public schools nationwide.

“A company like Nestlé wants people to consume. The more they sell, the more the company profits. But the beauty of this company is it has the corporate social responsibility to address one of the important issues that we have right now,” Lao says, noting that the Philippines does not have enough waste disposal facilities.

“We have to be responsible and that responsibility is not only with the government. It needs the participation of companies that produce these products … Not a single entity can do it alone. We have to work together, educate the children,” he adds.

Hitting 3 birds with one stone

Nestlé’s Bear Brand Powdered Milk Drink is relaunching its 10-year-old nutrition advocacy campaign, renaming the “Laki sa Gatas” program to “Lakas sa Tibay”, as proof of the brand’s commitment to helping Filipino children achieve their ambitions. For the firm, “tibay” means resilience, or the person’s ability to face life’s challenges by having the strength of body and mind achieved through healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition.

Under the new campaign, Bear Brand also hopes to reach out to more public schools per year.

How? The brand will also launch its “Milyon-Milyon Para sa Ambisyon,” a promo with a twist.

“It’s a raffle promotion like no other because it’s actually a scholarship fund promotion. The winners, actually, will be getting an education fund as well as cash prizes,” says Wilfrido De Ocampo Jr., Nestlé Philippines vice president for consumer marketing. A total of P20 million worth of educational funds will be given away to 40 grand prize winners.

Reynaldo Gabunada Jr., consumer marketing manager of Nestlé Philippines, adds the company will be offering options for the education fund.

“One is placing the fund in a bank deposit instrument so it is ready when your child is ready. The other option is to use it for a technical vocational course that is already available,” he says.

After the raffle promo, the collected empty Bear Brand packs used as entries will then be shredded and mixed with other ingredients to make a total of 2,500 “tibay” chairs for selected public schools in third- to fifth-class municipalities across the country.

Gabunada says Bear Brand chose this method because company representatives have seen too many broken school chairs, probably representing the state of the country’s public education system. He says the more people joining the raffle, the more packs the company will be able to recycle.

One chair is created using 200 pieces of 33-gram Bear Brand sachets. These chairs were also certified by DOST to withstand harsh elements.

“[The raffle promo] is different because nobody loses. Those joining will also take part in Bear Brand’s advocacy.  You only don’t have the chance to win, you will also have the chance to help,” Gabunada says.

De Ocampo believes that by making a difference in the lives of children, Filipinos will be investing in the future of the Philippines.

“Building the future of our children will help in building the future of our country,” he says.