When trees brew life

Big things usually start small, and nowhere is this adage more apt than in a tiny seed that, when cared for properly, grows into a tree that provides shelter, food, and a host of other benefits that make such an immeasurable impact on our lives, and that of future generations’.

This is the simple idea behind Buhayin ang Kalikasan, the flagship environmental advocacy of San Miguel Brewery, Inc. For three years now, employees of the country’s top brewer from the company’s head office to its breweries and sales offices nationwide have been dedicating the month of August to planting trees, with the project getting more and more ambitious each year.

It all started when SMB was cited by strategic partner Kirin Holdings Co. as being the best managed among its affiliates in 2010. With this distinction came a cash incentive of P1 million, which SMB, in turn, decided to use as start-up funding for what is now its key CSR program.

“When we received the money from Kirin, we knew that we wanted it to be used for a larger purpose,” says SMB president Roberto N. Huang. “And so, instead of using it to benefit just our own organization, we decided to use it for what we see as one of the most important causes of the day: The protection and preservation of nature and the environment.”

Thus, Buhayin ang Kalikasan was born. The program is a three-pronged initiative that includes the Go Green campaign, which aims to plant 500,000 trees in over five years; Go Blue, which includes its coastal clean-up and dredging projects; and Go Brown which consists of recycling and waste-management efforts.

“Buhayin ang Kalikasan is a five-year program that aims to preserve and protect the environment chiefly through ensuring the viability of our water supply; helping rehabilitate selected forest covers and mangrove areas; and propagating planting materials,” says Human Resources and Business Affairs Communications head Enrico E. Reyes.” At the same time we see it as a way of promoting volunteerism and eco-awareness among our employees.”

The company’s first salvo was the launch of the Trees Brew Life Project in 2010, which successfully planted 450 seedlings in six areas nationwide through the efforts of 300 volunteer-employees who devoted one Saturday in August for the initiative. The following year, all Saturdays of August were declared tree-planting days for SMB.

This year, the company extended the project’s reach to include regions outside its supply centers. Huang proudly announced that through the years, the Trees Brew Life project has grown in terms of the quantity of seedlings planted and the number of participating employees and project partners nationwide.

SMB formally commenced its tree planting season for 2012 in Barangay Nabuklod in Floridablanca, Pampanga, where around 480 employees and over 500 volunteers from surrounding local communities joined hands to successfully plant 2,500 fruit bearing trees—including coconut, cashew, jackfruit, and guyabano—over a one-hectare mountain range that covers the provinces of Pampanga, Zambales, and Tarlac.

The local government of Pampanga has responded positively to the infusion of greenery in the area particularly since Floridablanca, according to ancestral domain president Ricardo M. Guiao, is a flood-prone area.

“It is such a great feeling to be partnering on a project like this with a company of SMB’s stature,” says Guiao in the vernacular. “Apart from answering our call to help us restore the beauty of our environment, the company has consistently extended assistance through providing materials and equipment for our schools, and food for the local communities.”

As with other tree-planting initiatives, the biggest challenge faced by well-meaning companies is how to ensure that the seeds planted will really grow into trees. With SMB having provided the seedlings and necessary tools needed to take care of them, the community of Barangay Nabuklod, in turn, has taken on the task of ensuring that the trees will grow and flourish.