Building sustainability (1 of 2)

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I had the privilege of attending the One Cebu Sustainability Business Summit at the Cebu International Convention Center. Since I was only able to catch up on the second part of the affair, the inputs I gathered from the event were a little limited.

From the talks I was able to attend, I can see that the summit was eventful, and very informative.

Let me just take you to a few of the insights that stuck on my mind from the talks of these prestigious speakers.



From Tony Meloto of Gawad Kalinga:

1. Gawad Kalinga was able to build 207,000 homes all over the Philippines.

2. Sustainability is about trust.

3. We have failed to address the issues of the social justice in a peaceful way.

4. People who heed power and positions have a disconnect to the people from the bottom of the pyramid.

5. The rich is not the enemy of the poor. The poor is not a burden of the rich.

6. There is no absence of generosity, only a lack of trust.

7. It makes good business sense to end poverty.

8. Filipinos can actually end poverty in this country.


From Emmanuel Aligada of Globe:

1. Most SMEs see technology as difficult and expensive.

2. Technology, for SMEs, is something they do not need.

3. LOTSA PIZZA is one of the SMEs Globe was able to help through the SMS mechanism.


From Jun Palafox of Palafox Associates:

1. The Philippines ranks first in marine biodiversity and music.

2. Los Angeles is a 60-year old mistake in planning.

3. Singapore is as big as the island of Guimaras; even Laguna Lake is bigger than Singapore.

4. An association of architects vowed that by 2030, they will all design buildings with zero carbon footprint.

5. One hundred eighty (180) of our 400 rivers are already dead.

6. Look for old Spanish churches. They make sure that the tabernacle does not get flooded.

7. The waterfront is another ideal opportunity for urban planning.

8. Vertical urbanism is the way to go—it eats up less space.


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