TECHNOLOGY
Data, digitalization keys to stewarding sustainability in PH
December 11, 2022 9:32 p.m.
Nowadays, businesses and governments have been racing to achieve a sustainable, green, and digital economy and are driven to showcase their sustainability goals transparently.
In the Philippines, for instance, the government further enhanced its efforts to build climate resilience among communities nationwide and address climate change to protect the environment, lives, and property. Last year, the country submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Secretariat the first nationally determined contribution (NDC), covering its planned reduction and avoidance of greenhouse gasses (GHG) of 75 percent, of which 2.72 percent is unconditional. This commitment covers the period 2020 to 2030 for the sectors of agriculture, waste, industry, transport, and energy.
At the UN’s 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) in November 2022, the Philippine government also vowed to support host country Egypt in its efforts to revitalize international consensus on the climate crisis. It also reiterated its call for climate justice and financial and technical support of developed countries for climate initiatives, particularly for developing nations.
Becoming stewards of sustainability
Meanwhile, in recent years, a growing number of organizations have been stepping up to help achieve a sustainable future by integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their strategic frameworks. In this year’s COP27, for instance, SAP (NYSE: SAP) pledged to support more policy transformation globally and help innovate sustainable businesses by reenergizing emerging economies to achieve a trillion-dollar greener impact and job generation.
A recent report by SAP and Oxford Economics also revealed that 66 percent of businesses in Asia do not think it is difficult to be sustainable and profitable at the same time. However, only eight percent say they receive significant value from their sustainability strategies today.
This reality may have happened due to the disconnect between sustainability plans and actions for many organizations. While 60 percent of businesses have a communicated sustainability plan, only 20 percent have incentivized leaders based on their success. In addition, less than half (44 percent) say their employees are active participants in their sustainability efforts, with the highest in India at 52 percent, followed by Singapore at 51 percent and the lowest in Malaysia at 33 percent.
“Businesses across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, believe that they can boost their earnings while protecting the environment. This reality is a positive indicator to continue pushing towards sustainability. However, organizations must refocus their strategies to realize the significant value and reap better and actual outcomes,” said Rudy Abrahams, Managing Director of SAP Philippines.
Regulatory compliance: A key sustainability driver and a challenge
In a recent media event held by SAP at its headquarters at the NAC Tower, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Abrahams was joined by Apple Evangelista, Head, Sustainability and Social Responsibility (SSR) of the Globe Group, and Henrik Batallones, Marketing and Communications Director of the Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines (SCMAP), to discuss how organizations have been refocusing their strategies to ensure sustainability.
“In the Philippines, organizations used to consider sustainability as a cost tied to regulatory compliance. But that perspective is changing. Sustainability is now seen as a strategic imperative to ensure that organizations not only provide better service to their customers but also help ensure a sustainable future,” said Batallones.
SCMAP is the premier supply chain industry organization in the country. Composed of the country’s major manufacturers, logistics providers, and retailers, SCMAP moves the industry’s global competitiveness by engaging with stakeholders in the public and private sectors, advancing supply chain education on all levels and organizing events that provide a venue for supply chain professionals to connect.
Abrahams, meanwhile, noted that too much focus on compliance can sometimes hinder achievement of sustainability goals. Citing data from the SAP and Oxford Economics report, he said that organizations in the region consider compliance as the second biggest sustainability challenge (26 percent), only behind reinventing business strategy. This means that organizations in the country may need to refocus their strategies to achieve greater value and benefit from sustainability.
Investing in data, improving sustainability outcomes
Key to improving sustainability outcomes will be the effective use of organizational data to make more informed decisions. For businesses in the Philippines, this remains a challenge as it takes time, especially for organizations like Globe, the Philippines’ top telco and digital solutions platform, which has various entities with different processes and reporting formats.
To address this challenge, Globe has been utilizing SAP solutions with 70 percent of the company’s internal systems now run by SAP. With SAP solutions already in place across its business units globally, the company migrated to SAP S/4HANA to improve fragmented processes, manual workloads, inefficiencies, lack of insights, and delayed decision-making.
Meanwhile, SAP Fiori apps helped enhance the user experience and access to insights. Enhanced visibility enables well-informed decision-making throughout the organization, and automation and fewer reconciliations in finance allow faster financial transaction processing, book closing, and error-free reporting.
Finance functions became integrated and efficient, providing real-time business insights, while IT security was strengthened with improved authorization controls and compliance. By facilitating these improvements, SAP S/4HANA proved to be a catalyst for change for Globe, helping it adapt to changes easily in its business environment.
“For us at Globe, sustainability is putting our purpose in action. By understanding what is material to us as a business and what matters to our stakeholders and our industry, we recognize how data-driven strategies play an integral role in guiding our sustainability practice,” Evangelista said.
Evangelista also emphasized the importance of responsible sustainability reporting, using it as a springboard for goals and target milestones in the coming years.
Abrahams could not agree more. He noted that businesses that are achieving value from sustainability are defined by traits such as setting clear expectations at the strategic level, applying the transformative power of technology and data management, and engaging with important audiences such as employees, supply chain partners and policymakers.
Helping organizations in their sustainability journey
SAP, for instance, has been helping organizations in their sustainability journey enabled by data, from driving transparency for disclosure purposes,incorporating or optimizing their data to make more sustainable business processes and decisions, to scaling sustainable practices across industry business networks and value chains.
In line with its purpose to help the world run better and improve people’s lives, SAP also enables organizations to achieve zero waste, zero emissions, and zero inequality through a broad range of solutions. Since organizations now demand fast, reliable, and compliant standard regulatory reporting, and want to leverage insights for their internal sustainable business transformation, SAP ESG solutions portfolio provides a scalable and integrated reporting platform.
Among its offerings are its most recently updated SAP Sustainability Control Tower (SCT) solution, which can help improve ESG transparency and sustainable business performance. SCT enables companies to record ESG factors with out-of-the-box integration with SAP systems for faster time to value and granular data visibility based on actual data, not averages.
The solution also enables companies to report regulatory compliant ESG metrics covering common frameworks based on an open and extensible solution with the largest ESG ecosystem. And lastly, it allows business leaders to act and plan with actionable insights, forecasts and setting targets, track initiatives, and optimize business processes to make an impact.
Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.
TECHNOLOGY
Rest easy with the Index Sleep Monitor smart sleep band from Garmin
11:09 a.m. August 29, 2025
GARMIN has announced the Index™ Sleep Monitor, an ultra-comfortable and lightweight smart sleep band that tracks sleep for a more comprehensive view of overall fitness and recovery.
Featuring up to 7 nights of battery life with continuous Pulse Ox tracking, the Index Sleep Monitor is worn on the upper arm and tracks sleep stages, heart rate variability (HRV) status, breathing variations, skin temperature and more to calculate a sleep score for users and provide valuable insights about their health.
After a night of sleep, the data seamlessly syncs to the Garmin Connect™ smartphone app and can be combined with metrics from a compatible Garmin smartwatch to fill in gaps in data for users who don’t wear their watch at night or are looking to better understand how well they recovered.
“We are thrilled to add the Index Sleep Monitor to our suite of innovative health and wellness products. Wearing this smart sleep band every night can provide in-depth sleep insights and a more complete picture of fitness and recovery so users can wake up ready to seize the day.” — Susan Lyman, Garmin Vice President of Consumer Sales and Marketing
Rest and recover
Throughout the night, the Index Sleep Monitor tracks the following sleep and recovery metrics, which can then be viewed on the Garmin Connect app:
● Sleep score: Every morning, receive a personalized score (0-100) for last night’s sleep based on sleep duration, stress, sleep stages and more.
● Sleep stages: View light, deep and REM sleep stages and when they occur during the night.
● HRV status: See the previous night’s average HRV and status (balanced, unbalanced, low or poor). After several nights of wear, the smart sleep band will establish a personal baseline to help provide a better understanding of recovery and overall wellness.
● Pulse Ox: Track blood oxygen saturation during sleep1.
● Breathing variations: Used in conjunction with Pulse Ox, view and better understand shifts in breathing patterns while sleeping.1
● Respiration: View respiration rates throughout the night.
● Skin temperature: Track skin temperature changes, which can be related to recent activity, sleep environment, potential illness and more.
● Women’s health tracking: Using skin temperature, women can get more insights into their menstrual cycle, including improved period predictions and past ovulation estimates2. Women can also track their menstrual cycle or pregnancy and get exercise and nutrition education in the Garmin Connect app.
● Body BatteryTM energy monitoring: View energy levels to see if the body is charged or needs more rest. Users who wear a compatible smartwatch while awake can get a more complete picture of their energy levels—day and night.
● Stress tracking: See if last night’s sleep was calm, balanced or stressful.
When it’s time to wake up, the smart wake alarm feature looks at lighter sleep stages during a pre-selected window of time to gently wake users with a light vibration so they feel more refreshed.
Available in two sizes (S-M and L-XL), the Index Sleep Monitor is easy to clean; just remove the module and toss the band into the washing machine on the gentle cycle.
It is for P10,290.00 and available via official Garmin Stores online in Kinetic, Shopee, and Lazada and in all Garmin Brand Stores and Garmin Specialty Stores.
For more information, visit https://ph.garmin.com/.
TECHNOLOGY
Time to make your moment: OPPO Reno14 Series 5G now available for pre-order
9:11 p.m. August 10, 2025
OPPO’s latest smartphone series is now available for pre-order in the Philippines—and it’s built for those who want to turn everyday moments into stories worth sharing.
The OPPO Reno14 Series 5G brings together AI-powered photography, vivid 4K video, sleek design, and powerful performance, all in one beautifully crafted device. Whether you’re creating content, diving into your favorite game, or simply making your moment, the OPPO Reno14 Series 5G makes it effortless to discover and explore—without compromise.
Your Studio, In Your Pocket
Capture yourself at your best with AI Portrait capabilities that naturally refine lighting, angles, and facial details—no filters or editing apps needed. Want to adjust after the shot? Features like AI Recompose and AI Perfect Shot help you fix framing, expressions, and more—all within the native camera.
Even in low light, the Ultra-Clear Low-Light Camera System and AI Flash Photography keep your shots vivid and full of life—perfect for nights out, concerts, and candle-lit dinners.
Powered by next-gen chipsets, MediaTek Dimensity 8450 for OPPO Reno14 Pro 5G, Dimensity 8350 for OPPO Reno14 5G, and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 for OPPO Reno14 F 5G, you can count on a fluid experience whether you’re gaming, streaming, or multitasking.
Smart features like AI HyperBoost 2.0 and AI LinkBoost 3.0 optimize gameplay, prevent lag, and keep your connection smooth wherever you are.
Designed to be seen
The Iridescent Mermaid Design of the OPPO Reno14 Series 5G is more than a color, it’s a statement. Inspired by the shimmer of light underwater, the finish is paired with Velvet Glass and aerospace-grade aluminum for a look and feel that’s luxurious, durable, and uniquely OPPO.
TECHNOLOGY
Concentrix Philippines releases iX Hero
9:21 p.m. July 30, 2025
Concentrix Corporation, a global technology and services leader that’s also the Philippines’ largest private employer, today announced the newest release of iX Hero: the company’s agentic AI-powered application that works together with a human in the loop to supercharge the way customer experience is delivered.
Joining the launch of iX Hero in the Philippines were Concentrix Chief Product Officer Ryan Peterson; Global Vice President, Product Management, Craig Cotton; and Vice President, Product and Domain Leader, Ratna Puri, together with Concentrix Philippines Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer Amit Jagga, as well as Vice President for Transformation and Delivery Shared Services Larah Sta. Maria. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) represented by Assistant Secretary Migui Planas was also present for the event, which included a demo of the application and other AI-driven products in the Concentrix Intelligent Experience (iX) suite.
iX Hero supercharges advisor performance through multiple AI-driven features: from automatic conversation transcription and knowledge apps that find and surface ready-to-use answers to customer questions, to noise cancellation that cuts out distracting background noise and speech harmonization that helps every word during a conversation shine through, all the way to generating transaction summaries and insights that offer coaching tips for improvement – all in one place, all in real-time. It’s akin to giving the advisors superpowers that lead to faster onboarding, better performance, and smarter conversations, so they can focus on what matters most: the customers.
According to Concentrix Chief Product Officer Ryan Peterson, “iX Hero is the culmination of decades of Concentrix expertise in AI and automation, built on insights and fine-tuned from millions of interactions. As a company that supports over 2,000 of the world’s leading brands, we know what it takes for AI to complement human ingenuity because we’ve developed the products that have achieved concrete outcomes and growth for our people, clients and business.”
Enabling Job Access and Inclusivity
iX Hero’s impact to the workforce journey starts at the very beginning – helping job applicants get hired. One of iX Hero’s features called Harmony, fine-tunes speech patterns for clearer pronunciation, making sure every word lands perfectly while keeping voices natural and authentic, and has been piloted in the language assessment part of Recruiting in Concentrix Philippines. In the integrated business solutions industry where clear communication is essential, language skills tests are the first part of the recruiting process. During its pilot in the country prior to the launch, iX Hero’s Harmony enabled applicants’ speech to be clear and easy to understand while retaining their authentic voice, enabling passing scores for those who would otherwise not be able to move on to the next stages of the recruiting process due to language proficiency challenges on speech. As iX Hero is also deployed in the advisor workspace once they are hired, the real-time support continues, leading to superior performance and resulting in game-changing customer experiences.
According to Concentrix Philippines EVP and Chief Business Officer Amit Jagga, “Having the Harmony feature in iX Hero is a perfect example of how AI helps provide access to employment and greater job inclusivity for many Filipinos, in addition to upskilling. More than just a tech product launch, iX Hero represents our commitment to harnessing AI for good and keeping humans at the heart of digital transformation.”
According to DICT Assistant Secretary Planas, “In the DICT we have a slogan that says ‘Walang Iwanan sa Digital Bayanihan’, meaning “no one left behind,” which underscores the government’s mission for every Filipino to have access to technology, connectivity and with it, future-ready jobs. It is very encouraging to have private sector partners like Concentrix who contribute positively to this mission, in a very tangible way, through AI-powered products like iX Hero that can scale in use throughout the country, not just where the organization operates but also as it extends to Concentrix clients and partners who will use it as a solution and tool for their own workforce.”
Real-world results from iX Hero include 20% efficiency gains from quicker adaptation and skill acquisition in a supportive learning environment for sustained professional growth, 22% reduction in average call handling times, 13.5% increase in customer satisfaction and 30% improved communication from speech clarity, language proficiency and non-verbal skills. iX Hero received the TMC Generative AI Product of the Year Award and Concentrix’s iX Product Suite has already received over 20 industry awards globally.
For more information, meet iX Hero on the company website.
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