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
LG honored with multiple awards for Innovative Product Design at IDEA 2023

September 4, 2023 3:11 p.m.
LG Electronics (LG) has once again been recognized for outstanding product design, earning 13 awards at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2023, announced at the International Design Conference in New York, New York.
The LG PuriCare AeroTower, an air purifier that can also be used as a side table and mood lamp, was honored with a Bronze Award at yesterday’s conference. Offering personalized performance and design options, as well as a compact form factor, LG’s air purifier can be tailored to match any home interior and is ideal for smaller spaces. With its latest win, the LG PuriCare AeroTower has now been recognized by all three of the world’s top industrial design award programs: IDEA, the Red Dot Award and iF Design Award.
Another IDEA 2023 honoree, the LG OLED Flex (model LX3) is an innovative TV featuring the world’s first bendable 42-inch OLED screen. The LX3, which made its international debut at IFA last year, offers a new level of screen customizability – its self-lit display able to go from completely flat to spectacularly curved with the push of a button.
“The achievement from this year’s IDEA is the result of the synergy between customer experience-centered technology and aesthetics,” said Hwang Sung-gyul, head of the Design Management Center at LG Electronics. “We will continue to improve the level of perfection by reflecting innovative customer experiences beyond the existing framework in product design by constantly communicating and empathizing with customers.”
Organized annually by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), IDEA is one of the world’s leading design award programs, recognizing exceptional achievements in the area of industrial design while taking into consideration various factors relating to design strategy, digital interaction, the environment, and social impact, when selecting award recipients.
Life’s about more than having the latest technology, rather, it’s about the experiences technology creates that impact our lives. LG Electronics Philippines delivers consumer electronics through top-of-the-line home entertainment appliances that prepare Filipinos for their greatest moments. LG promises to bring “Innovation for a Better Life” nationwide – from Luzon, to Visayas, and Mindanao. LG products are available via lg.com/ph and through its flagship stores in Lazada and Shopee. For more information, visit and follow their social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube (@lgphilippines).
TECHNOLOGY
TCL AAT Inverter+ Refrigerators take lead to healthier lifestyle

July 10, 2023 4:33 p.m.
TCL, the leading consumer electronics brand and the world’s top two TV brand, launches their latest Free Build-In refrigerator that is highlighted by three defining features based on TCL’s advanced technology and elevated design.
Just in time for this month’s celebration of Nutrition month, TCL introduces the newest Refrigerator line up that reflects TCL’s dedication to delivering cutting-edge home technology at reasonable prices while enabling users to live healthier, more environmentally friendly, and more practical lives.
Introducing TCL’s Flagship Smart Fridge with Health and Energy-Saving Benefits
TCL’s AAT Inverter+ is set to be the best accessible high-tech top-mount refrigerator on the market and a great example of the powerful functionality featured across the TCL Refrigerator lineup.
With Filipino families becoming more health conscious than ever before, TCL AAT Inverter+’s Healthy Fresh functions are equipped with smart functions to keep your food chilled at the right temperature and ensure it stays fresher for longer, with the innovative Multi Air flow system, AI radar, and the Automatic Anion-releasing Technology (AAT) .
Speaking of better care of health, TCL’s AAT Inverter + also puts emphasis on its care for the planet. Its Twin Eco Inverter provides the perfect cooling environment for food, which not only enables long-lasting freshness but also saves energy and money. The Twin Eco Inverter also provides a steady temperature inside the refrigerator which inhibits the growth of ice, a process known as Total No Frost. Food remains frost-free so there is no need for manual defrost and no danger of food sticking to the walls of the refrigerator or being frozen when placed towards the back.
Lastly, the Easy-Using features give the user experience a premium feel, with little adaptations to make life more convenient, such as large storage space, Twist Ice Maker to freeze, unmold and store ice cubes with a simple gesture.
The TCL’s Varied Refrigerator Range Suited for Every Filipino Family
Aside from TCL AAT Inverter+, TCL has an extensive range of refrigerators to suit every Filipino family’s needs. The TCL FreshPro Direct Cool+ line is an accessible but highly functionable range, with precise temperature control allowing for accurate cooling to ensure optimum conditions to preserve freshness. TCL FreshPro Direct Cool+ Refrigerators are designed to be running at low noise thanks to innovative compressors, ensuring you are never disturbed by humming or buzzing, and soft LED lighting offers excellent illumination of the fridge contents whilst saving on energy consumption.
Regarding the energy saving aspect, like the TCL AAT Inverter+, The TCL FreshPro AAT Inverter Max collection also comes with a Twin Eco Inverter, which allows accurate temperature control whilst reducing energy consumption and noise for a quieter and more environmentally friendly option. What’s amazing is that the TCL FreshPro AAT Inverter Max range comes equipped with powerful cooling functions – with just a press of one button, the Power Cool increases the cooling rate to chill your drinks and food rapidly whilst the Power Freeze further enhances the cooling effect to freeze food and ice. The Max Space feature allows families to customize storage within the fridge to suit their requirements, with daily items organized to be easily accessible whilst optimizing the space available allowing the ability to stock up on family favorites.
Discover TCL’s range of refrigerators to suit every consumer’s requirements, rolling out across retailers in the Philippines this month.
TECHNOLOGY
Huawei’s Sabrina Meng: Embracing 5G transformation

June 28, 20237:30 p.m.
SHANGHAI — At the opening day of MWC Shanghai 2023 today, Sabrina Meng, Huawei’s Rotating Chairwoman and CFO, gave a keynote titled “Embracing 5G transformation”.
“5G has been in commercial use around the world for four years now. It’s driving new value creation, and 5.5G is the next step forward,” said Meng. “Science and technology are moving towards large, complex systems. This requires matching technology to specific scenarios and performing systems engineering, in order to pave the way for 5G’s ongoing success.”
5G is creating value along three different fronts
Science fiction can only sketch the future. But science and technology can turn imagination into reality.
5G has been in commercial use for four years now. Across all industries and countless households around the world, it’s changing the way we work and live, creating tremendous economic, industrial, and social value.
For consumers, 5G, cloud, and AI have set off a chain reaction, creating an environment where all buyers can also be sellers.
For industries, 5G has become a new driver of productivity. There’s greater alignment than ever between technology suppliers, their partners, and customers on where 5G can provide the most value. Strategic patience, in-depth understanding of industrial scenarios, and ongoing improvements to ROI have given 5G a foothold in industrial applications.
Moving ahead, 5G will give rise to new devices and applications that deliver a more immersive experience, like 5G New Calling and naked-eye 3D. 5G is also ushering in a new era of super-connectivity between things, bringing new strength to IoT networks and driving new forms of productivity.
5.5G is the next step forward for 5G. 5.5G will feature 10-gigabit downlink speeds, gigabit uplink speeds, the ability to support 100 billion connections, and native AI. It will not only connect people better – it will also create incredible new business opportunities with more targeted support for industrial needs in domains like IoT, sensing, and advanced manufacturing.
Taking 5G to the next level and paving the way for ongoing success
The ladder to success isn’t built on ongoing progress with a single technology. It’s built on matching technology to specific scenarios and real-world needs. And systems engineering is key to taking the next step up.
The commercial deployment of 5G has created a growing appetite for more groundbreaking, leapfrog innovation. So what will take 5G to the next level, and how will it provide greater value in different vertical markets?
This will require finding the right technology for different scenarios and performing more comprehensive systems engineering. This will also require diving deeper into industrial scenarios, truly understanding customers’ pain points, and adopting a more holistic systems engineering mindset.
The industry needs to work more closely together both up and down the value chain – with peers and partners, customers and developers – on solution modeling and optimization, as well as tools and methodologies. The industry also needs to pave the way for ongoing success throughout the entire product lifecycle, from R&D and procurement, to supply and marketing.
Building up integrated capabilities and exploring the future of communications
The digital infrastructure of the future intelligent world will be deeply integrated into every aspect of people’s lives, industry, and society. It won’t be based on advancements in individual technologies, but rather on incredibly massive, complex systems – the convergence of multiple elements. It’s going to require systems-level thinking and design.
When watching a chess game, you can see the big picture. But when you’re playing chess, you focus on the details. Likewise, systematic capabilities to integrate technology and transform management are critical for the future success of 5G.
Meng spoke about two specific types of integrated capabilities. “The first is integrating different technologies. We can achieve greater synergy across cloud, networks, edge, and devices through systematic design and cross-domain innovation. When coupled with optimization across software, hardware, chips, and algorithms, we can address the challenges associated with developing complex solutions for vastly different industrial scenarios.”
“The second,” she continued, “is the ability to integrate different approaches to management. Digital and intelligent transformation is not just about technology itself. It’s more about transforming your approach to management. Going digital requires redefining the relationships between people, events, things, and theory, and adopting a more open, forward-looking management approach to address future challenges.”
Meng concluded: “Information technologies like 5G, 5.5G, AI, and cloud will help us rise with the tide and take us forward to an intelligent world. The best scenery is always ahead. Let’s create a bright future together.”
In the Philippines, the three major telecommunications service providers have rolled out 5G networks nationwide to offer better network services and optimize the potential of innovative technology.