NEWS
PH entry leads ‘Taiwan Excellence: Sharing is Caring’ winners
January 29, 2022 3:04 p.m.
TAIWAN Excellence: Sharing is Caring, a global philanthropic Campaign launched by Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the top three winning proposals recently, led by Educating and Empowering the Community through Mobile Kart from the Philippines.
Other winners were Solar Solutions for Indigenous Māori Communities from New Zealand and One-day Medical Tour and Same-day Denture Delivery – Mobile Digital Denture Clinic & Oral Health Service Project from Taiwan.
Cynthia Kiang, Director General of BOFT virtually presented certificates to the winners during an awards ceremony today.
The BOFT said that the winning proposals would be funded and implemented according to how they plan out in the proposed region/country, hoping to promote kindness and good deeds in the local communities.
With the support from the industry, Sharing is Caring that was held for the first time has recruited ideas from all over the world that incorporate Taiwan Excellence winning products to address either social or environmental problems.
It was a pleasant surprise for the organizer that a total of 781 proposals from 61 countries poured in, and the best of all was finally out after careful and thoughtful selection.
Director General Kiang was excited to see that so much could be achieved and so many people participated for the first year of the campaign.
“We could feel that love and care are everywhere in the world,” emphasized by Kiang. “At the same time, the Taiwan Excellence winning companies will continue to spare no efforts in pushing forward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the Campaign.”
Marareia Hamilton, one of the team members of the winning proposal ‘Solar Solutions for Indigenous Māori Communities’ from New Zealand, has long been devoted to the development of Māori communities and helped establish workable business models for the locals.
As many of the communities are located in the remote areas, the power supply might be on and off due to grid stability issues.
Thus the team has proposed to install solar panels from Taiwan and to build a self-sustaining green energy power generation system within the communities.
Marareia expressed her special thanks to Taiwanese Excellence during the ceremony for lighting up the Māori communities, and for bringing Taiwan and New Zealand closer.
In addition to the winning proposals, ‘Educating and Empowering the Community through Mobile Kart’ from the Philippines is to narrow education divide between the remote villages and cities while enhancing environmental protection.
The winning team put together a mobile classroom – a kart powered by solar panels and equipped with laptops and internet, so that children in the remote areas can learn how to use computers and get connected to new things.
The proposer Jonathan J. Cartilla thanked the Campaign for this opportunity to promote education in the rural areas. With the mobile kart, a classroom regardless of distance could no longer be a dream.
Another winning proposal is from Taiwan: ‘One-day Medical Tour and Same-day Denture Delivery – Mobile Digital Denture Clinic & Oral Health Service Project’ that sets out to care for health and well-being of the elderly people in the rural areas with a mobile medical vehicle full of dental care devices for measuring biodata.
The proposer Ms. Danielle Chen pointed out that quality of their healthcare services is guaranteed by using Taiwan Excellence winning products, while the car brings the good will of Taiwan Excellence to some of the farthest and remote corners of Taiwan.
The event also came with a lucky draw for those who predicted the winners. People are invited to predict and vote for the winning proposals online.
During the event, Director General Kiang revealed three winners who voted for the right proposals and could have prizes worthy of NT$50,000.
See the lucky draw winner list at
https://share-care.taiwanexcellence.org/
One of the members from the selection panel, professor Chu Jou-Juo felt impressed with how well-intentioned all the proposals are.
But if one need to stand out as a winning proposal, a mere creative philanthropic idea is not enough. Feasibility and practicality should also be taken into consideration, so that a good idea can be turned into actions. It is also hoped more companies can come on board and fulfill their corporate social responsibility.
NEWS
SM Prime explores potential partnership with Japanese firm for waste-to-fuel solutions
September 25, 2023 12:39 p.m.
Shown here are (from left) SM Supermalls Vice President Liza Silerio, SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans T. Sy, GUUN Chief Executive Officer Shinji Fujieda, GUUN Philippine Branch Senior Managing Director and General Manager Takeshi Konishi
Leading real estate developer in Southeast Asia, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s GUUN Co. Ltd. to explore a potential partnership to implement waste management solutions by recycling waste paper and plastics as an alternative source of energy called ‘fluff fuel’.
Fluff Fuels are one type of RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) which are produced from shredded and compressed plastics, papers, and fibers. These are used as fuels in cement manufacturing, paper mill companies, or power companies in Japan.
SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans T. Sy is positive that a partnership with GUUN will contribute to the waste reduction goals of the country. “Today, Japan’s waste management and recycling technology is among the most advanced in the world,” he said. “There is no better partner for SM because we do not just talk about being big, we make sure we do it; we do not talk about being environment friendly but we do take bold steps to save the environment. I am looking forward to growing with GUUN as among leaders in solving environmental issues in the Philippines.”
GUUN Co., Ltd., founded in March 2001 and headquartered in Yokohama City, Japan, piloted the production of fluff fuel from plastic waste in Inayawan, Cebu in 2014 and recently inaugurated its P200-million, 2,400-square meter waste recycling plant in Tayud, Consolacion, Cebu.
Since then, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has adopted GUUN’s waste-to-fuel technology as a model for advanced low-carbon technology innovation for further deployment in developing countries.
“This will be a milestone partnership for us,” GUNN Chief Executive Officer Shinji Fujieda said after the signing ceremony. “I understand very much how important waste management is for SM and for the Philippines and we look forward to more projects we can do with the properties of SM Prime.”
SM Prime’s initiatives for waste management include waste reduction and effective waste collection and segregation. Over the years, it has implemented programs such as Trash to Cash, Plastic Waste Collection, and E-Waste Collection that have contributed to reducing the total solid waste generation across its real estate portfolio.
Through its pioneering Trash to Cash recycling market, SM Prime has collected and recycled 1.4M kg of plastics, paper, metals, and others in 2022. “We have saved 16,766 trees from the 986,222 kg of paper recycled,” SM Prime disclosed in its 2022 Integrated Report to shareholders.
Meanwhile, SM’s Plastic Waste Collection program, a partnership with the Plastic Credit Exchange that was launched in February 2021, has accumulated 42,541kg of plastic waste from 14 mall sites. Also present in all its 83 SM Supermalls is the E-Waste Collection program for the responsible disposal of WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment). This drive has helped process close to 7,000 kilograms of e-waste. (ENDS)
NEWS
Satisfy your cravings with these best-selling Nanyang drinks
September 15, 2023 3:30 p.m.
Nanyang isn’t only known for its Laksa Prawn, Cheesy Chicken Chop Noodles and Singapore’s best selling Hainanese Chicken Rice and Kopi.
It also has several best-selling drinks to whet your appetite and satisfy your sweet tooth, such as Iced Teh Melaka, Kopi Jelly Milk Tea, Milo Dinosaur and Kopi O.
Head over to your nearest Nanyang branches nationwide.
NEWS
USA back on top; Germany takes Top 3 spot in FIBA World Ranking
September 15, 2023 1:28 p.m.
MIES (Switzerland) – The recent completion of the prestigious FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 has produced some eye-catching positive climbs in the latest FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike.
USA reclaim pole position with 786.6 points after benefiting from their consistency at major tournaments over the last three summers. Finishing in fourth place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup where they outperformed former number one nation Spain, their run to the Semi-Finals came off the back of winning an Olympic title at Tokyo in 2021 and also taking bronze at the FIBA AmeriCup 2022.
Recently crowned FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 champions Germany have another slice of history to enjoy as they step into the top three of the rankings for the very first time after moving up a massive eight places and onto 759.7 points. Their stunning success made all the more incredible because of the fact they made the journey to the top step of the podium without tasting defeat.
Canada also have another reason to celebrate too, with their maiden FIBA Basketball World Cup medal fueling an even bigger rise of nine spots. They now occupy sixth position with 745.5 points.
Serbia performed in outstanding fashion to make the title game and their second-placed finish gave their fans something to be proud of. Those supporters can also now enjoy and reflect on their country being a top five nation again as they move up a place and into fifth position on 755.6 points.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the scale and impact of climbing the rankings in the upper echelon, nobody can match Latvia. They have rocketed up a staggering 22 places and into the top 10 after their heroic underdog displays which ensured they took fifth place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. They now sit in 8th position on 743.7 points.
There were many other teams who impressed at the flagship event, including Brazil who recorded three wins in five games and moves up a place into 12th in the rankings on 660.5 points. The Americas region can also boast a nice move upwards of five places into 16th for Puerto Rico on 611.1 points, while Dominican Republic rise six spots into 18th place on 561.9 points.
There were also notable improvements for Georgia who move up 10 positions and into 23rd on 465.9 points, Japan jump 11 spots to 26th on 432.2 points and Lebanon claim an uplift of 16 places into 28th on 423.3.
One nation that truly made everyone sit up and take notice at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 were first-timers South Sudan. They made history by beating China to claim a first win at the event, then pushing on to beat the Philippines and Angola. This has resulted in a sensational climb of 32 spots in the rankings. They now find themselves in 31st place with 375.5 points.
For more information about the method used in the calculation of the FIBA World Ranking Men, please refer to the “How It Works” section.
Click here to view the full FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike.
SM Prime explores potential partnership with Japanese firm for waste-to-fuel solutions
Satisfy your cravings with these best-selling Nanyang drinks
USA back on top; Germany takes Top 3 spot in FIBA World Ranking
Ateneo gives PBA guest team fits in 102-93 loss
First in Manila! All immersive experiences lead to SM with its 3D Whale Shark billboard, Space Tunnel, Golden Gateway, dazzling light shows
