Mommy's MAG Life: pr

Collaborative partnerships for climate resilience

Collaborative partnerships for climate resilience 9/20/2024 09:07:00 PM

The Philippines tops the list of countries with the highest disaster risk, thus building our capacity to respond, bounce back and adapt to intensifying climate impacts is a nationwide priority and shared responsibility.

“Any program that aims to build climate resilience requires strong partnerships and working together across all sectors,” said World-Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF-PH) Executive Director, Katherine Custodio at the breakout session of the 7th Annual Conference of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities – Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference and Student Symposium 2024 (APRU-SCL 2024).

“There is definite opportunity for platforms or networks to come together and bring to life our national policies and our commitments, but for these to succeed, there needs to be sincere effort and openness to work across different sectors and disciplines,” said Custodio. The session on creating connections and partnerships was hosted by Jonas Marie Dumdum, Senior Consultant and Sustainability Service Lead of Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Manila Branch.

Jonas Dumdum of Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Manila and World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Philippines Executive Director Katherine Custodio on Collaborative Partnerships for Climate Resilience, at the breakout session of the 7th Annual Association of Pacific Rim Universities – Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference and Student Symposium 2024 (APRU-SCL 2024) Conference on Advancing Sustainable Cities and Communities through Science, Technology, and Innovations, is hosted and organized this year by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).

“Finding the right champions within the company – that’s very important. It helps to engage the leaders from the top,” said Custodio, who has seen the history of the shared goals between the NGO and its many corporate partners over the years.

Ms. Jessica Bianca Sy, Lead Executive for Design, Innovation and Strategy for SM Prime and SMDC, shares her insights on sustainable and climate-resilient integrated properties.

WWF-Philippines and SM Prime Holdings, Inc., (SM Prime) have partnered on successful programs such as the YOUth are the Future, the annual Earth Hour campaign with SM Supermalls, SM Hotel’s Sustainable Diner, and the Hamilo Coast Sustainable Development project that’s now in its 14th year.

“At SM Prime, we dream big for our shared future. True prosperity transcends financial success. Our commitment to developing sustainable integrated properties is matched by our efforts to foster vibrant, inclusive communities wherever we build legacy properties that weather the challenges of time and that last for generations,” said Ms. Jessica Bianca Sy, Lead Executive for Design, Innovation and Strategy for SM Prime and SM Development Corporation (SMDC), during the event.

As one of Asia’s leading integrated property developers, SM Prime believes that taking the right climate action must be grounded in science and endeavor to transition to a net-zero economy. SM Prime’s partnership with WWF-PH ensures that its near and long-term science-based targets for 2030 and 2040, align with the global commitment to achieve net zero by 2050.

“WWF-PH is pleased to work with SM Prime on their decarbonization efforts through our Corporates for a Better Planet Initiative (CBPI) program. Companies such as SM Prime are guided in identifying climate-related risks, working on a roadmap, and publicly committing to their science-based targets,” said Custodio.

“Change does not happen overnight. This is something we have learned in our work with communities all over the country. True partners are willing to work together for a long time, and actively listen to each other,” said Custodio, when asked by Dumdum about climate partnerships and shared purpose. “When your project positively impacts people’s livelihood and wellbeing - when people’s lives improve in a durable way, that’s when you know you’ve created an impact,” she said.

SM Prime remains committed to its role as a catalyst for economic growth, delivering innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities, thereby enriching the quality of life of millions of people. SM Prime is pursuing the next horizon on integrated property development and onward to building sustainable cities of the future.

The 7th APRU-SCL 2024 is hosted and organized this year by the University of the Philippines Los Baňos, at the SMX Aura Convention Center, from August 6-8, 2024. For more information, email: hspdconf@up.edu.ph or visit the website: dcerp.che.uplb.edu.ph/ichspd. ###.

Share |

‘A COMPLETE SUCCESS’; Face-to-face Dinagyang exceeded expectations

‘A COMPLETE SUCCESS’; Face-to-face Dinagyang exceeded expectations 1/29/2023 10:23:00 PM

With thousands of domestic and foreign visitors packing various festival activities, Dinagyang’s return to the city’s streets exceeded expectations, according to Mayor Jerry P. Treñas.

A “complete success” was how he described the festival’s return to a face-to-face celebration after two years of restrictions due to the coronavirus disease pandemic.

“Everyone wanted a strong comeback…It was a complete success and this showed that Dinagyang and our Sto. Niño are beyond politics,” added Treñas.

Dinagyang Festival is known far and wide for its participants’ impressive choreography and striking costumes that reflect Ilonggo ingenuity, craftsmanship and artistry.

Treñas congratulated the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI), organizer of Dinagyang 2023, the participating tribes and corporate sponsors, among others.

“I acknowledge all our sponsors from the private sector for their significant contributions in the success of Dinagyang. Of course, sa inyo tanan, mga pinalangga ko nga Ilonggo. Ang tanan nga ini bangud sa inyo kag para man sa inyo. Your strong support in all our activities played a meaningful role in the overall success of the festival,” said Treñas.

The festival’s top sponsor was SM City Iloilo; it also served as venue for many Dinagyang activities, including the first-ever Dinagyang Ilomination on Jan.21, Batchoy Festival, festival costumes exhibit, and concert of various performing artists including Asia’s Pop Heartthrob Darren Espanto, among others.

The festivities were graced by no less than First Lady of the Philippines Atty. Liza Araneta Marcos and some prominent government officials including House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Senators Risa Hontiveros, Jinggoy Estrada, Mark Villar, Francis Tolentino, Bong Revilla, former senator Franklin Drilon, among others. YouTube sensation Small Laude, broadcast journalist Karen Davila, lifestyle columnist and philanthropist Tessa Prieto Valdez, television presenter and entrepreneur Tim Yap were also there to join the festivities. They were warmly welcomed by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and SM Supermalls president Steven Tan.

Several dignitaries from foreign embassies attended the festivities as well: Romanian Ambassador to the Philippines HE Raduta Dana Matache with Mr. Constantin Matache ; Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines HE Agus Widjojo and his wife, Mme. Ranny Agus Widjojo; Royal Thai Ambassador to the Philippines HE Tull Traisorat; Royal Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines HE Christian Halaas Lyster; Hungary Ambassador to the Philippines HE Titanilla Toth; Embassy of Polland Ambassador to the Philippines HE Jaroslaw Szczepankiewicz ; Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Ms. P.G.P. Kaushalya; Consul General of Japan in Cebu Hideki Yamaji; and Embassy of the United States in the Philippines Chief Consuls Kristofer Graf and Leo Balantac.

Dinagyang is the Hiligaynon word for revelry or "merrymaking." The festival is Iloilo City’s version of the Ati-atihan celebrations widely observed not only in Panay Island but also in other parts of the country. Two of the many foreign dignitaries who graced the festival were full of praises.

Share |

With 5G and 4L, Will A Driverless Port Far Away?

Huawei 11/07/2022 02:52:00 PM

During Christmas season, dispatching different goods and commodities from all over the world on time for a port is always important. At the end of last year, port congestion caused severe disruptions in global supply chains, and most stores were out of stock during the Black Friday and Christmas, the peak selling season. To experience less dilemma like this, the innovation case from Tianjin Port might help.

Tianjin Port is one of the world’s largest ports. It has a 300000-ton-class wharf with a channel depth of -22 meters. It has 192 berths of various types and 128 berths above the 10,000-ton-class.

By the end of 2021, the port’s cargo throughput reached 435 million tons, ranking ninth in the world, while the container throughput exceeded 18.35 million TEUs, ranking the eighth port in the world. The cost of manual operations at this scale is exuberant, both in terms of money and efficiency.

A typical port usually deals with vessel arrivals and departures, shoreside operations, horizontal transport, yard operations, manual tractor trailer transport, and gate operations.

One of the key steps in port digitalization is automating horizontal transport, that is, handling cargo within the port.

The Smart Port Solution uses the latest tech — intelligent twins, autonomous driving, 5G, cloud computing, and IoT — to create a better connected, smarter, and more autonomous system.

This smart terminal was built by Tianjin Port Group (TPG), together with Huawei and other partners, as part of its efforts to build a smart and green port. One of the key innovative applications to address this is Huawei's self-developed, truly AI-based intelligent horizontal transportation system, which has achieved a series of "world firsts": Large-scale commercial use of ultra-L4 driverless, the world's first "5G+BeiDou" integration of ubiquitous intelligence, the world's first self-sufficiency in green electricity and zero carbon emission, etc. This achievement provides a blueprint for other parts of the world to build intelligent and low-carbon ports.

The results speak for themselves. On the port's visitor platform at the container terminal at Section C of Tianjin Port, container cranes operate automatically and unmanned electric container trucks come and go. At the port, remotely controlled quay cranes stably pick up containers that are loaded with cargo from cargo ships, and load these containers onto unmanned electric container trucks. Under the guidance of the BeiDou navigation satellite system, the container trucks go to the automatic locking/unlocking stations, according the optimal driving route calculated in real time, to unlock the containers, and then drive to the container yard. The whole process is completed in one go.

The intelligent and digital transformation of the port has led to tangible benefits. Previously, transporting containers to container yards within ports requires a large number of container trucks. Using human drivers is very costly. Tianjin Port currently has 76 container trucks. To ensure 24/7 operations, each container truck needs three drivers working in three shifts every day. The port needs 60% fewer staff than before. In addition, it is exhausting for truck drivers to drive on fixed routes in three shifts, posing an obvious safety hazard. Now, Drivers (who are in high demand) now operate trucks remotely and no longer have to face dangerous, unhealthy working conditions. And each container now consumes 20% less energy, cranes are 20% more efficient on average, with each crane operating 39 container units per hour.

The terminal of Section C in the Beijiang Port Area of Tianjin Port is the first smart terminal of its kind to deploy an intelligent horizontal transport system. Looking ahead, Huawei will continue working with partners to deploy and replicate this experience in more ports, building smart ports together.

Share |