By Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar, Chief Reputation and Sustainability Officer, Aboitiz Group and President, Aboitiz Foundation
This article originally appeared on the author’s Tribune.net column ‘On the G(ood) Side’.
In the world of business, what’s measured gets managed and what becomes public gets done.
At the Asian Development Bank’s 58th Annual Meeting in Milan, I had the privilege of joining global leaders to discuss a topic central to the Aboitiz Group’s transformation: How robust sustainability disclosures can unlock meaningful progress not just for companies, but for the communities and countries they serve.
Our journey at Aboitiz Equity Ventures began like many others—with compliance. Nearly 15 years ago, we started disclosing our sustainability efforts primarily to satisfy regulatory requirements and manage risk. But what began as a box-checking exercise evolved into a strategic imperative. We soon discovered that disclosure, when done transparently and purposefully, serves to clarify key focus areas, uncover gaps, and shed light on the path forward.
Disclosures became both a mirror and guide. They challenge us to go beyond reporting activities and instead set measurable, time-bound targets aligned with our purpose: to advance business and communities. The shift from risk management to value creation entailed putting sustainability at the heart of our governance, operations and culture.
We established the OneNewAboitiz Sustainability Framework to bring together and elevate our initiatives across various industries ranging from power and banking to food and infrastructure. We formalized multi-layered governance across the boardroom and business unit levels and empowered an entire system of sustainability champions among over 40,000 employees. ESG stopped being a silo and became part of how we operate.
But as I shared at the ADB forum, we must also recognize that meaningful disclosure is costly and complex, especially for small and medium enterprises in our value chain. This is where collaboration plays a key role. At Aboitiz, we’re committed to building alliances across sectors, from advising government policy through the Private Sector Advisory Council to participating in international conversations that shape global standards.
We’re also partnering with companies, non-profits and government agencies through the CarbonPH Coalition to move beyond traditional carbon sequestration. Together, we’re integrating science-based forest regeneration, inclusive community development, and long-term climate resilience into our projects.
Being part of global conversations helps us stay on top of new practices, tools, and ideas. At the ADB meeting, I had the chance to see how global standards like the International Sustainability Standards Board are changing the game when it comes to ESG disclosures. I also learned how some companies are making sense of hundreds of data points by turning them into smarter, more useful dashboards.
While sustainability disclosures are certainly important, what truly matters is what we do next. The real impact happens when we turn data and reports into concrete actions that reflect our commitments. That’s how companies move from intention to meaningful progress. And by sharing our resources and working together, we can extend the impact of our efforts beyond our own organizations to communities.
