The country’s largest integrated telecommunications company PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) have partnered with the Makati Commercial Estate Association (MaCEA) to expand the PLDT-Smart Gabay Kalikasan street mural of internationally renowned and multi-awarded environmental ‘artivist’ AG Saño.
Aimed at raising awareness on climate change, Saño’s initial artwork in December 2019 featured more than 3,000 square feet of Philippine flora and fauna throughout the telco headquarter's Legazpi Street frontage and Dela Rosa Street walkway. The street mural’s second phase, completed in March 2020, was a 120-feet tall vertical piece at its Gallardo back entrance, and is said to be the tallest environmental mural in Southeast Asia.
Completed right before the end of January 2021, the mural extension on the Legazpi - Dela Rosa elevated walkway continued the existing mural theme around the PLDT building, which featured armored bird species all found in the Philippines.
“The general state of the environment did not improve in 2020. Wildlife population is still diminishing. As environmental street artists, we want to keep on creating images of nature to keep nature's beauty in the consciousness of the daily urban pedestrian,” said Saño.
With the mural, MaCEA aims to constantly transform and reinvent itself to remain relevant and interesting while raising awareness on the environment. Makati’s civic body aims to do this by making the central business district pedestrian-friendly and well connected, celebrating its distinct neighborhood, transforming it into an art centre and helping redevelop it further into a vibrant central business district.
As the country’s largest integrated telecommunications company, with energy as a necessary resource to deliver their services, PLDT actively ensures that it uses energy responsibly. As greenhouse gas emissions arise from energy consumed by its network in operation, in the establishments they run, and emissions from transport, PLDT aims to protect the planet through technology-based carbon footprint offsetting programs. This includes initiatives in reforestation, marine protection, mangroves preservation, and peatlands conservation that leverage on digital innovations and PLDT-Smart’s network.
Gabay Kalikasan represents PLDT-Smart’s Effective Environmental Stewardship sustainability pillar, one of the seven that make up the company’s Sustainability Framework. The other pillars are Awesome Customer Experience and Quality of Service, Growth-driven Innovation, Responsible and Efficient Operations, Excellence through Human Capital, Positive Community Impact, and Good Governance & Ethical Business Practices.
The mural extension is a joint initiative of MaCEA and PLDT-Smart, supported by Metro Pacific Investments Corporation.
For more information on PLDT-Smart's environment partnerships, visit www.pldt.com, follow Gabay Kalikasan on social media, or send an email to ChiefSustainabilityOffice@pldt.com.ph.
