From coconut shells as feedstock to packaging materials turned fashionable bags, publicly listed Axelum Resources Corp. has enumerated the initiatives that made up its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) platform.
In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the company said its ESG report has the seal of the Global Reporting Initiative, which is the international standard for sustainability reporting.
“Barely into our first year as a listed-entity, we decided to publish our maiden sustainability report, which outlines most of our related efforts since 1986,” Axelum Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Romeo I. Chan was quoted as saying.
Under its environmental initiatives, Axelum said coconut shells used in production are used as feedstock to fuel boilers that create culinary steam needed for the manufacturing process, while around 86,000 cubic meters of water are reused, with 9% of treated wastewater recycled.
Axelum added that it established the first Tetra Pak packaging materials recycling plant in Visayas and Mindanao, which converts used packaging materials into chipboards — an alternative to plywood that can be used for walls and ceiling panels.
“In addition, unused and expired Tetra Pak packaging materials are also transformed into fashionable bags, table trays and other usable items including sleeping mats, which are distributed in various evacuation centers in the event of natural calamities,” the company said.
For its social platform, Axelum said it has initiatives in education, livelihood, health and spiritual formation, done through its civic arms Medina Development Foundation and AMDG Foundation.
The company said it had granted academic scholarships to more than 500 students, while committing to repair broken-down classrooms to improve student safety and learning environment.
For livelihood programs, Axelum said it maintains a 15-hectare organic demo farm where local farmer groups are trained on the latest agricultural technology in organic farming.
“The company extends financial assistance and organic animal feeds produced from the organic farm to hog and poultry raisers. Presently, Axelum continues to distribute coconut and other assorted seedlings to local farmers to encourage agriculture as a viable alternative source of living,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Axelum said it would establish the San Isidro Polymedic General Hospital in Misamis Oriental as part of the company’s health platform.
The hospital is a 100-bed, secondary-tier medical center that has a hemodialysis center, laboratory, and an intensive care unit.
According to the company, the income coming from this venture will be used to subsidize medical treatment for financially challenged patients. The hospital will be managed by the Cagayan de Oro Polymedic Medical Group.
“This project is being undertaken without any commercial aspirations. Our mission is to provide professional, quality and affordable healthcare services to neighboring residents including indigent patients,” Mr. Chan said.
For its spiritual platform, Axelum said it holds annual retreats for employees, while also supporting the yearly staging of a street play in the town of Medina, Misamis Oriental during the Holy Week.
Further, the company said it is engaged with 3,000 farms that are organic-accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture, European Union and Japanese Agricultural Standards.
“We consider Filipino coconut farmers as our most valuable business partner and are willing to go beyond the norm to ensure their welfare. Axelum was born not solely for the purpose of economic gains, but more importantly, to act as a beacon of opportunity and hope for others,” Mr. Chan said.
Axelum is one of the 10 companies that was recently added to the sector indices of the Philippine Stock Exchange, and is now a part of the industrial sector index.
On Tuesday, Axelum shares at the stock exchange rose 3.18% or 11 centavos to end at P3.57 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave