‘ANG SUSI’ AWARDS 2015

‘ANG SUSI’ AWARDS 2015
Articles

Category: Environmental Impact
Winner: Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, Inc.
Project Entries: “EU Due Diligence Guidebook” and “The Material Matters: A Sourcebook on Material Manipulation of the Homestyle Industry”

Wood users are wood savers too
Ironic as it may seem, wood users like the furniture industry are conserving the forest, too, by cutting trees only from timber plantation areas.

Aware of the importance of the industry’s sustainability and competitiveness and, at the same time, of helping the environment, the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, Inc. (CFIP) has put together two publications in this regard, namely, the “EU Due Diligence Guidebook” and “The Material Matters: A Sourcebook on Material Manipulation of the Homestyle Industry”.

Aimed at providing the timber industry, that supports one million household across the country, with a concise and specific information on how to comply with the social, legal and environmental aspects for a sustainable timber industry, the “EU Due Diligence Guidebook” also came about in a time when international export markets demand, more than ever, verifiable standards of environmental compliance.

In partnership with the Philippine Wood Producers Association, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Global Forestry Services and with funding from the EU and the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, CFIP showed that it can make a difference in leading the timber industry and, in particular the furniture industry, in promoting good environmental governance and management practices.

On the other hand, to re-purpose and develop new applications of past raw materials used by the industry into new raw materials of mixed media and to develop furniture products using innovations in the indigenous raw materials, CFIP has produced another publication entitled, “The Material Matters: A Sourcebook on Material Manipulation of the Homestyle Industry.”

The project brought about at least eight newly-manipulated raw materials undertaken by as many well-known designers in the country which were then used by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be applied in furniture design that consequently resulted in at least 16 furniture collections that are now being offered in the market.

The project was conceptualized by CFIP and ably supported by the Design Center of the Philippines (DCP), a partnership that has led to fresh, durable and saleable designs and amplifies the world-renown talent and craftsmanship of the Filipinos.

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Category: People Empowerment
Winner: Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP)
Project Entry: “GSP Nationalization Scheme for Council Executives”

Empowering human capital brings forth dividends
For 75 years, the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) continues to be the largest volunteer-led and girls-only movement in the country. With a complex governance structure, it has been a challenge for the GSP to promote and maintain responsible Council governance to ensure continuing relevance in achieving its organizational mission and vision.

For instance, most Council Executives (CEs) have been burdened with fund sourcing to pay for their own salaries which distract their concentration in carrying out their functions. A further challenge is the need to further professionalize its CEs through capacity-building and granting of attractive remuneration.

To meet these challenges, the GSP instituted the “Nationalization Scheme for Council Executives” with an aim to deliver both quality and quantity membership for the GSP. The scheme enables the Councils to focus more on effective program delivery by rationalizing the salaries of its CEs.

Under the scheme, competent applicants and CES are now starting to come in and join the GSP at the Council level as professional staff due to the competitive salaries and better benefits being offered. As a result, GSP’s membership increased from 1.9 million to 2.5 million, a remarkable 24% increase.

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Category: Community Service
Winner: National Federation of Women’s Clubs of the Philippines
Project Entry: “NFWC Learning Centers”

Starting ‘em young through education
The National Federation of Women’s Clubs (NFWC) of the Philippines is a 94-year old organization and believing that early childhood education is critical to the growth and development of a person, the NFWC has since advocated for and actualize this tenet since its foundation in 1921.

From its beginning nursery classes initiative in a “learning while playing environment”, these educational support programs have expanded into full-blown learning centers in its own building and complemented by 91other affiliated learning centers throughout the country with teaching modules that are aligned with the K-to-12 program of the government.

The NFWC Learning Centers nationwide were instrumental in the growth and development of pupils who were trained to become responsible citizens. The nursery classes in garages, living rooms and gardens of residences of NFWC leaders in 1935 are now housed in classroom-type pre-schools with complete teaching materials. At present, NFWC has continued to receive and assessing applications for accreditation of learning centers.

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Category: Industry Development
Winner: Philippine Retailers Association
Project Entry: “Best Practices in Retailing Series”

Wholesale learning for retailing in the provinces
The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) is the country’s recognized organization of retailers and suppliers to the retail industry.

To assist and upgrade the capacities of its members and others in the industry, PRA embarked on a series of seminars that it provided to retailers outside Metro Manila, i.e., in the regions and provinces across the country, to level up their competitiveness and to update them with the latest trends and practices in the global retail system.

PRA’s roadshow capacity-building project covered topics such as store operations, customer service, loss prevention and related subjects and has helped more than 2,000 small and medium provincial retailers in Cebu, Pangasinan, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.

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Category: Technology Innovation
Winner: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Project Entry: “e-Health Center (Cloud-enabled Primary Healthcare Solutions)”

Bringing health care closer to the poor
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HP) leverages the power of the cloud to transform and transfer access to quality and affordable healthcare to the poor and underserved areas around the world.

The fully functional mobile facility can be easily mounted and is quickly and cost-effectively customized with workstations equipped software networking capabilities, an open and accessible web-based electronic medical records system and an essential diagnostic equipment integrated into the cloud. These cloud-enabled technologies provide the tools for on-site staff to perform routine diagnostic tests and make results available online so physicians hundreds of miles away can provide a remote diagnosis, thus reducing the need fo highly-skilled medics onsite.

The project serves communities that often lack doctors, functional clinics, internet access or even electricity. Deployed initially in 14 states in India, now in Bhutan and replicable in many countries, including the Philippines, the project is poised to have both local and global impact, especially now that it is being expanded in collaboration with the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB).

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Category: Change Catalyst
Winner: Philippine Institute for Supply Management
Project Entry: “GAWAD SINOP”

Setting the bar of excellence
The Philippine Institute for Supply Management (PISM) is a 300-membership national association of professionals in the purchasing and supply management field.

The PISM has used an awards program as a change catalyst to impart to its members the value and importance of setting the standard to which outstanding achievements in supply management must adhere to. It also emphasizes the critical role that supply management plays in the success of an organization.

The “Gawad Sinop” Awards delivers the message of the contribution of supply management and its four pillars, namely, purchasing, demand and replenishment, logistics and customer service, to organizational competitiveness.

The PISM, through this awards programme, demonstrates the world-class nature of the supply management professionals in the Philippines and furthers the wealth of knowledge and best practices, not only of the award winners themselves but also other members and to the public-at-large.

The “Gawad Sinop” award is considered the highest honor given to supply management professionals and organizations who have contributed to the upliftment of the sector.

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