Running a business that is simply about the bottomline can be an ingredient to success. But whether this success can, through the years, endure a wide array of variables designed to test the tenacity of any business enterprise, remains a question. For a business to be deemed as truly successful is not solely measured by profit margins, equally important to the “sacred bottomline” is, whether a business inspires.

 

Pacific Paint wins CBI’s Inspirational SME Award 2013 for the category Planet. The company won this award due to its efforts in reducing the amount of waste that is inherent to the nature of its operations, benefiting both the company and its employees. Understanding the importance of waste reduction, Pacific Paint launched several waste management schemes. Under these schemes, employees were encouraged to segregate, store and recycle waste and other materials both at work and at home. As a result, these waste-reduction and recycling initiatives reduced the company’s costs. A portion of the cost savings are then being used to finance a free rice program for the employees and educational scholarships for their academically gifted children. 

 

CBI is an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Established in 1971, CBI supports producers and exporters so that they can get a foothold within the market in the Netherlands. The CBI SME (small to medium size enterprise) program helps SMEs in emerging markets such as the Philippines. To acknowledge SMEs that have moved in the direction of innovation and inspiration, CBI has once again hosted its Inspirational SME Awards. Open to all companies participating in CBI’s Export Coaching Programmes, CBI’s Inspirational SME Awards is an annual competition that showcases promising SMEs that have improved their performance through innovative and inspiring means. Participating companies were asked to submit an inspirational pitch about themselves that showed how they had excelled in one of three categories.

 

Of the 56 companies thatj oined, nine were nominated, three in each category. The categories were People, Planet, and Profit. In the Planet category, there were 12 applicants, of which three were nominated, Pacific Paint was one of the three nominees in this category. The decision making was no easy task. Due to the high quality of the entries, the CBI jury was left with what at first seemed like an impossible undertaking. Finally, after extensive deliberation (in which the jury also considered public votes which were cast via CBI’s website), the CBI jury named the winner in each of the three categories. Pacific Paint prevailed and was recognized as the winner of the Planet category.

 

Winning this award also means that Pacific Paint was given the opportunity to produce a corporate film which was fully financed by CBI, a film which also received free exposure through CBI’s global network.

 

The short video clip depicted employees of Pacific Paint, Armando Sambayon and Gretchen Fontejon, attesting to the company’s social responsibility through its continuous efforts to reduce its waste production. Thus even if the company is classified as a small to medium size enterprise, it has gained the trust and confidence of international companies through Pacific Paint’s demonstration of its understanding of the value of social responsibility. At present, 98% of the company’s waste materials are being recycled and through such efforts on waste reduction, not only is the company performing its role in preserving the environment, but also, its employees such as Armando are now educated with the benefits of recycling and caring for our environment.