A spark ignites between ESGpedia and SMEs in the Philippines

Local company, ESGpedia has joined the Philippines’ Sustainable Practices and Reporting Kickoff (‘SPARK’) program, which aims to encourage sustainable business practices among Filipino small and medium enterprises (SMEs). With this collaboration, ESGpedia aims to streamline sustainability report among Filipino SMEs.

A spark in the Philippines

ESGpedia offers a platform with comprehensive ESG data and insights, helping businesses assess and improve their sustainability practices. It includes tools for tracking and reporting ESG performance and is licensed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an international body that sets standards for ESG reporting. Additionally, ESGpedia brings their experience from their partnership with the Sustainable Finance Institute Singapore, where ESGpedia serves as the official technology partner for the Single Accesspoint for ESG (SAFE) initiative. This initiative aims to close ESG data and disclosure gaps across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

After joining the program, ESGpedia integrated SPARK’s reporting template onto its platform as a digital assessment with detailed guidance notes, enabling SMEs to easily understand and fulfil disclosure requirements. Filipino SMEs also gain access to tools like ESGpedia’s embedded carbon calculator, which follows the GHG Protocol and ISO14064 methodologies, allowing them to calculate carbon emissions and evaluate their sustainability impact.

ESGpedia further supports this initiative by conducting workshops for SMEs through the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) network, equipping local businesses with hands-on knowledge of sustainability practices and reporting.

Digitalisation and SMEs

This collaboration gives an opportunity for Filipino SME’s to leverage digitalisation and aid in their sustainability journey, especially with the often complicated aspect of compliance. Given the variety of ESG reporting standards across regions, ESGpedia’s technology helps SMEs fulfil their  local requirements while simplifying cross-border reporting as they scale.

Furthermore, sustainability reporting allows SMEs to showcase their commitment to ESG practices, making them more attractive to responsible investors and improving their access to sustainable financing. These reports indicate transparency that can also enhance SME competitiveness by aligning businesses with global standards and the country’s own sustainable development goals.

“Digital enablement is key to helping SMEs embrace sustainability and maintain competitiveness amidst rising demand and regulations,” said Benjamin Soh, Founder and Managing Director at ESGpedia. 

“As part of our broader commitment to empowering sustainability in the Asia Pacific region through the SAFE Initiative, we are delighted to be collaborating with GRI ASEAN and the Philippines Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), to streamline ESG reporting for Filipino SMEs through the digitalisation of the SPARK Template on ESGpedia.”

Results

Integrating the SPARK template was also done with the intention to test the usefulness of digitalising such templates, and it has been well received by the SME companies it serves. Two thirds of SMEs agreed that the digitalised SPARK template on the ESGpedia is easy to use, with one third strongly agreeing. 58% also strongly agree that technology helps ease business processes related to sustainability reporting. All chose to use ESGpedia when filling up the SPARK template over its original format of Excel.

“As GRI and DTI advance on our 5-year collaboration, we realise the need to harness the power of technology to make the lives of SMEs even easier when it comes to sustainability reporting,” Katreena Pillejera, Country Manager for the Philippines, GRI ASEAN, said. 

“Bringing the SAFE Initiative, as powered by ESGpedia, into the SPARK pilot program not only provides a technological option for SMEs, but also for DTI, to analyse data at the tip of their fingers. The pilot sessions ran with ESGpedia were positively welcomed by the SMEs; hence, we look forward to the possibility of having the SPARK template fully integrated into the GRI-DTI collaboration in the future.”