SustainablePH is staging the second cohort of its Learn2Lead Sustainability program for professionals driving sustainability management across sectors. Last year’s Learn2Lead pilot program trained 40 individuals across private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors in the Philippines. Another 40 are expected to take part in the second cohort.
A non-profit organization founded in 2020 by Koleen Davila-Palaganas and Shawntel Nicole Nieto, Sustainability PH aims to drive the sustainability movement in the Philippines. The startup helps businesses with bespoke capacity-building programs on sustainability and sustainability practices to help bridge the knowledge and skills gap of professionals through intensive training, support, and mobilization.
According to Nieto, Sustainability PH’s initiative comes from recognizing the urgent necessity of sustainability. “ As a country, we are one of the top 5 most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change. We also score high amongst countries with vast amounts of social inequality,” said Nieto. “To create a country that is sustainable, we need all cities and local governments, business and organizations, as well as citizens on-boarding acting and operating sustainably. That is where Learn2Lead Sustainability comes in. We seek to teach individuals and professionals how they can champion and lead sustainable change and initiatives in their cities and/or organizations.”
Empowering future sustainability leaders
Learn2Lead Sustainability (L2LS) is a 10-week hybrid program designed for sustainability practitioners that equips its participants with the knowledge and tools to address sustainability challenges within their organizations, fostering a culture of environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
Learn2Lead currently offers 9 course modules: Leading Sustainability: Fundamentals, Climate Change, Materiality and Stakeholder Mapping, Governance and Policy around Sustainability in the Philippines, Circular Economy, Theory into Practice: Seeing Sustainability actionized through urban mobility, plastic management, and food systems, as well as Communicating Sustainability to the public, through reporting, including internally amongst one’s company.
L2LS utilizes a hybrid set-up consisting of approximately 50-60 hours of online material and short quizzes via Google Classroom and live workshops every Saturday at the 3ZERO House. On top of the course contents, participants get to develop a sustainability action plan for their organization with the help of dedicated sustainability mentors. Two consultation sessions are then scheduled post the training program to evaluate the implementation plans.
among members of the cohort.
Some of the capstone projects of the 2022 L2LS graduates have now become conglomerate-wide initiatives and policies, while other participants were able to attain remarkable career advances since graduating the program.
Several L2LS graduates have moved from boutique consulting firms to Big 4 consulting firms, showcasing career mobility. One graduate is pursuing a Ph.D. in the US, while another’s capstone project became a company-wide initiative on watershed management. Another graduate’s capstone project turned into a social enterprise supporting upcycling livelihoods in a marginalized community. A few of the graduates have returned to support L2LS’s second cohort, taking on responsibilities such as helping raise funds and form strategic partnerships or assisting with marketing and relationship management.
Collaboration as a key
Nieto notes that L2LS is only made possible through extensive collaboration and the expertise of everyone involved in the program.
- Mai Baticulon, L2LS’s Program Director and Country Coordinator for the 3Zero Alliance in the Philippines, brings her expertise from her experience as a part of the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability
- Erika Courteille, the Head of Learning, has a background as a Director for Climate at EY SGV
- Roleen Sevillena, the Program Officer for Learning, works as a Project Manager for Circular Cities Asia
- David Pagulayan, Leading Partnerships, is a Partnership Strategist at the International Care Ministries Inc.
- Marc Manlubatan, Head of Cohort Management, works as an Environmental and Pollution Control Officer at the Light Rail Manila Corporation
- Jonas Marie Dumdum, SustainablePH’s Head of Learning and Corporate Secretary, was a Sustainability Consultant under the Nomura Research Institute
Nieto also explains that from its inception last year, the program sought input from Filipino practitioners to understand their specific requirements and areas of interest in sustainability management. The SustainablePH Group, which includes the Society of Sustainability Practitioners (SSP), played a crucial role in this collaboration. With over 500 members nationwide, the association represents a diverse community of Filipino professionals and practitioners dedicated to sustainability.
L2LS participants get the best insights.
“I serve as SustainablePH’s President and help L2LS’ marketing and PR,” said Nieto. “Once we had the initial curriculum set up, we began partnering with expert professionals and organizations that can help us co-design each module. This is how we have come up with L2LS today.”
Much is in store for SustainablePH’s future. There are plans to expand the L2LS program by launching multiple cohorts per year, starting in 2024. Additionally, significant investments are being made to enhance the capability of developing customized sustainability capacity building programs and training sessions for companies and organizations. This is achieved by leveraging the expertise of the SSP to deliver workshops tailored to the specific needs of industries. In recent months, successful workshops have been conducted for companies in the energy, finance, and manufacturing sectors, highlighting the program’s effectiveness and impact.
This year’s cohort starts in August 2023 but applications are open only until July 15, 2023. To learn more, visit the website: www.sustainableph.org/learn2lead