Driven by its commitment to making a meaningful impact on communities and the environment, First Balfour organized a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Workshop on 26 January 2026 at the Rockwell Business Center.
Representatives from Operations, Corporate Communications, Corporate Sustainability, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing, Occupational Safety and Health, Procurement, Technical Services, T1 Rentals, and Torreverde came together to discuss and plan the company’s CSR initiatives for the year, focusing on making each activity more strategic and measurable while creating a positive impact on the communities where First Balfour operates.
Participants of the CSR Workshop at Rockwell Business Center on 26 January 2026
The first session of the workshop consisted of a series of presentations on how First Balfour has been implementing CSR initiatives across environmental, social, economic, and governance areas. These included tree planting activities, brigada eskwela, scholarship programs, project handog (which supports Dumagat children), reef dome barrier and mangrove restoration projects, TESDA training programs, and the community relations program (CRP) plan.
The session continued with First Gen-Energy Development Corporation (EDC) Partnerships Officer Soleil Acu, who presented the BINHI Program, highlighting its strategic, science-based, and collaborative approach to promoting biodiversity. She also underscored the program’s business value, noting that it engages stakeholders and regulatory bodies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), while advancing the group’s mission. “Protecting and conserving biodiversity is not only strategic to our business but is also a part of our regenerative mission,” she emphasized.
Top: Speakers during the first session of the CSR Workshop
Bottom: First Gen–EDC Partnership Officer Soleil Acu (center) with Procurement and Materials Management Head Edwin Constantino (left) and Strategic Business Planning and Corporate Sustainability Head Vicente De Lima (right)
Shifted to planning for 2026, the workshop had participants identifying priority CSR initiatives, lessons learned, key challenges, and best practices. The groups also discussed target beneficiaries, expected community benefits, and how initiatives will be measured and monitored using key performance indicators (KPIs). Strategies to improve the tracking and reporting of CSR data were also explored, an important step in developing the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) roadmap.
On the purpose behind the CSR Workshop, Strategic Business Planning and Corporate Sustainability Head Vicente De Lima shares, “In the CSR workshop, we purposely involved officers and staff from various departments who are actively engaged in First Balfour’s community relations and sustainability initiatives. By involving these stakeholders in the discussion process, participants moved from being passive contributors to active creators, fostering a stronger sense of ownership and accountability for the outcomes.” He also adds that the workshop reflects the Lopez core values, “Undoubtedly, the Lopez core values of Unity and Social Justice were in action in our CSR Workshop.”
First Balfour continues to drive lasting and positive change through purposeful action. The workshop fostered collaboration and reflection, equipping teams to implement CSR activities in 2026 that are impactful, measurable, and designed to deliver sustainable results through the company’s initiatives.
