IN SOLIDARITY WITH the University’s commitment to “Laudato Si’,” the Accountancy, Business, and Legal cluster of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) organized a HyFlex seminar entitled “BEDANS ARE NOT PLASTIC: A Zero Solid Waste Management Program” at the Pamanang Bedista that was also streamed online via Zoom last October 5.
This was a collaborative project born from the effort of San Beda Junior Marketing Association (SBJMA) along with the San Beda Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (JPIA), Human Research Development Management Society (HRDMS), Society of Operations Management Students (SOMS), Junior Bedan Law Circle (JBLC), Management and Entrepreneurship Society (ManSoc), and the Junior Financial Management Association (JFINMA).
Gabriel Joaquin Morales, the President of SBJMA, described how the title, “Bedans Are Not Plastic,” came from the cluster’s observation on “what’s happening inside San Beda.” One of the first things that the organization observed were the unfixed water fountains around the campus, along with the administrators’ memo mandating the reduction of single use plastic utilization.
As such, the latter inspired the SBJMA, along with the rest of the cluster, to plan an event that would serve as an avenue of “forcing” the administrators to impose a strict policy relative to the matter, while creating “an impactful event that will actually give meaning to the entire Bedan community,” according to Morales. He further stated how long-term solutions still need to be put in place, such as promoting and using sustainable materials like water tumblers, reusable utensils, and the like.
Moreover, two guest speakers were featured by the cluster for the seminar. The first one was Prof. Liwayway Acero, Ed.D., the Chairperson of the Department of Human Biology and Natural Sciences, who focused on the implementation of zero-waste management strategies inside the University, ways of reducing solid waste, and how the Student Organization Circle (SOC) can adapt meaningful projects that help reduce them.
The second speaker, who also delivered a keynote address, was Ms. Leah Ayeng, the Manager of Prestige Paper Products and a member of the Philippine Management Association (PMA). Her talk focused on the examples of sustainable products found in the real world, applying Starbucks, as a sample business, who have transitioned from plastic packaging to paper in their sandwiches.
Furthermore, Ms. Ayeng also tackled how student leaders, like the SOC, can also advocate for environmental protection through implementing zero plastic-waste strategies. She concluded her speaking engagement by giving strategies on raising funds for meaningful and impactful projects and campaigns.
When asked about the relation between the goals of Laudato Si’ with the business cluster, Morales disputed the misled perception that people have with their department, exclaiming how the public believed that they are “strictly focused on business and generating profit, but that’s not actually the case.”
On the contrary, for him, the business cluster can aim to implement effective advocacies and campaigns that would serve as good practice when students transition to the real world and become professionals. “Because in the future, when we become the future professionals in business and accountancy, and legal management, we should know how to create an impact to our society, because it does not stop in just generating profit,” Morales shared.