Our intellectual capital is composed of organizational and knowledge-based intangibles such as intellectual property rights, patents, licenses, organizational knowledge, systems, procedures, and protocols. Maximizing our intellectual capital allows us to deliver value to all our stakeholders to meet our business objectives and attain our mission of a decarbonized and regenerative future. More details on our approach to managing intellectual capital can be found in Annex 3 of our 2020 Integrated Report, uploaded on our website at www.fphc.com.
Maintaining our Management Systems
With our businesses positioned to contribute to nation-building, we maintain our commitment in upholding the excellence of our management systems. This allows us to serve our consumers with quality products and services; protect the welfare of our employees, contractors, and workers; safeguard the environment where our operations are nested; and deliver value to society. Our business processes are aligned with internationally recognized practices. In maintaining our systems, we conduct periodic reviews of policies, regular internal audits, and third-party assessments from reputable providers.
Scaling up our Digital and Technological Capabilities
The rapidly evolving technological landscape prompted us to pursue digitalization initiatives beneficial to the conglomerate. We have an Information Technology (IT) Council comprised of experts across the group. Subsequently, they maintain a community of IT practitioners, enabling the group to identify and quickly address pain points, share best practices, and form functional teams for specialized projects.
Through our Digital Platforms Shared Services initiative, we identified five core IT competencies to guide the success of our digitalization objectives. These are business productivity through automation, cybersecurity, data management, information and operational technology, and IT infrastructure. Initiatives, programs, and policies related to these five key areas are simultaneously implemented across our business segments.
Enhancing our data management capabilities through Project Eve and Project e-Cloud has been a focus for 2023. Project Eve, which was piloted in our social services segment, is a data pipeline that automates the collection and management of business operations data. Project e-Cloud is the data warehouse of the conglomerate’s ESG data. These platforms are intended to aid our leaders and employees in making efficient and timely decisions through the availability of dashboards and reporting functionalities. Similar initiatives are already being done across our corporate functions and business segments.
We continue to install and strengthen the network infrastructures of our businesses to ensure that employees have reliable internet connection in our areas of operation. Several of our businesses began to subscribe to satellite internet constellation services to provide connectivity in areas not penetrated by local telecommunication providers. Safekeeping consistent communication lines with our employees in remote areas ensure the smooth and timely operation of our businesses.
Data Privacy and Information Security
The adoption of technological advancements has subsequently posed risks to our information security systems. Cybersecurity concerns are managed by our Enterprise Risk Management’s (ERM) Information Security (InfoSec) team. Mitigation measures related to these risks are lodged under our business continuity management (BCM), which protects critical business processes from failures of information and industrial control systems.
The FPH Data Privacy Policy, and its management guidelines, are in place to ensure that personal data are managed in accordance with Republic Act 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012). This covers all of the company’s employees and third-party stakeholders. A Data Protection Officer (DPO) is responsible for the implementation of the policy. Concerns related to data breaches are escalated to the DPO and disciplinary actions are implemented against violators and perpetrators. The policy and guidelines are regularly reviewed and updated to warrant its applicability to our systems.
In addition, we released the FPH Information Security Policy and FPH Information Asset Management Policy to emphasize the important role of our employees in protecting our digital assets. We released an FPH Removable Media Acceptability Use Policy, which prohibits employees from using removable storage devices, such as flash drives, in our technological assets. Project ADAM (Active Directory Access Management) was rolled out to serve as a single sign-on (SSO) service for work-related applications. Furthermore, this encrypts our employees’ accounts by enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), making it difficult for cybercriminals to penetrate sensitive corporate data. Multiple internal controls, such as firewalls, Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT), and extended detection and response (XDR), are installed in our information and operational technologies to protect our digital platforms from perpetrators.
An integral component of the InfoSec campaign is building the capabilities of our employees and other stakeholders in mitigating and addressing the emerging threats of cybersecurity breaches. New employees are oriented on the subject matter and existing employees are required to take regular training modules. Phishing tests were also rolled out to employee emails, and victims were subjected to online training to avoid recurrence. Due to the ever-evolving nature of cybersecurity, communication materials are regularly shared with employees to inform them of new threats they may encounter in the workplace and their personal lives.
In 2023, FPH and its subsidiaries did not encounter any incidences of breaches in personal and corporate data.
Utilizing Technologies and Capabilities to Advance Decarbonization and Regeneration
Integrating our mission goes beyond our operational boundaries. Our business units are empowered likewise to embed our mission’s twin principles of decarbonization and regeneration into their products and services. This encourages their customers to join us in our advocacy.
FIRST GEN CORPORATION
As one of the leading power generation companies in the Philippines, First Gen and its subsidiaries are positioned to support the country in its energy security aspirations. Through the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP), our retail and industrial consumers can purchase electricity from our renewable energy portfolio, which includes those from solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy sources.
First Gen produced 7,653.6 GWh of renewable energy in 2023. Their power generation activities support around 19.4% of the country’s electricity supply on average in the past years. To bolster our decarbonization efforts, we commit to adding 13 gigawatts (GW) of new clean and renewable energy by 2030.
First Philec Inc.
First Philec continued to acquaint their consumers on their roster of green transformers, the Biodegradable Distribution Transformers (BioDT) and Super Green Transformers. Through these efforts, majority of the transformers used by their biggest client are BioDT.
In 2023, First Philec launched smart meters as a new product. Called the Advanced Metering Infrastructure, the product assists their customers in maximizing their electricity distribution activities. Additionally, they released Surge Arresters, a device used to protect electrical transformers from temporary overvoltage events.
First Philec is exploring the possibility of offering battery storage and electric vehicle charging stations to expand its position in the energy solutions space and support the nation’s decarbonization efforts.
First Balfour Inc.
First Balfour positions its engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) expertise for projects related to renewable power generation, sustainable water infrastructure, transport infrastructure, and specialized buildings.
Taking part in nation-building and decarbonization, First Balfour’s projects in 2023 include the construction of a battery energy storage system (BESS) facility and several railway projects in Metro Manila. Furthermore, T1 Transport continues to expand its electric vehicle rental offerings for various corporate clientele in the country.
First Philippine Industrial Park
Home to over 150 locators and more than 70,000 employees, FPIP is a thriving, regenerative, and decarbonized job-centered community. Locators are encouraged to source electricity from renewable sources and effectively manage their consumption through our energy management systems offering. FPIP’s Water Sustainability Master Plan was refined to address the changing conditions of water supply and demand within the industrial park. Additionally, we are working with partners to re-fleet our shuttle services into electric vehicles.
Positioning itself as a township, the industrial park also features affordable housing facilities for employees, a natural park that is habitat to several native trees, and a pavilion that can host various events. FPIP also aims to integrate a human-oriented design in its township community project.
Rockwell Land Corporation
Rockwell Land is a pioneer in developing master-planned integrated communities. Resource conservation technologies, such as the installation of solar panels for electricity consumption and low-flow fixtures for water management, are implemented across our commercial and residential developments. We strive to implement climate-resilient features in our developments to guarantee the safety of our tenants. Despite the scarcity of renewable energy sources, Rockwell secured contracts to transition 10 of its developments to RE. At the end of 2024, it is expected that 97% of their existing developments are already powered by renewables.
As an attestation, three (3) Rockwell properties remain to be certified by the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): 8 Rockwell, Rockwell Business Center Sheridan, and 1 Proscenium.
Asian Eye Institute
Asian Eye Institute is a world-class eye care provider in the country. Imbibing our mission to its products and services, Asian Eye offers eyewear derived from recycled marine plastic waste. Additionally, they collect used eyewear, which is then refurbished and repurposed for donation to indigent patients.
Furthermore, we socialize our mission with our consumers and clients through various activities. These are detailed in the next section on Social and Relationship Capital.
- Our businesses maintained their respective ISO certifications for quality management, environment management, occupational health and safety management, and asset management.
- We valiantly pursued various digital transformation initiatives, focusing on automation, data management, information and operational technology, and IT infrastructure. These initiatives are targeted to increase the productivity of our business segments and corporate functions.
- As cybersecurity remains a risk for the conglomerate, we improved our capabilities to prevent and address cyber-attacks by installing policies, programs, and initiatives. We also empowered our employees to be the first line of defense against these circumstances.
- Our businesses continued to offer products and services aligned with the principles of our mission.
- We preserved our intellectual capital by maintaining our robust management systems, while capital was created by strengthening our digital and cybersecurity capabilities.
- Providing products and services aligned with the principles of our mission enabled our businesses to attract new customers. Similarly, our management systems and digitalization initiatives maximize the productivity of our businesses. These contribute to the positive financial results of all our business segments.
