Pasig: River of Life, Philippines
Introduction
Unilever has operated in the Philippines since 1927 manufacturing packaged consumer goods
including detergents, soaps, personal products and foods. Its factory in the heart of Metro Manila
straddles a small tributary of the Pasig River – the 25km waterway stretching between Laguna de
Bai and Manila Bay that has been a vital part of the history and fortunes of the region. The Pasig
River campaign is one of Unilever's many initiatives worldwide addressed to Clean Water
Stewardship and Conservation, which in turn is an important part of the company's Water
Sustainability Initiative. The priority for the Pasig River project fits with company policy to focus on
water and to apply the principles of local community partnership to these activities.
Summary
A practical example of how a carefully managed long-term partnership programme can start to
reverse the fortunes of a dying river and improve living conditions for those depending on it. The
programme addresses particularly Global Compact Principles 7, 8 and 9.
Learnings
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Although the Pasig River's problems are daunting, co-operation between government,
NGOs and industry, and a step by step programme, can produce steady improvement,
with benefit to the whole community.
Leading by example in its own pioneering factory operations, Unilever Philippines is well
positioned to offer advice and training to community projects supporting the Pasig
campaign. Unilever's contribution works well because it focuses on problems it
understands best: Clean Up, Pollution Prevention, Greening, Advocacy.
Unilever employees and the wider community pro-actively support the Pasig project to
achieve results in the community and raise environmental consciousness throughout the
company.
The ongoing Pasig experience is a key reference in the practical guidelines Unilever has
developed and published on integrated water resource management. These are known
around the business as the Sustainable Water and Integrated Catchment Management
(SWIM) principles. These are applied in a number of places: Mersey Basin, UK; Don
Watershed, Canada; and are starting in Brantas, Indonesia.
The Pasig River's problems
The Pasig River is the critical lifeline for the ecological health of Laguna de Bai to the east of
Manila, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. The river flows from the lake westwards
into Manila Bay and out to the South China Sea, and has traditionally been the source of
livelihood for thousands of fishermen who depended on the migration of fish up-river to the lake.
Throughout the 20th century the Pasig's health deteriorated. By the 1930s fish were unable to
make their easterly migration. By 1950 bathing or clothes washing was impossible. Ten years
later the river smelled so offensive that those who could abandoned the ferry boats. By the 1980s
there was almost no river tourism, and fishing was nonexistent. The Pasig River was declared
biologically dead.
As a key partner in the major international multi-sector regeneration programme, Unilever
Philippines has led the corporate sector in contributing to partnership projects that are working to
return the Pasig to health.
The Plan to Save the Pasig
In 1993 the Pasig River Rehabilitation Programme (PRRP) was launched. Its aim was to improve
water quality to Class C (ie with thriving aquatic life, and clean enough for boating) and to
improve the environmental state of the entire river system by 2008.
Endorsed by the President, PRRP was backed by the United Nations Development Programme,
government agencies, industry and business including Unilever Philippines, private organisations,
the World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, as well as numerous nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).
PRRP's agenda is bold and spans 15 years. It includes ridding the river of solid waste,
redeveloping the waterfront and renovating bridges as well as supporting communitybased
programmes , and promoting Clean River Zones. In 1999 PRRP and other associated
organisations evolved into the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) which today
coordinates a US$1 billion Pasig River Development Plan.
The Unilever Philippines contribution
Since 1993 Unilever Philippines' contribution to the rehabilitation programme has been in three
areas:
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ensuring its own operations do not pollute;
partnership programmes helping neighbours not to pollute;
a wider advocacy programme, including encouraging wider participation and support for
he establishment of Clean River Zones in partnership with the Sagip Pasig (Save Pasig)
Movement.
Chito Macapagal, general manager corporate development, with Jika Mendoza, corporate
relations and communications manager, have led the programme, with strong support from
Howard Belton, chairman & CEO Unilever Philippines. 'So far we have invested over US$20,000
in cash, and many times more than that in resources. Our support is long term,' says Chito. 'But
our commitment is much more than financial support. Our contribution comes from people who
care about raising standards. In Unilever Philippines we all care deeply about the future of our
river."
1 Operations on the factory site
Unilever Philippines' commitment to a cleaner, greener river starts within its plant. The factory
continues to achieve reductions in amounts of water used and wastewater generated during
manufacturing processes, as well as reductions in power use, solid waste etc.
But perhaps its best known on-site contribution is the company's domestic sewage treatment
plant – the first such plant in Metro Manila, completed in 1998. Treated sewage water (from the
company's domestic water use, ie from canteens and toilets) flows into a fishpond full of healthy
freshwater fish, before discharging into the river.
The company has been pro-active in introducing new technologies in the Philippines: for
example, it introduced the first 100% biodegradable active ingredients in powders and detergent
bars in 1993. It has had a Total Quality approach since 1990, and in 1994 earned ISO 9002: the
first in the industry in the Philippines to receive this accreditation. This was followed in 2000 by
ISO 14001 accreditation.
In 2000 Unilever opened a dedicated Save Pasig Action Center within the Unilever compound.
This area is much used by numerous Pasig River advocates for debate, workshops and related
events. Unilever continues to be pro-active on site in ways that support the Pasig River project
and other environmental good practice
Learnings: the sustained company-wide initiative attracts keen support from employees who are
proud of a sewage plant which has established new, high standards for the whole area of Metro
Manila and beyond. Additionally, Unilever consumers, for whose families the river has long been
central to their existence, appreciate the investment. The Save Pasig Action Center has focused
attention on the issue.
2 Partnership programmes helping neighbours not to pollute
Unilever is actively involved with a number of partnership programmes which ultimately benefit
the Pasig. With the help of the NGO Sagip Pasig Movement (SPM), Unilever conducts regular
clean-up drives and community–based waste management training in neighbouring communities.
Four examples:
Paco Environment Enhancement Programme (PEEP): a project in partnership with a World
Bank funded project group under the Department of Environment & Natural Resources and stallholders of Paco Public Market – a large wet market close to the factory.
This is work with NGOs and community groups to encourage better management of market
waste: discarded coconut husks and other fruit and vegetables, meat carcasses and fish, as well
as packaging and other debris that stall-holders find it easier to throw into the river. Aling Diding,
a campaigning stallholder in the wet market says "For the last 8 years Unilever has given
financial support to PEEP which has been used in many practical ways to deal with market waste.
These include providing drums to collect recycling materials, cleaning public comfort rooms as
well as training and leaflets to encourage cleanliness and waste segregation." The dedication of
the market people is shown in the way have put a net across their tributary and removed the
floating waste even from way upstream.
The long-term aim is for the City Council of Manila with the help of Unilever Philippines and
NGOs to build a facility to produce organic compost – providing an example to the city's 25 other
markets.
Learnings: prevention is, obviously, better than cure but can be hard to achieve. Although clearly
it is sensible to segregate waste, this is not easy to enforce when there is still an insufficient
public waste disposal facility. Nevertheless people, once aware, really care about their
environment, and with the support of Unilever work very hard for improvement.
Difficulties: it is taking time to see significant improvements. Patience, clarity of vision and
consistent action is the way forward here. Many others would like to be involved: Unilever, with its
pragmatic focus, is instrumental in finding the best avenue for effective practical contributions.
3 Wider advocacy programme
'Who Cares? … We do' campaign: an emotional appeal for public participation in the Pasig
River rehabilitation. This initiative emphasises community clean-up, school involvement,
advertising and press campaigns backed by 10 partners, all of whom have adopted the same
slogan: Unilever, the Sagip Pasig Movement, Laguna Lake Development Authority, Rotary Club
of Manila, Lungsod ng Maynila, Clean and Green Foundation Inc, Piso Para Sa Pasig (A Peso for
the Pasig), Department of Education, Culture & Sports, PEEP, and the Pasig River Rehabilitation
Commission.
'Isang Ilog, Isang Diwa, Isang Gawa' (One River, One Thought, One Action): a programme
initiated in 2000 by the Rotary Club of Manila and Unilever Philippines focusing on environmental
education to raise awareness of the Pasig rehabilitation within the Clean River Zones of Manila's
districts 5 & 6. Activities include inter-school competitions, community workshops on waste
segregation and composting, and offering educational materials to public schools. 150,000 books
on the environment have been printed for the new school year.
Tree Planting: Unilever supports government efforts to green the environment. Employees have
planted 150 trees in a small public garden by the factory, and it expects to adopt a local park
shortly. It supports the restoration over the next 4 years of some 25 hectares of land beside La
Mesa Dam, a vital watershed.
Clean River Zones in partnership with the SPM: in 1993 Sagip Pasig Movement (SPM), with
Unilever's support, launched its community-based initiative - Clean River Zones. These are finite,
local communities – industrial, residential, commercial, markets and schools - who manage waste
sustainably and work on cleaning and greening the river and adjacent areas. Supporters focus on
community mobilisation, public information and advocacy.
The close involvement of the Unilever Philippines' chairman and the head of corporate
development signals the company's determined commitment to the Clean River Zone initiative.
But Unilever has extended the campaign to involve civic groups such as the Rotary Club of
Manila and helped to establish further Zones supported by other major corporations. Honda Cars,
Isuzu Motors, Shell and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company are corporate partners
in the first Clean River Zone. Caltex is sponsoring the fourth Clean River Zone.
Broadening the campaign in this way follows Unilever's wider aims of working in partnership with
others to maximise effectiveness. The importance of this approach was highlighted by Unilever
co-chairman Niall FitzGerald in a speech to the Fourth World Congress on Detergents
(Switzerland, 1998): "…the sustainability agenda brings in a wide range of other players from
outside our industry, with their own interests and ideas. We could certainly benefit from cooperating more with these external parties - be it the local communities in which we operate,
environmental groups, or companies in completely different industries, but who may have a
relevant perspective."
The future
Saving the Pasig is a long term programme. With a biological oxygen demand (BOD - a scientific
measure of river health) down to 230 in 2001, the river is no longer classed as 'dead'. So far four
Clean River Zones are identified, two of which are fully developed; reducing their BOD to 50 is
the aim. Unilever's focused contribution as part of a wider programme is beginning to show
improvements that benefit wider civil society as well as company employees and their families.
Unilever's next steps include supporting the application of Laguna de Bai for membership of the
global Living Lakes initiative, which would help attract further international attention to the lake
and river. In the words of Howard Belton "A body of water this important cannot wait."
Unilever's work received the 1998 Dangal ng Pasig Award (Pride of the Pasig) from the Sagip
Pasig Movement, the 1999 Mother Nature Award from the Pollution Control Association of the
Philippines, and the 2001 Dangal ng Pasig Award.
Chito Macapagal comments on the initiative so far: "Concern for the environment does not come
only from policy, code or principles written in manuals. It comes from people who are committed,
and from a culture where leadership encourages and practises that attitude. To be successful,
company leaders must weave environmental consciousness throughout their business. This is
what we try to do within Unilever."
Contact
Unilever: www.unilever.com
Environment & Society / Case Studies for individual case studies
News / Unilever Today / Recent Speeches for Niall FitzGerald's speech
Email: Rose.Fenn@unilever.com
Living Lakes: www.livinglakes.org December 2001