Waste Wanted: CitySavings Turns Donated Plastic into School Chairs

City Savings Bank (CitySavings), the thrift bank subsidiary of the Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), makes supporting public schools more sustainable through its initiative, Turning Plastic into School Chairs.

 

Spearheaded by the Bank’s Branch Operations and Human Resources teams, the goal was to collect as much plastic waste from the employees in a month. The recycling drive gathered almost 2,000 kilograms of waste plastic from CitySavings branches and corporate offices nationwide. These were then turned over to Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc, a company based in Davao City, which produced the school chairs, each made out of 30 kilograms of plastic waste, at a discounted rate.

"We are proud of our CitySavings Bankers for their all-out support as sustainability stewards. The success of this initiative clearly showed how the spirit of Ubuntu moved us to connect and partner with our stakeholders and communities to minimize our impact on the environment for a better and more sustainable future. This is employee engagement and sustainability in action.” ~Hannah Contreras, CitySavings Human Resources Head

A total of 50 chairs were produced and donated to the beneficiaries, Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Central Elementary School in Davao City and Tunasan National High School in Muntinlupa City in support of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Matatag agenda to supplement basic education facilities and services. 

“Our school population has grown from 6,000 to 9,000 students in the past few years. With this, there is a need to increase the number of facilities to be used by our learners at Tunasan National High School. These sustainably produced chairs donated by CitySavings will not just help 25 students, but generations of students to come.” ~Principal Dr. Ador Querubin

Principal Querubin also highlighted how sustainable practices can make the learning environment more conducive and comfortable for students.

“We are very excited to use these unique and sustainably produced chairs given to us by our partners from CitySavings. We will have them in our Reading Village and Reading Kiosk to help encourage our students to read more. Alam niyo na kung saan kayo lalapit kung nangangailangan kayo. Nandiyan lagi ang CitySavings para tumulong (You know who to turn to when you’re in need. CitySavings is always ready to help.).” ~Principal Riza Lobitos of Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Central Elementary School, In Davao City

The school pledged to support the continuation of this initiative by collecting more empty plastic bottles so CitySavings and its partner can produce more chairs.

As CitySavings incorporates sustainability practices into its operations, the Bank commits to #BEESustainable by continuing its sustainability-driven initiatives that further support our educators and learners while significantly helping the environment. 

About City Savings Bank:

City Savings Bank, Inc. (CitySavings) is the thrift bank subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) and a member of the Aboitiz Group. It is one of the largest thrift banks in the country, providing a wide range of mass market financial products and services, such as salary loans to public and private school teachers, pension loans to GSIS and SSS pensioners, motorcycle loans, company employee loans, government salary loans, and traditional deposit products. 

Today, CitySavings has more than 140 branches nationwide. It is well on its way to becoming the leading digital mass market bank in the Philippines, paving the way for inclusive and sustainable prosperity across the country.