Advancing the pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Initiatives of selected publicly listed companies in the Philippines
Authors: Edralin Divina , Pastrana Ronald 
Published: February 2023

We probed what are the sustainability initiatives of the selected Publicly Listed Companies in the Philippines that are advancing the pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly on Good Health and Well-Being and Quality Education. Specifically, we mapped the sustainability programs implemented by the sample companies that are aligned with the 17 UN SDGs. We also determined if these UN SDGs are embedded and articulated in their corporate vision-mission statements. Then, we identified the explicit programs that were implemented by the selected firms that are advancing the pursuit of a few specific targets of SDG#3 and SDG#4. We anchored our study on the theories of Sustainable Development and Humanistic Management and used qualitative descriptive and exploratory research designs. We utilized purposive sampling to select the 20 Publicly Listed Companies based on four criteria. We employed content analysis to determine their specific programs from their Sustainability Reports and/or Annual Reports. Our numeral mapping analysis revealed that the average number of implemented programs related to the 17 UN SDGs by the sample corporations is 11(65%). Companies are pursuing all 17 SDGs while some implemented only six programs. Our data further showed that overall, 15 out of 20 (75%) corporations have articulated and embedded the essence of the UN SDGs either in their vision or mission or combined vision-mission statements. On SDG#3, our findings disclosed that all (100%) of the 20 sampled corporations implemented definite programs for "ending epidemics and communicable diseases" with specific reference to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. On SDG#3, our findings divulged that 13 out of the 20 (65%) sampled firms implemented specific programs that directly addressed the target of "achieving health coverage and wellness for all at all ages." 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