ASUS solidifies commitment to sustaining an incredible future, collects over one ton of recyclable waste with CORA

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ASUS solidifies its commitment toward an incredible, sustainable future and its thrust toward a circular economy and collected a landmark 1.67 tons of plastic and other recyclable wastes through a series of activations in partnership with nonprofit organization Communities Organized for Resource Allocation (CORA). 

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ASUS culminates its partnership with the nonprofit organization CORA after a successful three-phased project that involved ASUS employees, partners, dealers, and the public in its thrust toward sustainability and reducing plastic waste.

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The ASUS x CORA sustainability campaign spanned three phases, each focusing on and involving various stakeholders for a holistic approach toward promoting eco-friendly products, reducing waste, intensifying awareness about circular economy and climate action, and educating people on how to lead an eco-conscious lifestyle.

“At ASUS, we believe that innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. As we continue innovating our products, we strive to be more sustainable. We are immensely thankful for everyone, including our partner CORA, the ASUS Philippines employees, our partners, dealers, and all the Filipinos who helped us in this meaningful mission to protect and save our environment through recycling plastic and other everyday waste, giving them a second life, and promoting a sustainable and incredible future for the people and the planet,” ASUS Philippines Country Manager George Su said.

In 2007, ASUS launched its first sustainable notebook, the ASUS Bamboo Series. It received numerous environmental certifications and accolades for its revolutionary engineering and design. Early this year, ASUS launched the most sustainable Zenbook ever, the Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304), underscoring the company’s 2025 Sustainability Goals and its commitment to environmental stewardship. Taking a significant step toward circular product design, the Zenbook S 13 OLED is an EPEAT Gold registered product with a positive environmental impact across the entire product lifecycle, from material use and manufacturing to assembly, use, and end-of-life.

Circular economy starts with us

ASUS held a knowledge-sharing activity with its employees dubbed ASUStainable Solution: Circular Economy Starts with Us. CORA and its Circular Center Women Champions (CCWC) presented the country’s current plastic situation. They educated ASUS employees on how they can contribute to a circular economy by recycling typical household wastes, such as plastic bottles. Aside from instilling personal change, the workshop encouraged employees to disseminate what they learned to their family and friends. After the seminar, a two-month recycling activity among ASUS employees was held, where they collected plastic bottles, soft plastics, sibak, colored paper, and cartons. These office and home wastes were collected through CORA’s Eco-Ikot Center pop-up, where dedicated trash bins were set up in the ASUS office. ASUS employees generated 840.6 kg. total waste. The waste collected was then brought to CORA’s partner Sentinel Upcycling Technologies to transform them into high-quality products such as benches, school chairs, and mobile trash bins.

Under the innovation and value creation pillar of the ASUS 2025 Sustainability Goals, ASUS also donated two ASUS Zenbook laptops to CORA to aid them in their administrative tasks. This includes recording data from their Eco-Ikot Center in Parañaque City and managing other programs and campaigns with public and private organizations.

The CORA Eco-Ikot Center is an inclusive and holistic recycling system that allows communities to exchange recyclables for points, which can be redeemed for various incentives. The first of its kind in the Philippines and the world, CORA’s Eco-Ikot Center provides a sustainable solution to the plastic pollution crisis.

ASUS x CORA Mall Caravan

For the second phase, ASUS installed CORA Eco-Ikot Center pop-ups in three ASUS Exclusive Stores, making it accessible for Filipinos to recycle and reduce plastic waste. Filipinos got to take home ASUS and CORA merchandise in exchange for clean and dry plastic bottles. The CCWCs educated them and other mallgoers what is circular economy and the benefits of recycling common plastic waste.

Mallgoers were also able to experience the Zenbook S 13 OLED and learned the importance of supporting and using eco-friendly products, further cementing ASUS’ sustainability thrust.

The ASUS x CORA Mall Caravan collected over 1,100 plastic bottles, equivalent to 28.5 kg. It was held at SM Cyberzone in Megamall, North EDSA, and Mall of Asia.

Celebrating International Coastal Cleanup Day

For the final leg, ASUS celebrated 2023 International Coastal Cleanup Day by combing the shore of Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP) of trash and debris led by Zenbook S 13 OLED Ambassador and CORA Founder Antoinette Taus, together with volunteers from ASUS employees, media, influencers, partners, and dealers. This joint effort of 75 volunteers collected 646.2 kg. of plastic waste, Styrofoam, rubber materials, and stuffed toys. The trash accumulated was segregated to send the recyclable materials to CORA’s recycling partner.

The data collected during the event will help CORA and government agencies address the dire waste problem in Manila Bay. The LPPWP is part of the Manila Bay coast and was reported to carry an estimated 9.46 billion pieces of plastic waste.[i]

United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and CORA Founder Antoinette Taus also shared, “We need to reduce our waste overall and make sure that the waste we do produce ends up in the right places, to the circular economy.”

The collective efforts of ASUS Global and its local markets contributed to the significant strides in sustainability focus areas. In the recently announced ASUS 2022 Sustainability Report, the global technology leader detailed that it exceeded ENERGY STAR standards by 34%. Its eco-friendly products also accounted for 87% of total product revenue. These and more led ASUS to bag multiple 2023 Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards and receive international recognition. ASUS will continue to create local and global initiatives toward being a net-zero enterprise in 2050.

Coca-Cola Philippines and partners mobilize over 400 volunteers to join coastal cleanup

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Despite rain, volunteers from over 30 organizations join International Coastal Cleanup activation at Subic Bay

Over 30 organizations gathered last September 17 at Subic Bay to pluck away debris and trash along its coastline and waters. Armed with cleaning kits provided by Coca-Cola Philippines and taught to properly segregate waste collected from the cleanup by the Lighthouse Legacy Foundation, some 430 volunteers were undeterred by the rain and joined many other groups and organizations in the country who participated in the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Employees of Coca-Cola Philippines from Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, and Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines’ (CCBPI) North Luzon Commercial Unit also joined this year’s ICC at Subic.

Organized by Coca-Cola Philippines in partnership with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the Lighthouse Legacy Foundation, this year’s ICC activity at Subic Bay helped to deliver on the ongoing commitment of Coca-Cola Philippines to create partnerships that promote a debris-free environment, consistent with the World Without Waste vision of the company.

“At Coca-Cola, we recognize our responsibility to help solve the global plastic waste problem. To help create a World Without Waste, we have a global goal to help collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle and can we sell by 2030. This is an ambitious goal that we cannot achieve alone, which is why we collaborate with like-minded organizations to help drive collective action,” said Jonah de Lumen-Pernia, Director for the Philippines Franchise, Coca-Cola ASEAN & South Pacific.

“We are grateful to all the volunteers who traveled to Subic, brought their family and friends, and chose to spend their Saturday with us doing coastal cleanup. It feels great to see the sense of volunteerism for the environment alive through this ICC event, especially after a two-year hiatus,” said Atty. Cashmer Dirampaten, Director for Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Franchise East Region, Coca-Cola ASEAN & South Pacific.

The ICC is a global movement where volunteers from more than 90 countries simultaneously remove debris from shorelines, rivers, lakes, and waterways; raise environmental awareness; and provide information that will guide and influence decision-making bodies and industries in developing smart solutions to the persisting marine debris problem.

Addressing a persisting challenge

SBMA Chair Rolen Paulino emphasized the importance of working together to ensure a sustainable future and healthy environment for the next generation. “Mga bata, makinig kayo. Para sa inyo itong ginagawa namin. Sana may maiwan pa kami na environment [para sa inyo]. Sana ‘yung ilog natin malinis pa, sana ‘yung beaches natin [ay] pwede pang paliguan. Request ko lang [na] huwag na tayong makadagdag [ng basura]. Be conscious, sa atin lang [galing] ito lahat,” he said, addressing the volunteers. “Nagpapasalamat ako [na] merong Lighthouse [Legacy Foundation] at Coca-Cola na gustong maging maganda pa ‘yung titirhan ng mga bata, ng mga next generation."

(Kids, listen. We are doing these cleanup initiatives for your generation. I truly hope that we can leave a clean, healthy environment for you. I hope we can keep our rivers clean, and our beaches safe for swimming. I ask you all to please avoid throwing away trash into the environment. Let’s manage it properly. Be conscious because this pollution was also caused by us. I thank the Lighthouse Legacy Foundation and Coca-Cola for undertaking programs that address the roots of plastic pollution for our children and their next generation.)

“Joining the coastal cleanup, I learned a lot about proper waste collection, segregation, and recycling, which I plan to share with my loved ones. We all need to help reduce waste, and this initiative is an opportunity to get everyone to realize that safeguarding the environment is a shared responsibility,” shares a volunteer from Alon at Araw organization, which had the largest delegation of volunteers during the cleanup.

The annual ICC event is an opportunity to reinvigorate the spirit of volunteerism among Filipinos by enlisting their participation in helping reduce marine litter. “It is important for the Philippines to act quickly on the matter because failure to do so would mean irreparable damage to our marine resources,” said Zed Avecilla, Executive Director, Lighthouse Legacy Foundation. “The annual ICC is always a good opportunity to raise awareness on marine pollution and the importance of proper waste segregation and disposal.”

This ICC activity in Subic this year was able to divert 733.46 kilos of marine debris, equivalent to 295 sacks of waste. Recyclable plastics will be brought to partner recycling organizations such as Precious Plastics Philippines and Sentinel Upcycling Technologies, while the rest will be considered for waste to energy or will be brought to landfills.

ICC activity in other areas

CCBPI—the bottling arm of Coca-Cola in the Philippines—also activated 20 of its sites to participate in ICC activity in other parts of the country from September 16 to 17, and 19. Across its vast footprint in the country, CCBPI aim to refresh the Philippines and make a difference as it strives to operate its business with the highest sustainability standards.

“CCBPI’s yearly participation in the International Coastal Cleanup is just one of the many ways we ensure that we remain an integral part in supporting a debris-free environment for the communities we operate in. As we help reduce marine litter, we unceasingly accelerate our used clear PET plastic bottle collection efforts nationwide — helping to turn our World Without Waste commitment into reality through the collaboration of our employees and partners across the Philippines,” said Atty. Juan Lorenzo Tañada, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc.

Commitment to a World Without Waste

In 2018, Coca-Cola announced its global vision of a World Without Waste including the ambitious goals of helping collect a bottle or can for every one it sells by 2030 and using at least 50% recycled content in its packaging by 2025.

To encourage recycling and promote a circular economy, in 2019, the beverage company introduced the Philippines’ first beverage bottles made from 100% recycled plastic material (excluding the cap and label) with the launch of its Viva! Mineralized water and Sprite 500ml clear bottles made from 100% recycled plastic.

Moreover, Coca-Cola also placed “Recycle Me” on all of its package labels across Coca-Cola brands in the Philippines to promote and remind consumers about the value of recycling and how everyone can take part in the recycling process.

Coca-Cola Philippines, and its community partners nationwide, also made its accessible for consumers to know where to drop off their used PET bottles through the Coca-Cola Philippines website.

“We recognize that there continues to be too much plastic in the world ending up where it shouldn’t be. Nobody wants to see that. At Coca-Cola, we’re fully committed to making our vision of a World Without Waste come to life,” said Tony Del Rosario, Coca-Cola Philippines President and VP for Franchise Operations for the ASEAN and South Pacific Unit-East Asia Region.