A kind of consciousness – call it social or moral, or a shared responsibility – is growing. Like recent developments in many parts of the world, Filipinos are beginning to demonstrate this social consciousness by buying products because they like the social values of the company that produced it. There is a growing market for organic products and energy-efficient appliances. There is a growing critical consumership as buyers demand more information about the product, how it is sourced or produced This takes into consideration children and animal rights.

After Ondoy, several establishments – SM, Wilcon, among others, have begun to use paper and biodegradable bags. I am sure many of us are thinking of going “green” this Christmas by purchasing Christmas gifts and packaging materials that are environment-friendly. The Ayala Group has adopted the “triple bottom line approach” that progressive companies in the US are now talking about – “profit, planet, and people.”

According to the September issue of Time Magazine, this emphasis on social responsibility and stewardship attracts investment capital as well as customer loyalty. Several companies are increasing investments in energy efficiency, standardizing a sustainability index, and contributing a percentage of their revenues to environmental projects. About a third of Americans say they’re changing their lifestyles and are now exercising some form of “social contract” or becoming citizen consumers.

Much had changed since 1970 when American economic guru, Milton Friedman said that a corporation’s only moral responsibility was to increase shareholder’s profits.

Since 1995, the number of socially responsible investment mutual funds which generally avoid buying shares of companies that profit from tobacco, oil, or child labor, has grown from 55 to about 260. Here, the Ayala Group reports that this is the first time that a local conglomerate has published a report focusing on indicators like “economic performance, indirect economic impact, energy consumption, water use, emissions and waste, products and services, employment practices, education and training and product responsibility.”

At the global front, finance ministers of G20 countries are in Scotland trying to hammer out a .pre-Copenhagen consensus on investments on developing renewable energy, solar electricity, agricultural technologies to provide food for the poor for the poor and yet not carbon-intensive. The Copenhagen summit in early December will tackle several controversial topics surrounding this “ticking time bomb” which has divided developed and developing countries.

Nobel laureate Al Gore, unarguably, the most passionate advocate for climate change, says that the two critical factors for success are a worldwide network of mobilized and committed citizens groups, and a strong political will among governments.

Political will, he notes, is a renewable resource but it needs to be constantly renewed. “Caring for Climate,” is a voluntary global business initiative to mobilize the business community in developing solutions to climate risk reduction and at the same time would bring value to the company. Launched last July by the United Nations Development Programme, it has 200 signatories which have rated positively the effectiveness of their climate change activities.

Their consensus was that the most helpful government policies are those that promote investment in technology, long-term climate planning, motivating participation of citizens groups, and promoting international policy. Visionary government leadership is essential, particularly in setting reduction targets, and implementing concrete and workable solutions, including support for a continuing education and awareness-raising. The business community supports the ten principles of the UN Global Compact which include human rights, protection of labour and the environment, and drive against corruption in all forms. My e-mail is florangel.braid@gmail.com.