Century Pacific Food, Inc. (PSE: CNPF), one of the largest branded food companies in the Philippines, ranked top 3 among Asia ex-China consumer staples companies in the Institutional Investor’s (II) 2021 All-Asia Executive Team buy-side survey in Best CEO and Best ESG categories.
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II Research’s All-Asia Executive Team surveys are one of the most prestigious and highly anticipated rankings referred to by financial institutions. 2021 marked its first year of reporting Mainland China and Rest of Asia results separately. This year, 4,084 analysts participated in the survey, nominating 1,438 companies and 2,690 individuals across 18 sectors.
“We at Century Pacific are both honored and grateful to be recognized by the investing community,” said Ted Po, CNPF’s Chief Executive Officer. “As stewards of our investors’ capital, we aim to consistently deliver positive results and conduct business sustainably and with integrity,” he continued.
Po stood at the helm of CNPF as the Company navigated through the pandemic in 2020. Under his leadership, CNPF registered double-digit growth last year and continued on its growth streak with a strong start in the first quarter of 2021 despite a high base last year. The Company also accelerated its ESG initiatives during this time.
Sustainability is central to CNPF’s growth strategy, with its framework anchored on Protein Delivery, People Development, and Planet Preservation. Key initiatives under these pillars include the creation of healthier, better-for-you products, natural resource management, environmental footprint reduction, and community development programs.
In 2020, CNPF forayed into the nascent plant-based segment with the launch of unMeat, the first large-scale 100% plant-based brand in the Philippines. The Company aims to democratize plant-based food by providing consumers with a healthy, better-for-the-planet, and vegan-friendly protein source that is significantly more affordable than those offered by other international players.
Likewise, CNPF recently completed the commissioning of a 5.2 MW solar PV plant in General Santos City. The plant can generate an annual potential energy of 7.4 million kWh, effectively offsetting 6,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. With the addition of solar power, CNPF’s General Santos facilities are now 60% powered by clean energy sources.
The Company is also committed to reducing its plastic footprint, marking its second year of being plastic neutral this 2021. Through a partnership with Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX), CNPF effectively offsets its plastic usage, recovering an equivalent amount of plastic waste away from leaking into nature and ensuring it is processed safely into the circular economy.
Since 2010, CNPF has been donating food packs to vulnerable communities in the country through its flagship Kain Po Feeding Program. In 2020, the Company donated more than five million foodpacks to communities devastated by the pandemic. This year, CNPF aims to increase the coverage of Kain Po to support more communities nationwide.
Last September 2020, the Company’s coconut subsidiary signed a partnership with Friends of Hope to donate 100,000 quality seedlings a year for the next five years to smallholder coconut farmers. In addition to expanding long-term coconut supply, planting the coconut trees will sequester greenhouse gas emissions over the next eight years. As a result, CNPF’s coconut subsidiary will be carbon-neutral by 2028.
Po remarked, “Sustainability is critical to our business, not a nice-to-have. People need to eat, and it is our business to make sure they, their children, and their children’s children will always have nutritious food on the table.”
Only five companies from the Philippines ranked in the All-Asia Executive Team survey. CNPF is joined by Ayala Corporation, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, and International Container Terminal Services.
