Sustainability Innovation

On a higher purpose and the Great Transformation

December 12, 2023

I happen to believe that it is good practice to find deeper meaning and a higher purpose in the things we do. Better to make a positive difference in this exciting yet tough and unpredictable world than to just idly pass by. In that regard, my colleagues and I at AboitizPower are rather fortunate to be part of a public utilities company, particularly concerned with electricity, because we are handed a unique opportunity to do just that by helping shape the energy transition.

The task of helping ensure that people have electricity whenever they need it — that is also inexpensive and responsibly sourced — starts with us and the rest of the industry, from generation, transmission, and down to distribution. Our respective services are directly tied to the country’s socio-economic prospects since electricity is an indispensable part of modern life as the driving force behind numerous activities in business, academics, public work, and home life.

In that respect, we constantly tell our people that this shared higher purpose is theirs for the taking. AboitizPower’s collective purpose of Transforming Energy for a Better World is multifaceted in that it ranges from the personal up to the idea that we are all participants in building the nation. To give you an idea: one of my close friends and colleagues in the company said that she grew up experiencing blackouts and studying by candlelight. In her work, one of her motivations is to ensure that her children — and by extension other children in the country, both present and future — wouldn’t have to go through the same thing.

Despite the financial sustainability of our enterprise, you’d be surprised to know that providing and sustaining meaning and purpose to our team members is as important an aspect as any of our other business operations. Skilled power industry workers who are agile, innovative, and adaptable to the fast-paced shifts in technologies and strategies are a growing scarcity in the country due to skills mismatches and brain drain. Hence, finding the right financing and technology is not our only concern in the industry. We also need people with the right skills and mindset to help shoulder the responsibility of energy stewardship. This is critical, especially since we are an industry that is in perpetual transit; one that is always in search of the correct power mix that can deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity for the country at its own freely determined pace.

At the onset, collaborating with partners in education and across the public and private sectors to develop programs and suggest policies is critical in order to widen a skilled and motivated talent pool. I think the essence of these interventions should be to prove that the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM, as well as pursuing a career in the Philippine energy sector, present lucrative and very fulfilling opportunities. But, putting emphasis on the “very fulfilling” aspect, on top of offering competitive financial compensation and other incentives, attracting and retaining the right kind of talent involves giving them something inspirational to strive for, be it personal or macro in scale.

That said, regardless of age, physical characteristics, perspectives, sexual orientation and preference, marital status, socio-economic standing, and experiences, we want to bring our team members along with us to work at a pace where we would want to succeed. Each is invited to bring their own set of talents and uniqueness — each individual bringing a note — to blend in melody and contribute to the enrichment of the whole. As such, we promote continuous personal growth and synergy, as well as provide opportunities for talent mobility, so that our people feel that they are in the most optimal position to excel in their jobs and fulfill their determined higher purpose.

To recall, in 2022, the Aboitiz Group launched its Great Transformation towards becoming the country’s first Techglomerate. This only served to further upscale our vision of Transforming Energy for a Better World as it put emphasis on how the progress of the organization starts with the development of its individual members. To that end, 10 core behaviors of a transformed individual of the Aboitiz Group were identified, which includes being more open, articulate, entrepreneurial, synergetic, and innovative; having the knack to do things smarter, simpler, and faster; being purpose-driven; and having the good sense to have fun in the process.

To illustrate how the Great Transformation plays out in real life, regardless of one’s rank in the company, radical candor — or challenging directly while caring personally; courageous authenticity, if you will — is encouraged, not just to keep our ideas, aspirations, and work ethics in check, but also to make team members more open, articulate, and caring of each other. Culture-building initiatives such as this enables us to sustain meaning in the things we do. After all, constructive criticism seeks to build up and refine for the good of the whole, as opposed to destroying for the sake of just bringing someone down. In that sense, radical candor plays a huge part in exercising AboitizPower’s company values of integrity (doing what is right), teamwork (fostering collaboration), innovation (being open but critical to new ideas), responsibility (being purpose-driven), and service excellence (having the customer in mind).

Overall, we believe that our people’s individual success in their respective capacities determines to a large extent the continuation of the company itself and its vision of advancing businesses and communities in the country. The same logic goes with any other enterprise anywhere. I trust that when we give people a healthy space to find their higher purpose and sense of belonging, significant positive changes — whether in big leaps or in incremental steps — will happen.

Chords is the monthly column of Emmanuel V. Rubio — biker, music lover, and President and CEO of AboitizPower. Under his leadership, the company pursues significant growth in its generation portfolio, aiming for a 50:50 balance between its renewable and thermal capacities. Chords references Manny’s passion for playing the guitar and how the combination of notes & the subtleties of strumming produce unique melodies when the sounds of individual strings are blended together, much like the elements of industry, corporations, and life.

Link to the story here.