There’s a proverb that says, “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.” The same could be said about companies. If you want to know what a company is like, get to know its employees. After all, they are its heart and soul and have a unique perspective of its values and culture.

For Accenture, a leading global professional services company, employees are at the forefront of living its purpose of delivering on the promise of technology and human ingenuity. It recognizes that change can be better harnessed when exceptional people are empowered with the latest technical knowledge.

Accenture has always had a strong focus on technology and innovation. With capabilities in digital, cloud, and security, Accenture offers Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology, and Operations services. 

An innovative company

To foster an innovation mindset, the company provides continuous learning and upskilling for all its people in the Philippines, enabling them to create out-of-the-box technology-powered solutions for challenging problems. Outsourcing roles are now moving away from transactional tasks and evolving to new ones requiring skills in automation, cloud, data, and security, among others.  

Recently recognized as a Great Place to Work and ranking third in the Philippines Best Workplaces in 2022, Accenture is replete with stories of how its people have benefitted from a learning culture and adopted technology to create value and shared success with their clients. 

For many, learning new skills and technologies has enabled them to add greater dimension to their roles and the work that they do. Take the case of Michelle, project and program management lead, who joined Accenture as a data analyst. When she realized that automation improved real-time analysis, she took company-provided courses on Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming to build an application that connected with the client’s system and automatically generated reports, reducing processing time by 20%. 

JP, a learning experience design manager, took up courses on Value Stream Mapping and the Lean Six Sigma method and put that knowledge to use in guiding her team of quality assurance and analytics professionals in simplifying processes so that “the network vendor (can) resolve customer issues quickly and accurately.” 

Learning automation enabled Mark, a dialer administrator specialist, to grow his expertise while also strategizing and co-innovating with his team in pioneering outbound services using a dialer system for a foreign gas and electric company. “Automation, especially when it comes to completing reports, certainly makes our job easier. It helps us provide accurate and complete data to our client,” said Mark.

For Chester, a Manila innovation lead, using AI & automation technologies helps him create tools to improve the operations of clients in the health insurance industry. “Through automation, our clients are able to deliver their services in a timely and accurate manner, which is very critical since these impact their customers’ health and livelihood.” 

A nurturing environment

Fueling Accenture’s innovative culture is a nurturing work environment that recognizes every person’s unique contribution and growth. Employees are not only given the resources and equipment to do their work; they are also mentored by their superiors and receive encouragement from supportive teams. 

Vanessa, a functional analyst, recalls how she was entrusted with deploying several utilities and analytics dashboards as soon as she joined Accenture fresh from college four years ago. She gained confidence early on because of her team. “In the team, experienced leads who have mastered the know-how and fresh graduates who see solutions with a brand new pair of eyes collaborate closely. That’s a winning combo,” she said.

For CJ, business excellence advisory manager, the company’s inclusive and open communications channels and global network were crucial to learning best practices outside of the formal training. “We collaborate with everyone. That’s the beauty of Accenture’s culture: we could reach out to colleagues in our global network regarding initiatives that can be replicated.” 

Accenture’s diverse and inclusive culture breeds innovation and opportunities for further learning and upskilling, according to Dathy, associate manager. “My mantra at work is to keep moving and learning,” she said. “Accenture’s culture of respect empowers me to do just that – the company gives equal opportunities for each employee to grow and reach career milestones.”

No way to go but up

The combination of human ingenuity and technology transforms not only businesses but also careers. Raymond knows this well, having left farming for a job in invoice processing at Accenture. Through the company’s learning platforms, he has mastered data analytics technologies and techniques and is now a project management & client business transformation lead, encouraging clients to try new technologies to transform their businesses. 

The ability to innovate also opened up new avenues early in the Accenture career of Jimmy, automation lead. Then a cash application analyst, he introduced automation to his team, which led his manager to recommend him for a brand-new role so he can help drive critical business decisions based on metrics and process effectiveness.  

For Marian, the skills she developed in data visualization, data analytics, and reporting propelled her career development as a program & project management associate manager. “My ultimate goal is to use this knowledge and help contribute to the business transformation of our clients.”

Having taken every opportunity to upskill, Anne shares Marian’s vision. A business transformation expert, Anne knows fully well how the combination of tech and human creativity empowers us to create meaningful change in the world. “Accenture allows you to grow and learn while being exposed to new technologies and business strategies. We partner with organizations to shape the future and turn smart ideas into reality.” 

Want to learn more about Accenture or apply for an open role? Head over to its website. – Rappler.com 

In the first regional consumer study by Lazada*, 81% of Southeast Asian shoppers consider shopping online to be integral to everyday life. As she noticed the sheer number of online shoppers and the evolving needs of consumers, Kyla Cañete, owner and founder of Tala by Kyla, decided to launch her brand on Lazada to further grow and improve her local jewelry business.

Discover how she embraced eCommerce and went from solely being present on Instagram direct messages to now reaching more customers and improving her business operations with the help of Lazada. – Rappler.com

*Data based on “The New Decade of Southeast Asia Digital Commerce” survey conducted by Lazada with Milieu Insight in January 2022 in six markets (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam). It surveyed 6,000 consumers on their current and future digital commerce behaviors and attitudes.

When we think of sustainability, we often picture the environment or equate it to green practices.

However, sustainability spans environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, from transitioning to a zero-carbon economy to human rights to inclusion and diversity. Accenture, together with its partners, is helping to solve these to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

Outlining Accenture’s priority SDGs

Following Accenture’s global sustainability agenda, Accenture in the Philippines continues its efforts by operating as a responsible company, client partner, and citizen with the goal of creating value for its people, clients, and the community. 

According to their United Nations Global Compact: Communication on Progress 2021, they have identified eight high and four secondary priority UN Sustainable Development Goals where Accenture operations will have the most impact. With this, Accenture in the Philippines is working on four key focus areas: caring for their people and accelerating equality, caring for communities, readying the path to net-zero by 2025, and practicing technology sustainability. 

Caring for their people and accelerating equality 

Accenture in the Philippines continues to put its people’s safety and health, learning, growth, and well-being as a priority. Strongly committed to inclusion and diversity in its organization, they continue to build diverse teams made up of individuals that are empowered to be their true selves and utilize their different talents in creating innovative solutions. 

They are accelerating gender equality, supporting the LGBT+ community, strengthening disability inclusion and boosting accessibility, and promoting the value of cross-cultural diversity. They do this via bold leadership – where leaders set targets for inclusion and diversity and walk the talk, comprehensive action – wherein policies and practices are put in place to ensure that a culture of equality is consistently exhibited and respected, and empowering environment – where people and communities are encouraged and enabled every time to thrive and succeed.

Caring for the communities

Accenture continues to strengthen communities by making a difference and creating shared success to build a more inclusive and equitable future. Through innovations and partnerships, they aim to help alleviate poverty and hunger, provide livelihood, tech-vocational and entrepreneurial training, upskill individuals and give access to education, help in disaster recovery, and mitigate the COVID-19 impact on the country. 

Examples of the work include:

• As part of the COVID-19 response, Accenture in the Philippines collaborated with partner organizations like Caritas Manila and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) to aid more than 1 million Filipinos across the Philippines – distributing food vouchers to the poorest families in the National Capital Region (NCR), Laoag, Cebu, and Mindanao, feeding undernourished children for 6 months, extending livelihood training and assistance to individuals living in NCR and provinces in Visayas and Mindanao, and providing training and financial support to selected beneficiaries to start their own businesses and learn entrepreneurship and technical vocational skills.

• Their partnership with the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) initiated a volunteer-based community teaching program for public school students called The Kiddie Learning Train. The project aimed to help address the learning losses of children in Reading and Math due to the pandemic. Through the program, they have distributed close to 1,000 tablets and school kits to Kinder-Grade 3 students and convened over 130 volunteers to help run these programs.

The pandemic may have shifted a lot of the volunteering initiatives into virtual events, but Accenture’s passionate volunteers showed greater enthusiasm than before to help address societal issues. 

They participated in various digital platforms that either teach one how to code (Hour of Code), create an accessible map of an area that has humanitarian needs (Missing Maps), or participate in real scientific research (Zooniverse) that contributes to a better and more sustainable world.

Its Skills to Succeed Academy helps fellow Filipinos plan and prepare for a successful career journey by equipping them with employability skills that will enable them to be future-ready. 

Supported by Skills to Succeed, their Near-Hire Training (NHT) program aims to develop the right job skills for individuals from poor communities, helping them become competitive and marketable. They have had more than 1,300 beneficiaries in the last five years of which 193 NHT trainees were hired in Accenture in the Philippines.

Their people’s donations also helped the charitable programs that span from helping provide PPEs to frontliners and medical equipment to various hospitals and health centers, providing equipment to selected public schools, supporting Accenture custodians and security personnel, and mobilizing disaster relief packs for calamity-stricken individuals and communities. 

The Path to Net-Zero and Technology Sustainability

Accenture has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2025. To do this, they will: 

• Plan to meet their office energy needs with 100% renewable electricity by 2023 and equip their people to make climate-smart travel decisions. 

• Require 90% of their key suppliers* to disclose their environmental targets and actions being taken to reduce emissions by 2025. 

• Address remaining emissions by investing in nature-based carbon removal solutions that will directly remove carbon from the atmosphere.

• Reuse or recycle 100% of their e-waste, such as computers and servers, as well as all their office furniture, by 2025. They are committed to eliminating single-use plastics in their locations.

• Develop plans to reduce the impact of flooding, drought, and water scarcity on their business and their people in high-risk areas. They are also measuring and reducing water use in these locations.

With their years of investment and experience, they have developed a suite of Sustainability Services to help their clients become more sustainable and competitive. 

Accenture has made sustainability one of their greatest responsibilities, and with everyone understanding that every action has an impact, it can be the force of change the world needs right now. 

To learn more about Accenture’s sustainability commitments, head over to the website. – Rappler.com

*Key suppliers are defined as vendors that represent a significant portion of Accenture’s 2019 Scope 3 emissions.

While some corners of the internet have been inundated with toxicity and people with skin-deep “wokeness,” you can’t deny that many of those who share pain online and call for justice come from a genuine place of concern. After all, we’re slowly becoming more cognizant of people’s experiences and how the system was made to benefit a few and not the majority.

If you’ve been wanting to fight more effectively for gender equality, social justice, better healthcare, or other civic causes, a good place to start is educating yourself. Having a deeper understanding of what people are fighting for will help you better advocate for them too.

And in the spirit of seeking better education from those who experience or witness the injustices of the world firsthand, we asked social justice warriors from different sectors and advocacies to share with us how to learn more about what they are fighting for.

See what they’re fighting for and what their book recommendations are below.

Learn about sex positivity, gender equality, body autonomy

Sunday Nudes is a creative space for women and queer folks. We host art events and discourse that center on feminist issues like gender and identity, sex-positivity, anti-ableism and fat liberation, consent and bodily autonomy, among others. The primary advocacy of Sunday Nudes is fostering spaces where people (of minority identities) feel safe to engage in these difficult but necessary conversations that help dismantle societal oppressive programming.

A great feminist non-fiction read that does just that is Emily Nagoski’s Come As You Are. Get the 2021 revised edition if you can. With its tagline –  The surprising new science that will transform your sex life –  it can easily be dismissed as a sex book. But in reality it is science-backed research that breaks down patriarchal and destructive notions surrounding sex and pleasure.

Dr. Nagoski gives us neutral and inclusive language in talking about our bodies and our sexuality to ourselves, our partners, and our peers. It dispels internalized fears about being “broken,” “not normal,” “repressed,” “not good enough,” “sinful,” etc. around the orgasms we are having or not having, our state of arousal vs actual desire, our genitals looking a certain way, etc.

It’s easily digestible despite being science-y. It invites compassion towards our bodies and full ownership of our sexuality. It’s informative. It’s kind. It’s liberating. It’s empowering.

This book – no exaggeration – has literally changed my life. I read it in 2018 and that first brush lead to the exploration of my queer identity. After featuring it as our first book club read last August, the feedback was the same from everyone: “I’M RECOMMENDING THIS TO ALL MY FRIENDS!”

And you should too.

– Dear Prudence, organizer of Sunday Nudes

Read on environmental restoration and conservation

The bottom line of what we do is the restoration and conservation of our lands and forests, hurdling challenges on the ground such as land-grabbing, illegal quarries, and other forms of development aggression. We use the three-pronged approach of conservation, education, and sustainable development through geotourism, strengthened by creative engineering and enforcement. This is our brand of destination stewardship. 

Even after learning much about how biodiversity and elements in an ecosystem interact, I found The Hidden Life of Trees fascinating.  It gives a glimpse of how trees support and interact with each other, going as far as making one reflect on the role that collaboration (versus competition) has played in evolution. 

Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World brings an even wider awareness of our Earth’s history, our place in it, and adopting a perspective of protecting the earth across timescales and generations.

Last, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman captures the thought process, journey and process behind Yvone Chouinard who is behind one of the most environmentally responsible companies in the world and is also a huge influence to one of the women in land conservation that I look up to – Kristine Tompkins. 

– Ann Dumaliang, co-founder and project officer of the Masungi Georeserve

Fight for children’s rights and alleviating poverty

I advocate for all children’s rights to education, especially for children living in poverty.   Fair access to quality education can contribute to reducing poverty. Education is extremely important because it helps eradicate not just poverty but also hunger. Education is a great equalizer that would give people a chance at better lives.

The book I would recommend is Living on a Dollar a Day: The Lives and Faces of the World’s Poor by Thomas A. Nazario. With a foreword by the Dalai Lama, the book is a passionate call to action that delivers a thought-provoking examination of global poverty, and how it impacts the poor and the rest of the world. And more importantly, how change is possible through education, empowerment and organizations and individuals can collectively help break the cycle of poverty. 

– Melissa Villa, founder and executive director of Project Pearls

Find out more about sustainable tourism and ocean preservation

I think it’s important in any industry to strive to create a good social impact, especially with the level of awareness everyone can now access through social media. Since the pandemic, there seemed to have been a significant growth in people’s interest in setting up their own businesses. I was one of these people and decided to take helping others to the next level and become a social entrepreneur.

I searched for mentors who I could learn from. There aren’t that many of us here in the Philippines, but thankfully I got a hold of the book Looptail by Bruce Poon Tip. It’s a memoir of an Asian social entrepreneur based in Canada.

Bruce founded one of the most successful tour companies in the world. What’s amazing is how he was able to sustainably fund his own non-profit through the company’s operational expenses. Through the revenue of his tour company, his non-profit was able to build the capacity of marginalized communities around the world to operate sustainable tours.

Bruce takes us through the ups and downs of his journey as he maneuvered through the many challenges he had to face. It’s inspiring and worth learning from if you truly want to run a business while making the world a better place.

– Gela Petines, conservationist and co-founder of Reef Nomads

Find out why food sustainability matters

Our lives revolve around meals. It only makes sense to give eating the conscious attention it deserves, so I have spent the last few years learning more about the food and agriculture industries (that now largely influence our health and habits) and developing a more holistic relationship with food. A cornerstone book in this venture of mine is Mark Bittman’s Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal which walks us through much of human history from the perspective of food.

In his work, Bittman reveals the complex relationship between food and some of humanity’s darkest moments, like colonialism, genocide, and the climate crisis, revealing the major flaws in our food and agricultural systems then and now, all of which stem from various forms of greed and corruption. Bittman compels us to examine the many forces that bring food to our plates, as well as those that inform our dietary choices (and thus, much of our lives).

The book disillusions, but also ends with a glimmer of hope that we can still collectively work towards a future where food not only sustains existence, but nourishes every human life.

Guided by this book and many others, I do my best every day to eat better — on my own terms, according to what my body needs — and to inspire others to rediscover what food really means, and what it can be.

– Lian Sing, writer and brand manager, Denuo Store

Learn about veganism and its impact on the world

How Not To Die by Dr. Michael Greger shares his findings on chronic illnesses and recommends what food to eat so we can prevent, even reverse disease, while Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis, RD is a comprehensive guide great for beginners to the vegan diet. It also includes information that applies to seniors, pregnant women, and children. It answers most questions people may have about going vegan but are too afraid to ask.

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism by Melanie Joy gives fascinating insights into the psychology behind our consumption, which will help us understand our behaviors as a society and as a consumer and what to do about them.

– RG Enriquez-Diez, founder and content creator of Astig Vegan 

Read about sustainable and affordable healthcare

I’m an advocate of sustainable heath, particularly accessible, affordable and quality healthcare.  I highly recommend Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth & Happiness by Thaler and Sunstein. I also recommend Thinking Fast and Slow by Kahneman and Mindset by Dweck.

Both deal with behavioral economics and making informed choices. When it comes to a very personal matter such as health, you can’t just tell or force people to do what is healthy for them. Simply presenting facts or evidence is not enough.

It is more effective & sustainable when people own their healthy choices. This requires us to slowly nudge ourselves and others towards  developing the right habits and creating the most optimal conditions that can enable us to make healthier decisions.

Apart from those, I also highly recommend Emperor of All Maladies and Immortal Life of Henrietta Sacks. Both deal with cancer diagnosis and management while giving a glimpse into the world of healthcare. 

– Dr. Dexter Acosta Galban, commissioner of the Commission on Population & Development (POPCOM-NEDA), and CEO & founder of Alaga Health and Experto PlayLabs International Consultancy

Learning effective campaigning and campaigning for the environment

This last entry is from me personally. For a brief time in my life, I actively campaigned against plastic pollution as a member of Break Free From Plastic, which is a global movement of organizations and volunteers. While I’m no longer actively involved with the group, I still believe in the values they espouse.

To prepare myself for that journey, I started reading books and also asked those who would be my mentors for their recommendations.

I started with The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells who took a more alarmist perspective and painted a picture of how drastic life would change if global warming was kept unchecked. It spoke of possible class wars and conflict against nations, and how the inequality and injustices we experience today (even those we think are beyond the domain of climate change) would exacerbate.

Jed Alegado, who was the movement’s communications officer for Asia Pacific recommended two books that also helped me: This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate by Naomi Klein, and How to Win Campaigns: Communications for Change by Chris Rose.

Klein’s book changed my perspective on environmentalism a lot. While I did understand that inspiring individual action was important, it had not dawned on me that systemic change was the far more effective way to address climate change. As those born into a capitalist society, we’re usually left with no choice but to participate in an already moving mechanism. The only way to fix a problem is by addressing the root causes and not the symptoms. And it was through Rose’s book that I learned how to communicate some of these ideals and hopefully helped in the process of shifting the narrative.

How about you? Do you believe in a cause or an advocacy? What books would you recommend to those wanting to learn more about it? – Rappler.com