Insider Spotlight
Since expanding supplier engagements in 2024, PLDT and Smart have reached partners accounting for 79 percent of the group’s 2025 procurement spending. Their efforts also cover cybersecurity, business continuity and environmental stewardship.
Shared responsibility
Businesses are facing growing pressure to address climate change, resource constraints, evolving regulations and emerging digital risks, increasing the importance of sustainability across supply chains.
The approach taken by PLDT and Smart broadens sustainability beyond environmental concerns to include organizational resilience, governance, cybersecurity and responsible partnerships.
"Sustainability is no longer just an environmental conversation. It is about resilience, governance, cybersecurity, and responsible partnerships. At PLDT and Smart, we have been taking meaningful steps to embed it into our daily operations, from smarter fleet management to utilizing data-driven solutions for ESG performance monitoring. Now, we are also working more closely with partners who share the same commitment to responsible business,” Smart commercial logistics head Warren Ermac said in a press statement.
Supplier screening
PLDT and Smart incorporate environmental, social and governance considerations into supplier onboarding, due diligence, qualification, performance monitoring and continuing engagement.
The group also enforces a Supplier Code of Conduct that provides guidelines for ethical business practices and sets expectations for suppliers to comply with relevant regulations and uphold ESG standards.
In 2025, the group screened 100 percent of its suppliers on environmental and social criteria. Anti-corruption policies were also communicated to 92 percent of active and newly qualified suppliers.
Responsible supply chain
PLDT and Smart reported zero cases of child labor and forced labor across their supply chain during the same period. They also recorded zero complaints involving unsafe working conditions and no contracts with business partners terminated because of corruption.
“As we continue to embed sustainability into our business, we leverage these partnerships to expand the breadth and depth of our efforts which boost our capacity to achieve our ESG goals," PLDT and Smart chief sustainability officer Melissa Vergel de Dios said.
Beyond suppliers, PLDT and Smart are incorporating sustainability into employee onboarding and skills programs while strengthening procurement practices and ESG capabilities among internal buyers.
Their supplier ESG program supports the group’s commitment to the United Nations Global Compact and Sustainable Development Goals covering industry, innovation and infrastructure; responsible consumption and production; and partnerships for the goals. —Vanessa Hidalgo | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
