EDC’s awards were received by CFO Erwin Avante, corporate support functions head Regina Victoria Pascual, CSR-PR head Atty. Allan Barcena, Negros CSR head Norreen Bautista, head office CSR team lead Nancy Ibuna and PR’s Frances Ariola and Soleil Acu along with Ruel Perez of Baslay Farmers Association and Armand Pacudan of Mount Apo Foundation Inc.ENERGY Development Corporation (EDC) bagged the Grand Anvil at the 55th Anvil Awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, along with 12 other trophies for communication excellence in its PR, marketing, stakeholder engagement and sustainability programs.

“Baslay Coffee: Brewing a Better Life for Kaingeros” received a Gold Anvil and was subsequently deemed outstanding among all other recipients, thus earning it the highest Grand Anvil distinction.

As a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of EDC’s team on Negros Island, the 30-year-old program has transformed slash-and-burn farmers in the mountains of Baslay in Dauin, Negros Oriental into forest stewards by providing them alternative and lucrative coffee farming livelihood, effectively turning them away from environmentally destructive practices.

EDC also won various other gold and silver Anvils in both the PR Program and PR Tool categories for projects such as the Positive Energy Negros Facebook page, the #MaketheShift geothermal energy advocacy, BINHI national greening legacy program, GeoSkwela youth dialogue on sustainability, OMGeo ecotourism vlog series, and CSR initiatives under Mount Apo Foundation Inc. as well as the organization’s 25th anniversary coffee table book.

“We believe that just as important as the implementation and positive impact of our various CSR and stakeholder relations programs is the way they are communicated,” said EDC CSRPR head Atty. Allan Barcena. “We proudly share the awards we garnered with our partner organizations and the people who have made our work successful and those who continuously help us attain our vision of a clean energy future for the country.”

The Anvil Awards is the annual event of the Philippine PR industry that recognizes exemplary, effective and innovative PR and communications programs and tools by companies, organizations and agencies.

(Story/Photos by: Frances Ariola)