Common wisdom dictates that companies should be in business for one reason and one reason only: make as big a profit as possible, no matter what it takes.

The Lopez Group, however, is anything but common.

Long before corporate social responsibility and being a good corporate citizen became part of the private sector’s vocabulary, the Lopez Group has been busy perfecting its corporate recipe that combines yielding a sizable profit with making a significant difference in the lives of its people and the community.

According to Mike L. Lopez, doing more than just making a profit is part of the genetic code that makes the Lopez Group stand out from the others in the Philippine corporate landscape. It is a manifestation of the Lopez Group’s value of nationalism.

This explains why, across the Lopez Group of companies, and throughout its over 80 years of existence, volunteerism for nation building is supported and championed.

Employees as well as corporate managers feel that they have the responsibility that they have to do what they can to contribute to building a better Philippines, whether through building homes for the less fortunate, raising funds to protect the environment or lending a hand and some money for disaster relief operations.

How that volunteerism and contribution to nationalism are expressed or translated into action differ from one company to another, from one generation to another, but what is constant is the commitment to give back to the community or to the nation that has given so much to the Lopez Group.

“My own orientation has always been volunteerism, wherein you put aside a certain amount of your time for community service. You do this on weekends and holidays when there is no work,” says Lopez, the second of three sons of Amb. Manuel M. Lopez. “My father taught me this and that is also something that I try to teach my two sons.”

Lopez says that he is proud that in his family and in the Lopez Group, the mentality goes beyond mere profit. Making money is not the be-all and end-all of the Group. It is not what the Lopez Group is all about. Making a difference while remaining profitable is.

Motivation

This mentality gives him—and he hopes it’s the same way with other employees in the diversified group—a bigger reason and motivation to go to work every day, because he knows that what he does makes somebody else’s life that little bit better.

“In the Lopez DNA, your reason for being will never be just about profits,” explains Lopez. “It is something that our Lolo Eñing [Lopez Group founder Eugenio H. Lopez Sr.] has shown throughout his life—selfless giving that is true in every sense of the word. He has always said we should not turn our back on what is needed by the community.”

The founder will be heartened to know that over 80 years since he and his brother Fernando founded the company that would give birth to the Lopez Group, his values remain intact and alive.

And the Philippines is that much better off because of it.