Big businesses step up CSR programs amid Mideast crisis
It’s not just balance sheets and operations that are absorbing the spillover from the Middle East war. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs are also beginning to shift as companies respond to rising fuel costs and their impact on communities.
For Shem Garcia, chair of the League of Corporate Foundations, the response has been more about sharpening focus on programs aimed at providing relief to communities immediately exposed to cost pressures.
“We know the people that are the most affected,” says Garcia, who is also executive director of Vivant Foundation Inc.
“So, a big part of [the response] is going to be making sure that we get to those affected communities and help them in the ways that they are personally affected,” adds Garcia.
One such response is from Metro Pacific Investments Foundation Inc. (MPIF). It is preparing to distribute around 500,000 food packs to fisherfolk in Batangas and transport workers in Metro Manila.
The assistance is split between coastal communities in Mabini, Batangas, and driver groups in the capital region. These will be coursed through local government units and sector associations, according to Melody Del Rosario. She is vice president for public relations and communications at Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
Beyond large conglomerates, other firms are also deploying stopgap measures to cushion consumers.
Bus operators such as Victory Liner Inc. have offered their fleets for corporate shuttle services under a “bayanihan” program.
Manufacturers have committed to holding prices of basic goods steady until early May despite the absence of a formal price freeze.
These interventions come even as companies themselves absorb rising input and logistics costs.
“It is very challenging for businesses to operate,” Del Rosario says.
Despite these pressures, CSR budgets are largely intact as these initiatives are now embedded within core business frameworks. Still, Garcia says these programs taking a backseat is “something that could happen,” especially as firms prioritize sustaining their operations.
“CSR has become part of the ESG (environmental, social and governance standards) … so it’s less likely to have big cuts,” he says. He refers to environmental, social and governance standards that are now tied to corporate reporting and performance.
At MPIF, Del Rosario said resource use—including fuel, electricity and water—is tracked and monitored as part of internal metrics. Consumption levels and collaboration efforts are now taken into account in performance assessments.
Conservation measures such as reduced travel and work from home arrangements have also been reinforced.
As an energy and water conglomerate, Vivant has a wealth of experience dealing with global shocks and their impact on energy-dependent and off-grid areas.
Garcia points to Vivant’s experience when Russia invaded Ukraine, when subsidies used to fund fuel for off-grid power generation were depleted earlier than expected due to price spikes.
At the same time, the Covid-19 pandemic reshaped corporate operations, normalizing hybrid work, reducing travel and accelerating digital coordination. These adjustments are now being reapplied to strike a balance between managing costs and ensuring continuity.
Garcia says these experiences have helped equip firms with better foresight when crises arise.
Still, he warns that broader shifts in CSR priorities will not be immediate.
“It’s very early to tell,” he says, noting that most CSR programs—outside of direct relief—require longer planning cycles and are often calibrated alongside government assessments of emerging needs.
For now, companies are concentrating on near-term interventions for sectors most exposed to rising fuel costs, while keeping longer-term programs intact.
