SM City North Edsa in Manila, Philippines is now (arguably) the largest solar-powered mall in the world. The mall is owned by SM Prime, one of the largest retail giants in the country. 5,760 solar panels with a capacity to generate 1.5 megawatts were built on 11,511 square meters of the roof top of the mall’s parking building. It is said that these solar panels can power up to 5% of the mall’s energy consumption, and save the mall 2 million pesos (roughly $45,000) per month on electricity costs. 2 million pesos is a lot of money in the Philippines, especially considering that over 70% of people still live with less than 100 pesos a day.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino II and SM Prime Chairman Hans Sy look over SM’s new solar panel installation.

I was born and raised in the Philippines. I know SM malls, I’ve been to many of them. Malls in the Philippines are very different from North American malls — the ones in the Philippines are complete with all kinds of stores, from book stores and office suppliers (local versions of Staples and Office Depot), to grocery stores (our version of Safeway or Save on Foods), restaurants, pharmacies, clothing stores, furniture stores, hardware stores, cinemas — you name it, it’s in there. Filipinos frequent malls not just to shop, but to hang out, get out of the heat (malls have good air conditioning), and entertain themselves. Malls are also open longer — typical store hours ate 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM. Thus, Philippine malls are usually packed with people from morning till night. Consequently, energy costs are always high.

Hearing about this bold move towards the mall’s use of renewable energy makes me feel hopeful for my home country. This move could inspire other malls or other members in the commercial sector who want to raise their brand’s profile to move towards using renewable energy as well. The Philippines is often hit by typhoons, and is running on power shortages (that’s why there are many black outs and energy losses in he country). Any step towards energy consumption and use of renewable energy is music to my ears.

I sincerely hope that this will not simply be a political play that would lead to corrupt officials stealing money from the public. I am proud to say that this is a strong and innovative move led by Filipinos. I’m sure that many countries further ahead in their use of renewable energy, but for us to be able say that we have the biggest solar-powered mall in the world is already a big deal. After all, we’re just a tiny Southeast Asian country. Anything that inspires the Filipinos at home inspires me here.

I’ve always loved Apple. But now, I love it even more. Tim Cook, Apple CEO, released a powerful statement that publicly reveals his sexuality.

Cook says,”I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.”

This is a bold and brave move. Coming out as a gay individual to your closest family and friends is already hard enough — but when you’re the CEO of one of the largest companies in the world, that decision is almost impossible to make.

I could just imagine what was going on in his mind before he released this statement: scrutiny from members of the public who are not open to homosexualty, boycotts to the brand from hardcore Christian and traditional groups, hate mail, gossip, inappropriate media coverage, and ultimate surrender of his privacy, could be just some of his many concerns. But despite that, he used his platform to send a message of hope and encouragement. He’s a leader through and through.

Cook says, “We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.” If there’s a quote I’d like to live by, thus would be it. Now, I have to figure out what my brick will be. What’s yours?

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-30/tim-cook-im-proud-to-be-gay

I’ve seen this photo on my Facebook Newsfeed a lot — and every single time, I lose it. You see, I love homeless people. I was born and raised in the Philippines so I’ve seen poverty first hand on almost every corner of the streets I passed growing up. After moving here, I’m still very proud to say that I’ve made friends with people living on the street, and I look forward to seeing them every day.

In my attempt to maintain my sanity and hope in the world, I’ve grown to rationalize the 3 main emotions I’ve felt just by looking at this photo.

1. Anger

This photo is a snippet of the thing I hate the most — people who don’t care. I mean, yes, those girls probably didn’t mean to offend anyone and look so pretentious and ignorant, but they did.

Just like them, every day, there are billions of people who go about their every day lives ignoring the human beings starving on the streets, crying out for help. More than being more mindful of our actions, I think it’s time that we take notice of the things that really matter. If those girls were in his shoes (or socks, in this case), how would they feel? How would you feel? Not too good, I’m guessing.

2. Guilt

Then, I feel guilty for being angry. It’s not completely the fault of the girls for being so ignorant — maybe their parents didn’t teach them to be more compassionate. Maybe they had a bad experience with a homeless person, or were brainwashed that all homeless people are ex-drug addicts who are lazy and dangerous. Maybe they never met anyone who really showed them how and why they should care.

And I’m not washing my hands off this issue. I admit that there are many times when I’ve rushed past a homeless guy because I’m trying to catch my bus. But when I’m not running late for class, I really try to make a sincere effort to talk to homeless people, or simply greet them “Good morning” or “Have a good day”. For me, the worst thing to do to another human being is ignore them. It’s bad enough that I don’t give them food or change, so I try to make up for it by at least saying “Hi.”

3. Inspiration

I still want to change the world. I’m studying business not just because I want to support my family, but because I want to learn how to make my own social enterprise and start my own foundation someday.

My mission is simple: I want to influence business leaders to realize their power to uplift the plight of the poor.

How am I going to do that? Well, that’s what I’m still working on every day. But voicing out my concerns about issues like this and sharing my passion in the hopes of inspiring others are some of the few steps I’m taking.

Trying to make friends with more homeless people is another step.

This is my buddy Charlie. He made some bad decisions (like we all do) and ended up living in the streets for 14 months. He got his backpack with all his ID stolen so it’s been a struggle to get work. But he finally got in his housing application and is starting to look for jobs. Gotta love his resiliency!

This is my friend Bill Thompson. He had 2 strokes so he lost partial mobility with his hands. He also got a heart attack and had his chest opened up — he’s got a scar to prove it! He has no family but he has Chopper, his dog. And Bill puts chopper’s needs first because he’s family to Bill.

I wish I could find that homeless man that the girls were posing beside and talk to him. I’d ask him about his story, eat a sandwich with him, and maybe even take a selfie together.

At the end of the day, I always ask myself this:

“If there is one ounce of hope left in this world, shall we not be that hope?”