FINEX Sustainability Handbook

In a time when climate risks are no longer distant threats but daily realities, the FINEX Foundation Environment Committee chaired by Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) Director Gaudencio “Goody” Hernandez, Jr. launched the Sustainability Handbook, a timely and expanded version of the earlier publication called Primer on Climate Change and Natural Farming. The event signaled a renewed call for collective responsibility and practical action toward building a climate-resilient Philippines.

Held in the boardroom of LANDBANK, President and CEO Lynette Ortiz was the main guest and sponsor who underscored the urgency of embedding sustainability into everyday decision-making.​

“The FINEX Sustainability Handbook is a timely and meaningful contribution to our shared efforts in building a more resilient and responsible future for the Philippines,” she said at the launch event. “Sustainability is neither an abstract ideal nor a policy buzzword. It is shaped by deliberate decisions made daily.” She noted that farmers, cooperatives, and rural communities across the country are already confronting the harsh realities of climate change. What they need, she emphasized, are tools that transform awareness into action, something the handbook seeks to provide through clear, practical guidance grounded in real-world experience.

Ms. Lynette also cited LANDBANK’s recent issuance of the ASEAN Sustainability or ASENSO Bonds, which successfully raised P50 billion to finance projects supporting agriculture and rural development, accelerating green and climate-resilient initiatives, and expanding economic opportunities. Demonstrating the bank’s institutional commitment, she introduced Sustainability Officer Celine “Pips” Pastor, reinforcing that sustainability is firmly embedded in LANDBANK’s strategy.

I have a specifial affinity with LANDBANK and the launch brought back memories. As a former undersecretary of Finance, I used to attend LANDBANK board meetings as alternate to then Finance Secretary Jose Pardo. My late father, Benjamin Gozon, once served as governor of the Land Authority, the predecessor of the Department of Agrarian Reform, and as Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He too had been a member of the LANDBANK board.

The handbook is comprehensive. It covers climate change, the science, risks, and strategies for increasing resilience in a changing climate, natural farming principles and benefits, environmental awareness, and good governance. It emphasizes that sustainability rests on three pillars: environmental stewardship, social inclusion, and sound governance.

Among the distinguished guests were 2026 FINEX Foundation Environment Liaison Trustee Michael Arcatomy Guarin; handbook contributor Katrina Francisco; LANDBANK director and former Philippine National Bank President Omar Byron Mier; LANDBANK EVP Charlotte Conde (National Development Lending Sector Head); EVP Marilou Villafranca (Branch Banking Sector Head); FVP Nardo Masa (Branches Group Head); FVP May Dar-Arizabal (SME and Mid-Market Lending Group Head); VP Marissa Pineda (Branch Banking Management Group Head); FVP Ann Marijell Ong (Corporate Banking Group); and EVP Eden Japitana (Agriculture and Sustainability Group).

A heartfelt message came from 2026 Environment Committee Chair Karla Rufino, who authored the handbook’s natural farming section. Coming from a financial risk background, she shared how writing the chapter deepened her appreciation of stewardship. “Sustainability is about stewardship,” she reflected. “Everything we need to cultivate healthy plants and good soil, God has provided in abundance around us.” Her insights echoed the handbook’s core message: that nature itself offers solutions when treated with respect.

FINEX Foundation Chair 2026 Edmund “EJ” Qua Hiansen broadened the perspective further. Sustainability, he said, extends beyond environmental protection. It also encompasses the social dimension, uplifting communities, expanding access to education, and fostering inclusive opportunities and the governance dimension, which demands transparency, accountability, and ethical leadership. He said that Dr. Noemi Villaruz put it best when she said in the handbook: “The fight for a clean environment is not one of convenience. It is one of courage. Every day of delay means more damage, more species lost, more polluted air, and more lives disrupted by disaster. The Earth is not a gift from our ancestors; it is a loan from our children. To neglect it is to betray their future. To care for it is to give them hope, life and dignity.”

Special thank you to FINEX Foundation Environment Committee Chair Goody Hernandez for strengthening the partnership between FINEX and LANDBANK, and also to editor-in-chief Wilma Miranda and copy editor Albert Gamboa, the contributors, and secretariat whose collective effort made the publication possible.

Ms. Miranda hopes that the handbook moves everyone to take care of the planet now so that future generations will have a better place to live. 2025 FINEX Foundation Chair Augusto “Toti” Bengzon urged everyone to read, reflect, and embrace the lessons within the handbook. He encouraged that it become a transformative guide aligning commitment to planet, people, and profit. Sustainability begins not with grand gestures, but with deliberate steps taken today. The handbook is not merely a publication; it is an invitation to act.”

The FINEX Sustainability Handbook is available for free via https://finex.org.ph/sustainability-handbook.

The views expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of her office as well as FINEX.

Flor G. Tarriela is a banker, a gardener, and an environmentalist. She founded Flor’s Garden in Antipolo. She was the 2025 FINEX Foundation Liason Trustee for Environement.