AGNI MENTAKI-TRIPODI
Our guest speaker at the GINila conference this year was Agni Mentaki, she is is a Human Rights consultant to businesses who does what the delegates are doing on a “real-world, larger scale”. As a consultant, she researches companies on their sustainability level and creates action plans to help them become more sustainable from a human rights point of view.
Ms. Mentaki says that “(she is) very pleased to see students of (our) age having these kinds of concerns… and trying to actively change the world”, for that is what we all have come together for, and will achieve in the near future. Her speech covered the topic of corporate social responsibility- which is “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society”- and how we can confront the negative impacts of businesses on our society, taking small steps at an individual level to make a difference.
She started by explaining some key terms like ‘social responsibility’ and ‘sustainability’. She says, “Sustainability is the capacity to endure. It means what I have now will be sustained to what I have in the future.” She also explains sustainability in the context of sustainable development, defining it as “(promoting) development without compromising the future generation’s ability to meet their own needs”, and goes on to explain that all of these terms will actively play an integral part in our action plans.
Ms. Mentaki then talked about corporate social responsibility and walked us through some examples from the real corporate world and industries today that negatively impact the society and environment. She showed us videos about Shell’s oil spills in Nigeria and garment factories in Uzbekistan who use child labour and deny children an education to produce clothes. She brought into light the fact that, as consumers, we are the ones who make choices. Choices that influence companies’ prominence in the market, and their entire manufacturing chain.
She ended her speech by saying that although globalisation has had a major impact on society, not all of it is positive all the time. We have to remember to make the right choices and make informed decisions on the brands and companies that we choose to support because it impacts millions of people across the world. She wrapped up by answering some questions from delegates to help them with their actions plans.
We are really fortunate to have had someone like Ms. Mentaki amongst us to talk to about our action plans and be a real life example of what we all aim to be- someone who makes a positive and visible impact in daily life in a sustainable manner.
There are professions that make direct and positive impacts on society and its issues. Our guest speaker this year, Agni Mentaki-Tripodi, is a Business and Human Rights Consultant at the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and at the Makati Business Club.
With eleven years of professional experience in Marketing Management and Business Development in the pharmaceuticals industry; she graduated from the university of Northwestern Switzerland with a degree of MSc in International Management. Following her research on Business and Human Rights, she became actively involved in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) field and decided to pursue a consulting career on her research. We are excited to have her here, and hope to learn more about what she does and how she improves the well-being of the public.
Our guest speaker at the GINila conference this year was Agni Mentaki, she is is a Human Rights consultant to businesses who does what the delegates are doing on a “real-world, larger scale”. As a consultant, she researches companies on their sustainability level and creates action plans to help them become more sustainable from a human rights point of view.
Ms. Mentaki says that “(she is) very pleased to see students of (our) age having these kinds of concerns… and trying to actively change the world”, for that is what we all have come together for, and will achieve in the near future. Her speech covered the topic of corporate social responsibility- which is “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society”- and how we can confront the negative impacts of businesses on our society, taking small steps at an individual level to make a difference.
She started by explaining some key terms like ‘social responsibility’ and ‘sustainability’. She says, “Sustainability is the capacity to endure. It means what I have now will be sustained to what I have in the future.” She also explains sustainability in the context of sustainable development, defining it as “(promoting) development without compromising the future generation’s ability to meet their own needs”, and goes on to explain that all of these terms will actively play an integral part in our action plans.
Ms. Mentaki then talked about corporate social responsibility and walked us through some examples from the real corporate world and industries today that negatively impact the society and environment. She showed us videos about Shell’s oil spills in Nigeria and garment factories in Uzbekistan who use child labour and deny children an education to produce clothes. She brought into light the fact that, as consumers, we are the ones who make choices. Choices that influence companies’ prominence in the market, and their entire manufacturing chain.
She ended her speech by saying that although globalisation has had a major impact on society, not all of it is positive all the time. We have to remember to make the right choices and make informed decisions on the brands and companies that we choose to support because it impacts millions of people across the world. She wrapped up by answering some questions from delegates to help them with their actions plans.
We are really fortunate to have had someone like Ms. Mentaki amongst us to talk to about our action plans and be a real life example of what we all aim to be- someone who makes a positive and visible impact in daily life in a sustainable manner.
There are professions that make direct and positive impacts on society and its issues. Our guest speaker this year, Agni Mentaki-Tripodi, is a Business and Human Rights Consultant at the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and at the Makati Business Club.
With eleven years of professional experience in Marketing Management and Business Development in the pharmaceuticals industry; she graduated from the university of Northwestern Switzerland with a degree of MSc in International Management. Following her research on Business and Human Rights, she became actively involved in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) field and decided to pursue a consulting career on her research. We are excited to have her here, and hope to learn more about what she does and how she improves the well-being of the public.