Age: 29

Philippines

Laurence (he/him) is a climate action advocate and sustainability practitioner who gives citizens, communities, and corporations the tools they need to contribute to environmental preservation and regeneration.

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities?

I am the co-founder of Green Impact Global, a climate action movement that aims to improve environmental literacy, revitalize forests, and reduce carbon footprints. In building more sustainable and equitable communities, we have engaged and educated a variety of stakeholders through different approaches such as learning sessions, webinars, stakeholder consultations, climate change hackathons, volunteer activities, and social media campaigns. Furthermore, through Green Impact’s Carbon Sequestration Program, we have partnered with local communities, civil society, and government stakeholders to drive mangrove afforestation projects along vulnerable coastal areas.

In my day job, I am a sustainability and strategic risk advisory manager at Deloitte. Here, I spearhead sustainability projects and deliver environmental, social and governance (ESG) solutions for various external organizations. I have led teams in conducting Sustainability Gap Assessments and delivering sustainability capacity building programs through training needs analysis, learning program design, and training delivery. My team and I have also designed and facilitated enterprise risk management workshops, which focus on increasing stakeholder awareness and appreciation of climate-related risks and opportunities. This helps organizations integrate climate risks into their risk management practices and formulate climate risk response strategies. These capacity building interventions are important for equipping and empowering organizations as part of their sustainability and climate action journeys.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today.

My family and I survived Typhoon Sendong, the world’s deadliest storm in 2011. This catastrophe ended the lives of thousands of people. It was a horrific experience to see the tremendous damage it brought to my hometown, Cagayan de Oro City, and the trauma it brought to all those affected by it. The experience opened my eyes to the destruction that climate change, deforestation, and unsustainable urbanization can bring to vulnerable island nations such as the Philippines.

This unfortunate disaster and the urgent need to solve environmental challenges motivated me to pursue the path of a sustainability practitioner, climate action advocate, and environmental educator by engaging the three C’s—citizens, communities and corporations. I engage citizens because individual behavioral change is powerful, communities because collective action is needed to effectively address complex and systemic environmental problems, and corporations because they play a critical role in minimizing their environmental footprint while generating economic value to society.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME

Who do you look up to as inspiration?

Dr. José Rizal, the Philippine national hero. Aside from being a renaissance man, Dr. Rizal is known for the line, “Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan,” which in English means, “The youth is the future of our nation.”

If you could be any animal or plant, what would you be and why?

An eagle, because they symbolize freedom, fearlessness, and foresight. Eagles are tenacious animals that represent excellent vision and strong leadership qualities.

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders?

Embrace continuous learning and empower your teams by giving them authority and responsibility to make decisions for themselves where possible.

What’s your favorite food to celebrate with?

Crispy fried oyster mushrooms served with cauliflower rice.