Op-ed: Nanette Medved-Po believes that we can be the generation that ends the plastic crisis
Twelve years ago I set up HOPE, a non-profit to help build public school classrooms in underprivileged communities in the Philippines. We sell millions of bottles of HOPE-branded water to fund these projects. But, as sales grow, so does our concern about where all that plastic is going.
As in many emerging markets, there is little to no recycling infrastructure in the Philippines. Precious tax dollars are already stretched over many urgent, competing priorities such as education and health care, leaving little to manage a large and highly fragmented waste problem. The net result: the Philippines is listed by the Ocean Conservancy as the third-largest ocean plastic polluter in the world.
I realised that in our attempt to solve one societal problem, we were adding to another. So in 2018, I started an experiment. While we encouraged consumers to return HOPE bottles for recycling, we also tried to take responsibility for our own plastic footprint and cleaned up its equivalent from the environment. The a-ha moment came when we hit our targets within the first year: I realised that if I could do it as a small player in a low-margin business, so could larger companies.
Read the full story here.
Similar Stories

Career Confessions: The actress who became a prolific and internationally recognised philanthropist
View details
Banker After Dark: Stephen CuUnjieng sits down with Nanette Medved-Po and Chris Po | ANC
View details
Nanette Medved-Po shares the narrative of her advocacies and the eco-warriors behind a revolutionary solution to plastic pollution
View details
Inquirer: CEMEX Philippines and Friends of Hope ink agreement for sustainable waste management
View details
TatlerAsia: HOPE Founder Nanette Medved-Po Receives the Coveted Asia Game Changer Award
View details
When in Manila: HOPE Founder Nanette Medved-Po Receives Prestigious Asia Society Game Changer Award
View details
Business World: Century Pacific to plant a million coconut trees in South Cotabato, Sarangani
View details
HOPE recognized as a “Best For The World™” B Corp for performance excellence beyond just profit
View details
ANC’s Insight with April Lee Tan: Generation Hope Chairperson & Founder Nanette Medved-Po
View details
MSN Entertainment: Hope in a Box, Philippines’ First Carton-Packed Water by Tetra Pak Bags ‘Best CSR
View details
Inquirer: Nanette Medved-Po on what she learned from showbiz: ‘Don’t waste your platform’
View details
Hope in 100 classrooms and counting: Social Enterprise hits 100th classroom milestone amid pandemic
View details
CNN: Anong hope mo? Join HOPE Founder Nanette Medved-Po in spreading hope and raising awareness
View details
Philippine Tatler: Nanette Medved-Po Shares HOPE’s Progress and Impact to Education and Beyond
View details