AIS dives deep into agribusiness sustainability and disaster resilience with the Ateneo Management Engineering Association

Last 16 October 2025, the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability (AIS) delivered a talk on sustainability thinking in agribusiness and disaster risk reduction in the CSchool Formation Series of the Ateneo Management Engineering Association (MEA). The talk aimed to equip the members of MEA’s Sustainability Department with knowledge and values rooted in integral ecology and resilience, which they can apply to their projects and engagements with partner organizations focused on agribusiness and DRRR.

Ms Riza Maree Rapada, AIS Program Officer for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), opened the one-hour lecture with an introduction to sustainability, emphasizing the triple bottom line and the SDG Wedding Cake as fundamental models for sustainable development. Highlighting biosphere integrity as the foundation of all social and economic activities, Ms. Rapada underscored the crucial role of environmental action and social responsibility in the success of any business endeavors. 

She then connected these frameworks to a more specific industry in the second part of her talk: sustainability thinking in agribusiness. Ms. Rapada outlined key environmental and socioeconomic issues tied to the agriculture sector in the Philippines, including soil quality degradation, deforestation, increasing GHG emissions, poverty among agricultural workers, unfair trade practices, and land conflicts, among others. In doing so, she reinforced the need to examine environmental, social, and economic dimensions in formulating sustainable solutions to agribusiness challenges. Ms. Rapada ended her talk with a call to action, reminding the audience–all of whom are Management Engineering students–that as future leaders in the realm of management and finance, they bear the responsibility of transforming business practices according to the principles of ecological integrity and social justice. 

Mr. Daniel Ratilla, Program Head for Climate and Disaster Resilience at AIS, facilitated the final segment of the talk. He discussed hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and capacity as determinants of disaster risk, highlighting the need to consider the dynamic interactions among these three factors in disaster prevention. Mr. Ratilla asserted that sustainability and resilience are inseparable, emphasizing the critical value of strengthening community and institutional preparedness in disaster risk reduction. He concluded the talk with a reminder that there are no natural disasters. Rather, disasters arise from human decisions rooted in governance, societal structures, and histories, which shape the conditions of risk.

AIS extends its appreciation to the Ateneo Management Engineering Association for inviting Ms. Rapada and Mr. Ratilla to share these valuable insights!