PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Enderun Colleges and Haribon Foundation Partner for Biodiversity Education
TAGUIG CITY, Philippines — Biodiversity is easy to overlook until the systems it supports begin to fail. The food on our tables, the water we depend on, the livelihoods built around farms and fisheries, and even industries such as tourism are all connected to it.
It is closely tied to the systems that support everyday life.
More than half of global GDP, or around US$58 trillion in economic activity each year, is moderately or highly dependent on nature. In the Philippines, the country’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan reflects this dependence across sectors, from fisheries and agriculture to forests, coastal resources, and tourism.
These connections make environmental literacy increasingly relevant, especially to how young people understand how the world works and how human decisions can influence the systems around them.
Education has an important role in building that understanding. UNESCO recognizes biodiversity education as a key part of learning to care for and use nature responsibly.
This broader approach to environmental education is reflected in a new partnership between Enderun Colleges (Enderun) and the Haribon Foundation (Haribon), bringing biodiversity conservation and environmental education closer to students through field activities, internships, research, volunteer work, and other hands-on learning opportunities.
Bringing the Advocacy Closer to Students
For Mhyles Oliva, Head of the Sustainability Management Program at Enderun Colleges, the partnership creates opportunities for students across different programs to develop a closer understanding of nature and their role in protecting it.
“Haribon will be able to help us expose our students, not just sustainability management students, but also all the students who are in different programs, to be more aware of the need to go back to nature, protect our nature, and conserve. Because in the first place, we have only one planet and we need to do our share in restoring its balance.”
The collaboration is also expected to bring environmental learning into spaces students encounter every day. For the current semester, Enderun is looking at activities that will allow students to identify and learn more about the trees, native vegetation, and wildlife found on campus. Haribon is set to offer activities such as native tree walks, birdwatching, coastal clean-ups, and biodiversity education as part of the collaboration to help students engage more directly with nature.
“[Students can expect that we] will have a lot of field activities, not just in the classroom!” Oliva said.
Such an approach reflects that broader understanding of sustainability education, where students are given opportunities to connect concepts discussed in class with real environments and communities.
IN PHOTOS: (L-R) Charlie Ann Benigay (Membership Specialist, Haribon Foundation); Hencel Villagonzalo (Manager, Membership & Strategic Partnerships, Haribon Foundation); Albert Balbutin (Communications Head, Haribon Foundation); Dr. Jun Salipsip Jr. (President, Enderun Colleges); Mhyles Oliva (Sustainability Program Head, Enderun Colleges); Aileen Nanca (Program Head for Business Administration, Enderun Colleges).
Sustainability Lessons to Real-World Practice
For Enderun, the partnership builds on its existing sustainability initiatives. The College is the only academic institution in the country to offer a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Sustainability Management. It's designed for students to dive deep into business strategy, responsible sourcing, and corporate social responsibility with the integration of sustainability principles.
The advocacy also extends beyond the classroom and into the College’s campus operations. Recently this year, Enderun shifted its McKinley Hill campus to 100% renewable energy through its partnership with the First Gen group.
Oliva sees the biodiversity partnership as another step in connecting these efforts with the people who will eventually bring sustainability into their own workplaces and communities. “We are the only institution in the Philippines that would offer such an undergraduate course in sustainability management. Hence, we have this role in promoting sustainability, not just here within the campus, but also outside.”
For Albert Balbutin Jr., Communications Head of the Haribon Foundation, the partnership provides an opportunity to make environmental issues more tangible to students.
“We’re really happy to know that here in Enderun, they’re getting students involved. And we’re moving forward to get that awareness so that the environment is no longer this general abstract concept. It’s the food we eat, the fish we consume. It’s the air we breathe. It’s the forest we enjoy. It’s our natural heritage,” Balbutin said.
“We’re really excited to partner with a school such as Enderun, to really get these students involved and to think globally, but acting locally,” Balbutin added.
The collaboration also opens up connecting Enderun students to the wider conservation work of Haribon, which has been involved in Philippine biodiversity conservation for more than five decades and maintains international connections including membership in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its role as the Philippine Partner of BirdLife International.
Education they do, rather than simply study
For both organizations, the longer-term value of the partnership is the investment.
“It means the future,” Balbutin said. “Especially with a school like Enderun, which is really forward-thinking, thinking about sustainability, thinking about net-zero carbon policies. We’re excited because, of course, we think about the next generation.”
“It’s really about learning from the experts and being able to spread this opportunity to teach others because this is our role as, you know, stewards of the environment,” Oliva also has to share.
For a generation entering industries increasingly shaped by environmental challenges, understanding sustainability may mean more than knowing the terminology. It can mean knowing how the choices made in a classroom, a business, a hotel, a kitchen, or a community affect the natural systems around them.
And through partnerships that bring students closer to those systems, environmental education can become something they do, rather than simply something they study.
About Enderun Colleges
Enderun Colleges provides students with an immersive learning environment through its industry-specific programs, highly experienced faculty, and extensive local and international internship placements. The institution offers international-caliber Bachelor’s Degree programs in International Hospitality Management; Business Administration majors in Financial Management, Operations Management, Marketing Management, Technology Management, and Sustainability Management; as well as programs in Economics, Entrepreneurship, Architecture, Interior Design, and Multimedia Arts.
In addition, Enderun Senior High School provides excellent academic tracks in Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM); Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS); Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); and the General Academic Strand (GAS). Beyond the Department of Education-sanctioned strands, students may also earn advanced college credits through the globally recognized AP program.
Visit Enderun’s official website through https://www.enderuncolleges.com.
