Focus Area 1

In 2019, over 100 employees from QBE in the Group Shared Services Centre (GSSC) based in the Philippines, planted mangrove propagules along the beach in the city of Naga, in Cebu, Philippines. Four years later, team members visited the original planting site and were welcomed by the sight of surviving mangroves which have assisted in providing the surrounding community with a safety barrier from previous storm surges.  

Cebu Island in the Philippines has a coastline that stretches over hundreds of miles, and many residents who live in this area rely on mangroves to help protect them from the impacts of extreme weather conditions. With around 20 cyclones entering the Phillippe Area of Responsibility each year, severe weather remains a serious risk for families living by the sea._¹  

Through the QBE Foundation, we’re helping to create strong, resilient, and inclusive communities. Together with the GSSC’s partner foundation ‘Philippine Business for Social Progress’ (PBSP) we have helped reforest mangrove areas in the southern coastline of Cebu. 

“During the time of Typhoon Odette (2021), we didn’t feel scared because we knew the mangroves would protect us. The water rose to waist level, it entered our home, but did not cause as much damage as it could have because the winds brought by Odette were shielded by mangroves” - Teodelyn Lapitan, Community Resident. 

In February 2023, over 100 QBE employees planted mangroves at a second site in Carcar City, Cebu. The team of volunteers helped plant 10,000 propagules; and the activity coincided with GSSC’s 10th anniversary of operations in the Philippines. 

_{1https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/philippines/vulnerability}