Sustainability is at the heart of what we do in JTI Philippines. In line with our community investment program, we focus our efforts in areas such as the reduction of inequality, protecting the environment as well as improving community resilience for the localities we work with.
We partner with organizations that provide opportunities for the marginalized sector of society helping promote inclusivity and invoke a sense of community. JTI employees, through their will to volunteer and share their time, have been bringing smiles to more than 300 senior citizens through wellness activities across the Philippines.
We also support house building projects and the construction of community centers, with 150 houses and three community centers built to date in partnership with Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity, Philippines. These houses are situated in six different communities in the areas of: Candon, Ilocos Sur; Santa Barbara, Pangasinan; Daet, Camarines Norte; Batangas; Negros Occidental; and Mandaue City, Cebu.
Our team also spurs efforts to further reduce the impact of climate change in the communities where we operate by donating pedal-powered bicycles and electronic powered 3 cycles to further reduce carbon footprint, in different provinces of the country.
JTI Philippines takes the extra step in environmental protection by hosting tree planting and nurturing activities such as in Baguio, where our employee volunteers were able to plant at least 200 seedlings. We also do our part in reducing tobacco waste by finding ways on converting these materials into something useful like turning tobacco waste into fertilizer to help crop farmers. We also take great responsibility in reducing the environmental impact of our products, which is why we implement packaging design solutions as well as continuously improve on our collection and disposal method for our products.
When we talk about improving community resilience, JTI continues to make a mark in this area as we remain adept at answering the call for help in times of calamity. Our team volunteers in disaster relief operations to help those adversely affected by natural calamities such as the likes of typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) and the Taal Volcano eruption.
Apart from donating food, toiletries, and other necessities, our team also provided shelter to 200,000 families that lost their homes during the onslaught of typhoon Haiyan. All of our go bags, food packs, and relief packages are assembled and distributed in a timely manner, for maximum impact where urgently needed. Over 100 communities were provided with at least 1 million kilograms of rice as well as 300,000 canned goods. We constantly commit ourselves to upholding our value of "doing the right thing" in all of our endeavors.
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic also pushed our efforts further as JTIP shared personal protective equipment (PPEs), face masks and shields, as well as 20,000 go bags and food bags in various relief operations. These provisions helped address the necessities of at least 150,000 families in 10 marginalized areas severely affected by the lockdowns and quarantine periods as well as medical frontliners in hospitals within the metropolis.
JTI Philippines continues to focus our efforts in helping address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Our care for employees, the people we work with, as well as the areas we work in aim to transcend through generations. JTI will continue to partner with entities whose purpose it is to uplift communities, and in the process, help create a more sustainable Philippines.