By Sam Stephen Mangubat
Out of the 24 entries from 14 different countries, Xavier University reaped the top honors at the Blue Responsibility Awards: Manufacturing for a Sustainable Terra Preta Sanitation System during the 12th Global Conference for Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM) at the Puteri Pacific Hotel in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on September 24.
GCSM is an annual colloquium designed for students, engineers, scientists and professors across the globe in pursuit of exchanging sustainable ideas to rejuvenate our environment and improve quality of life.
The competition’s rationale included two main principles: (1) Sustainability is not only limited to the common concept of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3Rs) which most developing countries have applied over the years. (2) Ongoing depletion of the Earth’s natural resources necessitates three more new concepts—Reprocessing, Redesigning, and Remanufacturing.
These so-called 6Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reprocessing, Redesigning, and Remanufacturing) constitute a new environmental protocol in the manufacturing industry. Application of these sustainable concepts served as the major criterion at the Blue Responsibility competition, where the sanitation system design entries must be a reflection of the 6Rs.
XU, through the collaborative work of its two Research and Social Outreach (RSO) units—the School of Medicine’s Sustainable Sanitation (SuSan) Center and the College of Engineering’s Engineering Resource Center (ERC)—submitted the entry dubbed as “Terra Preta Sanitation System for Post-disaster Transitional Communities in the Philippines.”
The said entry received the top award among the 7 finalists during the competition.
Representing XU and the Philippines during the final presentation were Dr Gina S Itchon of the School of Medicine and SuSan director, and Engr Dexter S Lo, faculty of the College of Engineering and ERC director.
XU was considered as “the game changer” of this design competition because its entry was not only manifested through a blueprint and theories but it has been used and proven effective in several evacuation communities after a number of disasters hit the country (Tropical Storm Sendong in 2011, the Bohol Earthquake and Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013).
Backed with solid research, community experiences, assessment and remodeling, XU’s entry demonstrated the capacity of a developing country, such as the Philippines, to conceptualize and apply a multidisciplinary and collaborative solution to sanitation issues despite the limited resources.
“Finally, we stand here today not just as scientists, but as persons echoing the cry for human dignity,” Engr Lo said in his message.
In the field of community development, the ERC director underscored the Ignatian value of magis (beyond what is expected and going beyond excellence) and the theme of the bicentenary of the restoration of the Society of Jesus, “Go, set the world on fire.”
“Every time we work in the community, especially with the poor and the powerless, it is our commitment, our mission—to forge a better life for our people, for a sustainable future, and for a truly blue planet!”
Blue Responsibility Competition Awarding Ceremonies (L-R: Professor Gunther Seliger, Dr Gina Itchon, Engr Dexter Lo and Sam Stephen Mangubat)
The summary slide for Xavier University’s entry
Dr Gina Itchon, Engr Dexter Lo and Sam Stephen Mangubat strike a pose during the12th Global Conference for Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM) at the Puteri Pacific Hotel in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.