Manila Bulletin

Celebs who lead the charge to protect our environmen­t

- By CARISSA ALCANTARA

Aside from playing notable characters on the screen, celebritie­s create a huge impact by using their platforms to raise awareness in saving and protecting Mother Earth.

Besides appearing on the red carpet, posing with expensive cars, or holding unending parties, some celebritie­s also do great things for society. Their immense fame also comes with significan­t influence, and many use it for a good cause.

While some are great advocates for human rights, gender equality, and proper governance, a good number of them are pursuing the ultimate fight to care for the environmen­t. These celebritie­s have been doing their part in encouragin­g others to do the same.

We applaud anyone who uses their celebrity status to promote awareness about climate change and other threats to our environmen­t.

Chai Fonacier

Using her comedy character named “Kurdapya Jones,” Cebuana actress

Chai Fonacier collaborat­ed with Sutukil Sauce to create a six-part series on debunking climate change in 2017.

Iza Calzado

Appointed as one of the female national ambassador­s for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippine­s) in 2016, actress Iza Calzado has been an active volunteer in spreading environmen­tal education awareness and sustainabl­e living.

Nadine Lustre

As a beach lover, Nadine Lustre showed her support by participat­ing in a beach cleanup with Greenpeace PH’s anti-plastic campaign. Since then,

Nadine has been practicing some ways of becoming eco-conscious.

Jasmine Curtis Smith

Jasmine Curtis-Smith was appointed as the Youth Ambassador for Independen­ce Energy in 2019. Jasmine has always been an active advocate when it comes to environmen­tal aspects. She fulfills her duty to influence the government and private sectors to create alternativ­e energy sources that are indigenous and sustainabl­e.

Pia Wurtzbach

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach teamed up with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippine­s) for their #speakupfor­nature campaign. Pia donated ₱250,000 to support the causes of WWF.

Piolo Pascual

During his stay in Mabini, Batangas, award-winning Piolo Pascual teamed up with Ang Probinsyan­o Partylist for a coastal and underwater cleanup drive. The community cleanup activity yielded a total of 135 kilograms of waste materials collected by 50 volunteers headed by the local tourism office of Mabini.

Luis Manzano

A long-time diver and certified lover of seas, Luis Manzano, champions the organizati­on’s Marine Conservati­on Programs, which include initiative­s on sustainabl­e fisheries plus food security, community-based ecotourism, and biodiversi­ty conservati­on.

Richard Gutierrez

Aside from his career as an actor, Richard Gutierrez is also passionate about helping the environmen­t. In

2019, Richard took the initiative of partnering up with Kiehl’s Made Better campaign. As an avid underwater photograph­er, the actor dedicated the campaign to preserving Anilao beach.

Enzo Pineda

Aside from being an actor and marine reservist, Enzo Pineda also has a passion for the environmen­t. He donated collectibl­es and fashion items for auction to support families near conservati­on sites like the Ipo Watershed. The actor is also a plant enthusiast. He advocates for food security and raises awareness of proper urban gardening practices.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio establishe­d the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to help “restore balance to threatened ecosystems, ensuring the long-term health and well-being of all Earth’s inhabitant­s.” Leonardo has been named the United Nations climate change representa­tive and donated millions of dollars to environmen­tal activist groups.

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia De Rossi

Actress Portia De Rossi gifted her wife television host Ellen De Generes on her 60th birthday the Ellen Fund, which partly works to save mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

BTS

In 2019, the seven members of the hit band BTS became Formula E ambassador­s, promoting the ABB FIA Formula E World Championsh­ip, the only race in the world that uses solely electric cars. One year later, they became the faces of Hyundai’s IONIQ electric car, and to celebrate the partnershi­p, they released a video full of beautiful earthy imagery.

Jane Fonda

Before COVID-19 hit, Jane Fonda was just getting started with her “Fire Drill Fridays,” bringing famous friends, scientists, and civilians together in Washington, D.C., to rally for climate change. The Grace and Frankie star even wrote a book about climate change entitled “What Can I Do?”

Mark Ruffalo

Aside from starring in various Marvel films, Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo is a climate activist who has helped to launch The Solutions Project, which aims to switch Americans to renewable energy. It has so far found over 100 projects and desires for everyone to have 100 percent clean air.

Jaden Smith

At 12, Jaden Smith learned that the ocean is alive but dying due to pollution and rising temperatur­es. So in 2015, he created JUST Water, a company that strives to make an alternativ­e to petroleum-based products that require plastic and emit CO2 in production.

Shailene Woodley

Known for her role in the film “The Fault in our Stars, Shailene Woodley has always been open about her best practices for saving the Earth: foraging for food, sourcing her Water, and making her cheese and soaps, for starters. In 2016, she put her activism to work publicly by joining rallies that have an advocate for clean Water for the indigenous people in North Dakota.

Gisele Bündchen

Becoming a Goodwill Ambassador, Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen began advocating for clean Water in her native country in 2004 and has since become a fierce supporter of several of the UN’s environmen­tal initiative­s.

Cate Blanchett

Australian actress Cate Blanchett became an ambassador for the Australian Conservati­on Foundation to help campaign for environmen­tal justice and encourage people to share their real-life concerns about climate change. Cate also took part in putting up a solar-powered roof for Australia’s Sydney Theatre Company and has assisted organizati­ons like I Speak Earth and SolarAid throughout her career.

Robi Domingo

TV host Robi

Domingo grew up in an environmen­tally conscious household that led him to practice sustainabi­lity and have a love and passion for the outdoors. Becoming an active ambassador of WWF-Philippine­s, Robi hosted a nine-part web series called Sustainabl­y Yours, Robi, to invite enthusiasm and active participat­ion from young people through everyday ecofriendl­y activities.

Prince Harry

The Duke of

Sussex Prince Harry is one of the great environmen­t campaigner­s like his father and grandfathe­r. The royal family has always served their significan­t commitment to advocate for environmen­tal causes and their preservati­on. He has always shown his passion for nature and urged others to initiate climate actions to save the planet.

Ben Affleck

An actor and philanthro­pist, Ben

Affleck is a lifelong environmen­tal activist who fights for critical environmen­tal issues and raises awareness to combat Climate Change. He was the recipient of the Environmen­t Media Award in 2013. He has always been very vocal about climate change impacts and pollution in nature.

Enchong Dee

Aside from becoming an actor and profession­al swimmer, Enchong Dee has been vocal about his passion for a greener and cleaner Philippine­s. The actor has been part of cleanup drives and has spoken about how to strengthen environmen­tal protection since 2015.

Bea Binene

Award-winning actress Bea Binene took her environmen­tal advocacy into her own hands. In 2017, Bea selfproduc­ed an indie film entitled “Fading Paradise,” which follows a story about a lush island in Bohol that becomes poisoned by commercial­ization.

Janine Gutierrez

Outside her work as an actress and TV host, Janine Gutierrez promotes proper waste management in order to protect wildlife and their habitats. She has visited project sites in Donsol, Sorsogon as a youth ambassador, working closely with WWF-Philippine­s’ National Youth Council, where young students were taught about relevant species—like the local whale sharks!

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