Arthur Cantor was one of those wide-eyed, optimistic college students in 2007 when a really good idea came to him: Rue Bourbon. It was a partnership with his brother Alex, and it was their first venture into serious business in the food and beverage industry.
Initially just a hangout place for the brothers and their friends, Rue became a notable restaurant-bar chain in the country. Rue Bourbon was the answer to what many college kids wanted back in those days: A laid-back bar and restaurant where they could chill and enjoy comfort food with no irritatingly loud music.
After a decade of nurturing and expanding the business, Arthur decided to leave Rue in the hands of his brother Alex and pursue a completely different business: Construction.
Now, he is the president of Thaison Builder and Developer, Inc., a construction firm that specializes in building hospitals. It was founded by his father, Engr. August Cantor.
It was in this industry that Arthur would face his greatest challenge yet: Sustainability.
“With around 40 percent of manmade carbon emissions arising from constructing and operating buildings, it is fair to say the industry often falls under the spotlight for its negative contribution to the planet,” says Cantor.
Cantor is one of the few businessmen taking climate change seriously, and he’s determined to find a sustainable solution to limit his company’s carbon footprint.
“Climate change is here. Our seas are dying and our forests are burning. Mass displacement of human populations will inevitably follow. But to where? Our cities are already overpopulated. If there is still hope, humanity must build a better, more resilient planet for all,” he says.
It was the vivid images of the effects of climate change that steered Cantor into a more sustainable direction with his businesses.
Horror struck Cantor when he saw the sobering reality of life in the Philippines seas.
“The Philippines generates an enormous amount of trash and is the third worst ocean plastic polluter in the world,” Arthur notes sadly.
“Implementing zero plastics campaign in our restaurants and our construction sites is simply not enough.”
Cantor and his companies joined forces with the DENR and have been one of the major partners in advocating sustainable tourism in popular destinations such as La Union and Boracay.
Instead of discarding all the wood from their construction sites, they used these to build classroom tables and chairs for adopted sites. Typically, such wood is considered waste by other construction companies.
It is during his years as CEO of Thaison that he started developing and came across the concept of lean construction and green practices for his company.
“The construction industry uses tons of minerals and natural resources. The need to lessen our carbon footprint has become one of my priorities. There will always be finite resources and so we try to reduce our environmental impact.”
