SM creates stronger ocean conservation initiatives giving New Waves of Impact during Coastal Clean-up Projects

[center from left to right] SM by the BAY Assistant Mall Manager, Faye Preolco; SM Supermalls Senior Sustainability Manager, Belinda Bartolome-Gonzales; DENR Undersecretary for Strategic Communications Malu Erni; and SM Supermalls Senior Assistant Vice President for Mall Operations, Perkin Bentley So; together with the students and faculty of NU-Nazareth

SM Supermalls, through its Corporate Social Responsibility arm, SM Cares, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), continue to drive active participation in ocean conservation with the latest leg of SM’s Coastal Clean-up drive, held on June 8, 2024, Saturday in celebration of World Oceans Day.

This year, SM was able to collect more than 15,000 kgs of trash with the help of 2,500 SM Employees and volunteers from 15 SM Supermalls nationwide.

SM City Sorsogon cleans the coastal area of Sitio Mahingan and SM City Legazpi does a clean-up by the coastal shorelines of Brgy. Dapdap and Brgy. Puro.

SM Mindpro volunteers cleaned-up the trash along the stretch of mangrove areas, and Purok Minanga get cleaned by volunteers from SM City General Santos.

SM Cares’ Coastal Clean-up project is part of the organization’s Programs on Environment. SM Cares also has supporting initiatives focused on children and the youth, women and breastfeeding mothers, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities. 

SM City Roxas volunteers are ready to clean the coast of Baybay Beach and SM City Puerto Princesa volunteer shows the trash they collected during the clean-up.

SM City Olongapo Downtown and SM City Olongapo Central volunteers clear-up the shoreline of Parola in Brgy. Kalaklan.

Shore-lines gets greener with a clean up by SM City Daet, and SM City Bataan volunteers protecting our aweSM seas.

The area of Centro 10-Tanza-Caggay get cleaned by volunteers from SM City Tuguegarao & SM Center Tuguegarao Downtown.

SM Cares is the corporate social responsibility arm of SM Supermalls, the country’s biggest chain of malls built by one of Southeast Asia’s leading real estate and property developers, SM Prime Holdings. SM Prime remains committed to its role as a catalyst for economic growth as it pursues the next horizon on integrated property development, and onward to building sustainable cities of the future while enriching the quality of life of the communities it serves.

SM by the BAY volunteers – including NU Nazareth students, BSP/GSP, SM employees and agency personnel’s fight for a trash-free Manila Bay.

SM City Cebu and SM Seaside City Cebu return to Cebu SRP for a clean-up.

Since 2014, SM’s coastal clean-up initiative has grown to include more coastal locations and volunteers, showing the true impact of SM’s advocacy, as well as the power of community participation in environmental stewardship and marine conservation efforts.

To learn more, visit https://www.smsupermalls.com/smcares/. (PR)

SM Prime Embarks on a Unified Waste Management Program for an #SMWasteFreeFuture

SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), one of the leading integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, is embarking on a unified waste management and segregation campaign in response to the growing global crises on waste. SM Prime aims to bring all its property groups and stakeholders toward an #SMWasteFreeFuture.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), humanity generates more than 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste annually, of which 45 percent is mismanaged. Without urgent action, municipal solid waste will double to almost 4 billion tons each year by 2050. On December 14, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste.

The largest haul and biggest participation to-date: The 38th International Coastal Clean-up had 17,000 volunteers across 15 SM Malls in 12 locations nationwide. It is an annual community-driven partnership between SM Supermalls, SM Cares, the DENR, LGU’s and the volunteers from the SM community.

The following year, UNEP inaugurated the First International Day of Zero Waste, to bolster actions to address the global pollution crisis. It aims to encourage global action and bring the world’s attention to zero waste.

Strong foundations
SM Prime’s founding leader, Henry Sy, believed that “business growth and social development must go hand in hand.” The company follows this guiding principle and has formed a sustainability policy that commits to the following: Resource Conservation and Efficiency, Disaster Resilience, Climate Advocacy, Social Integration, and Transparent Reporting.

Scaled to perfection: One of the first recycling markets the country, Trash-to-Cash’s valuable example that waste can have monetary benefits. The recycling market is held every first Friday and Saturday of the month in all SM Supermalls to encourage waste segregation and recycling among SM customers, tenants, and the community. The recycling market is open from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Anchored on these sustainability commitments are the SM Supermalls’ Environmental Programs on Waste Management. Through its corporate social responsibility arm, SM Cares, SM Supermalls has pioneered longstanding programs such as the Trash to Cash recycling market, and provided support to the annual International Coastal Clean Up, among other national events.

Closing the loop: SMHCC’s sustainability efforts are anchored on the 7Gs or Seven Green Goals, based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). The overall thrust for sustainability is cascaded to the rest of properties, ensuring that it is embedded at every step of the hotel’s operations, ensured by property Sustainability Champions.

In the hotel and tourism sector, SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation (SMHCC) has taken the lead in mitigating global food waste by implementing sustainable initiatives across its properties in the Philippines. Their key initiatives include the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Sustainable Diner Program, aiming to transform and help the food service sector minimize its impact on the environment thru resource efficiency, plastic refusal and food waste management and contribute to the world’s future food security.

To support these programs, SM Prime also recently unveiled its waste-to-fuel partnership with GUUN Co. Ltd. (GUNN) to implement the Japanese technique of reducing landfill impact. The technology converts non-recyclable and hard-to-recycle packaging into alternative fuel.

No time to waste: Sorting through the amount of trash at the GUUN Facility in Cebu. Unfit for recycling and reuse, the waste material recovered avoids the landfill and is then reconverted to fuel resource.

 

A Vision for an #SMWasteFreeFuture
To mark the International Day of Zero Waste on March 30, 2024, SM Prime is releasing its vision for an #SMWasteFreeFuture. “As a community, we strongly believe in our ability to contribute to solving today's waste issues,” said Hans “Chico” Sy, Jr., President of SM Engineering Design and Development Corporation (SMEDD) and SM sustainability champion.

SM Prime’s announcement of its vision of an #SMWasteFreeFuture demonstrates the company’s strong commitment and sustainability stewardship, by inviting its stakeholders to engage in activities that will help spread zero-waste awareness and work for a sustainable and environmentally responsible approach on waste management.

“We understand that this may seem like a daunting challenge to overcome However, by joining forces, we can create a world that our future generations truly deserve – if we have the courage to take on this journey together,” said Sy.

SM Prime remains committed to its role as a catalyst for economic growth, delivering innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities, thereby enriching the quality of life of millions of people. SM Prime is pursuing the next horizon on integrated property development and onward to building sustainable cities of the future. (SM Supermalls)