SY-led holding company SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is strengthening its commitment to reduce plastic waste across its business units as part of its sustainability efforts.
SMIC recently created a working group committee that convenes and conducts regular dialogues, instructing its business units to incorporate plastic reduction into their respective sustainability roadmaps, the conglomerate said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday.
The conglomerate’s plastic reduction efforts are in support of the Extended Producer Responsibility law that mandates companies to recover their plastic packaging products and to pursue waste management programs.
“While plastic plays a crucial role in modern life, its convenience often contributes to a throwaway culture, leading to one of our planet’s most pressing environmental challenges,” SMIC Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability Timothy Daniels said.
“We understand the importance of waste recovery and recycling not only as part of our sustainable business vision but also as a social and legal obligation. SM’s approach is both practical and actionable,” he added.
In 2024, SM Markets sold 19 million eco-bags, equivalent to around 42 million plastic bags avoided, as its brands SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and Savemore encouraged sustainable retail practices.
Affiliate Watsons Philippines has transitioned 81% of its stores to using paper bags instead of single-use plastics, while over 2,140 retail stock-keeping units are under the company’s sustainable choices category that consists of products classified as clean beauty, better ingredients, better packaging, and refills.
Goldilocks Bakeshop, Inc. saw a reduction of 7,000 kilograms of plastics annually after decreasing the size of ribbons used in each of their packaging.
The shipping operations of 2GO Group, Inc., now utilize 100% recyclable, reusable, and biodegradable packaging materials to reduce plastic use.
Real estate subsidiary SM Prime Holdings, Inc. has installed Materials Recovery facilities across its properties, as well as standardized waste segregation systems across all malls and developments. It has diverted 63,874 kilograms of plastic from landfills with the help of 15 designated drop-off points for plastic waste.
All SM Supermalls also implement a trash-to-cash monthly recycling market where customers can exchange recyclables for cash, which saw the exchange of over 1 million kilograms of recyclables each month.
SM Supermalls also launched the recyclable, disposable, compostable segregation bins in 2023.
SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation has also phased out single-use plastics in its hotels as early as 2018, replacing amenities with refillable or eco-friendly options.
“Plastic waste reduction at SM is about steady, coordinated progress made possible by a shared culture of everyday solutions, and a proactive approach across all our businesses,” Mr. Daniels said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
