DENR cites SM for group-wide efforts on plastic recovery and waste management

“This award is a credit to every part of the SM group, and we're very grateful to receive it. From our retail business, to our banks and logistics companies, they have been reducing their plastic footprints in their packaging and influencing consumer behavior to use less plastic. When we look at plastics, which is a significant problem in the Philippines, we have looked to take quite a range of actions across the group. But what they have in common is that they are very practical, they are commercially viable initiatives, and they all have actual meaningful differences that we make to the plastics problem.” ~Timothy Daniels, SM Investments Corporation Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability

(From left to right) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Atty. Jonas Leones; DENR Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla; SM Supermalls Assistant Vice President for Waste Management and Sustainability Solutions and SM GUUN President George Cheung; SM Investments Corporation Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability Timothy Daniels; SM Retail, Inc. Vice President for Sustainability Suyin Liu; Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) President Engr. Jess G. Reyes; DENR Assistant Secretary for Environment and concurrent Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Director Jacqueline A. Caancan.

DENR cites SM for group-wide efforts on plastic recovery and waste management

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recognized the SM Group for its support of the Extended Producer Responsibility Program (EPR), which aims to reduce plastic use, recover plastic packaging, and develop on-ground waste systems across its numerous business divisions. 

In a recently concluded event on January 30, 2026, the DENR emphasized SM's coordinated group approach that went beyond compliance with Republic Act No. 11898, also known as the EPR Law of 2022, particularly in "advancing recovery, reduction, innovation, and inclusive circular economy practices that support the national Zero Waste to Nature agenda."

At their first waste processing facility in Consolacion, Cebu, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the property division of SM, has partnered with Guun Co., Ltd., a Japanese trash processing company, to turn waste into new materials as part of their #SMWasteFreeFuture program. 

To promote the growth of waste conversion, SM has installed RDC-labeled (recyclable, disposable, compostable) bins at a number of SM facilities nationwide. Among the recyclables that are processed and sent to the proper recycling facilities are paper, bottles, and cans. Meanwhile, waste materials such as straws, cups, and rags are converted into alternative fuel for cement kilns. Compostables, or food scraps, can be turned into landscaping soil in less than 48 hours.

“GUUN is a collaboration across the Group that ensures consumption or waste is not the end of the economic cycle.” ~George Cheung, SM GUUN President who is also concurrently SM Supermalls’ Assistant Vice President for Waste Management and Sustainability Solutions

By integrating many initiatives from SM's network of companies into a unified system, the #SMWasteFreeFuture campaign highlights SM's commitment to environmental stewardship and fosters sustainable communities.  

With their long-running Trash-to-Cash (TTC) recycling market, which takes place monthly at SM malls across the nation and enables customers to exchange recyclables like paper, plastic, metal, or even appliances for cash, other SM businesses, like SM Supermalls, are still at the forefront of this effort. Thanks to TTC, more than 1.5 million kg of recyclables are traded every year. Customers can also find the e-waste collection containers in Cyberzone areas and the plastic garbage collection vehicles at 15 malls.

More eco-friendly retail practices have also been introduced since 2007 by SM Markets, the SM Group's umbrella brand for SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and Savemore. The company has promoted eco-bags over single-use plastics. In 2025 alone, SM Markets sold 20.8 million Green Bags, saving more than 31.2 million plastic bags.

About SM Investments Corporation  

SM Investments Corporation is one of the leading Philippine companies that is invested in market-leading businesses in retail, banking, and property. It also invests in ventures that capture high growth opportunities in the emerging Philippine economy. 

SM’s retail operations are the country’s largest and most diversified, consisting of grocery stores, department stores and specialty retail stores. SM’s property arm, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., is the largest integrated property developer in the Philippines with interests in malls, residences, offices, hotels, and convention centers as well as tourism-related property developments. SM’s interests in banking are in BDO Unibank, Inc., the country’s largest bank, and China Banking Corporation, the fourth largest private domestic bank. 

For more information, please visit www.sminvestments.com  

For inquiries, please contact: smic_corpcomm@sminvestments.com