According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Philippines generates over 60,000 metric tons of waste daily, a figure expected to rise with urban growth and economic activity.
Recognizing the urgency, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) launched the SM Waste-Free Future program in 2024 as one of its flagship environmental sustainability programs to reduce overall waste generation through effective waste segregation and divert waste away from landfills through recycling, composting, and other sustainable disposal methods.
In its first year, it implemented a new waste management segregation system across its properties, including all malls, residences, offices, hotels and convention centers, and estates nationwide.
Beyond SM Prime, the campaign on waste has extended its reach to other SM groups and portfolio companies, making SM Waste-Free Future a group-wide endeavor.
A bigger picture of waste
The Recyclable, Disposable, Composable (RDC) bins are central to the program’s segregation practice. RDC makes it simple and consistent, providing key visual cues to bin it right.
Despite its infancy stage, the rapid and wide-scale integration underscores SM Prime’s ability to operationalize sustainability across diverse asset classes and ecosystems, reinforcing the company’s commitment to innovative waste diversion strategies.
SM Prime also celebrates the efforts of SM Retail in advancing a waste-free future. All SM Store branches have successfully deployed their RDC bins, while SM Markets continues to implement its reusable bag system. In support of waste management efforts, Goldilocks Bakeshop has also implemented the RDC system across its stores in all SM Supermalls.
Creating opportunities to expand
Partnerships with other organizations pave the way for the work ahead. SM Waste-Free Future strengthens tenant engagement for SM Supermalls and SM Offices, supporting businesses with similar goals on waste and helping them align with their global sustainability policies.
Similarly, it reinforces SM Hotels’ advanced Back of House operations, food waste policies, and textile recycling program. The SM Hotels’ Tela Tales program transforms discarded linen into sustainable products and provides livelihood for the women of partner communities, upcycling more than 2,000 yards of condemned linens.
Recognizing that technology greatly contributes to the solutions, SM Waste-Free Future has also strengthened collaborations with other organizations. SM Development Corporation (SMDC) works with Globe’s Hapag Movement to rescue surplus food from residents and help make a difference in the lives of Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger and divert household food waste away from landfills.
In the mall’s Cyberzone areas, SM Supermalls’ Electronic Waste Collection Program and their partnership with PLDT and Smart make it accessible to dispose of old mobile devices and other electronic gadgets responsibly.
Join the movement
SM Waste Free Future invites more communities and stakeholders to participate through proper waste segregation, joining local clean-ups and collection drives, or supporting eco-friendly products and practices.
Positive reinforcement and catchy social media campaigns from SM Cares target the youth by promoting better waste segregation habits and encouraging them to become more involved with the state of the planet they will inherit.
Recently, in celebration of World Oceans Day, SM Cares mobilized communities across 18 SM Supermalls nationwide, bringing together over 5,000 volunteers and collecting more than 30,000 kilograms of waste from shorelines.
“Waste-Free Future is more than just a program—it’s a mindset shift. And we’re only getting started,” said Engr. Liza Silerio, Vice President for Corporate Compliance and Program Director of SM Cares for Environment. “We call on our tenants, partners, and customers to continue the journey with us—because a truly sustainable future is one we build together.”
With the growing momentum for a waste-free future, SM Prime believes that a cleaner, more circular Philippines is well within reach.
