SM Group’s waste management initiatives recognized by DENR

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February 21, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The SM Group of the Sy family has been recognized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for its efforts on plastic recovery and waste management across its diverse business units.

The DENR cited SM’s coordinated group approach that went beyond compliance under Republic Act 11898, also known as the Extended Producer Responsibility Program Law of 2022, particularly in advancing recovery, reduction, innovation and inclusive circular-economy practices that support the national zero-waste-to-nature agenda.

“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,” SM Investments Corp. head of investor relations and sustainability Timothy Daniels said.

The group’s integrated property arm, SM Prime Holdings Inc., has partnered with Japanese waste-processing firm Guun Co. Ltd. to convert waste into new materials at its first waste-processing factory in Consolacion, Cebu. 

 The collaboration ensures that consumption or waste is not the end of the economic cycle.

SM has also installed RDC (recyclable, disposable, compostable)-labeled bins across SM properties nationwide to advance waste conversion further. 

Recyclables, such as bottles, cans and paper are sorted and sent to their respective recycling plants. 

Disposables such as cups, straws and rags are converted into replacement fuel for cement kilns, while compostables or food scraps are converted to landscaping soil within 48 hours. 

Through its #SMWasteFreeFuture project, SM consolidates various initiatives across its ecosystem of businesses into a centralized system.

Under the initiative, SM Supermalls implements its long-running trash-to-cash monthly recycling market held in SM malls nationwide, where customers can exchange recyclables such as paper, plastic, metal, or even appliances for cash. 

SM said trash-to-cash facilitates the exchange of over 1.5 million kilograms of recyclables every year.

SM Markets, the group’s umbrella brand for SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and Savemore, meanwhile, has encouraged the use of eco-bags over single-use plastics since 2007.

 In 2025 alone, SM Markets sold 20.8 million green bags, equivalent to around 31.2 million plastic bags avoided.  

“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 efficient, they are commercially viable initiatives, and they all have actual meaningful differences that we make to the plastics problem,” Daniels said