The SM Group is reinforcing its commitment to reduce plastic waste, embracing it as a shared responsibility across its diverse business units. Spearheaded by SM Investments Corporation, the conglomerate has established a dedicated working group that holds regular dialogues and encourages all SM companies to integrate plastic waste reduction into their individual sustainability roadmaps.
This initiative supports the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022, which mandates companies to take accountability for the plastic packaging they produce and to implement effective waste recovery and management programs.
“While plastic remains essential to modern life, its convenience often fuels a throwaway culture, resulting in one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. At SM, we view waste recovery and recycling not only as vital to our sustainability vision but also as part of our social and legal duty. Our approach is practical, measurable, and impactful,” said Timothy Daniels, Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability at SM Investments Corporation.
Across the group, SM businesses have begun embedding plastic reduction strategies into operations. SM Markets, which includes SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and Savemore, has long encouraged eco-conscious shopping habits. Since 2007, it has promoted the use of reusable eco-bags instead of single-use plastics. In 2024 alone, SM Markets sold 19 million Green Bags, effectively avoiding an estimated 42 million plastic bags.
Watsons Philippines, under SM Retail, has transitioned 81% of its stores to using paper bags. It also offers more than 2,140 stock-keeping units (SKUs) under its Sustainable Choices line, which features products with clean beauty credentials, better ingredients, responsible packaging, and refill options. These give consumers more environmentally conscious choices.
Goldilocks Bakeshop, Inc., an SM portfolio investment, made a simple yet impactful change by reducing the size of ribbons on its packaging, resulting in an annual reduction of 7,000 kilograms of plastic waste.
In logistics, 2GO Group, Inc. has adopted more sustainable packaging and now uses 100% recyclable, reusable, and biodegradable materials in its shipping operations.
Recognizing its extensive footprint across the country, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is investing in infrastructure that supports long-term plastic waste management. Its properties are now equipped with Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and standardized waste segregation systems. To date, 15 designated plastic waste drop-off points have diverted over 63,874 kilograms of plastic from landfills.
Among its most effective community programs, Trash-to-Cash (TTC) is a monthly recycling market held across all SM Supermalls. Customers can exchange recyclable materials like paper, plastic, and metal for cash. TTC facilitates the recovery of over 1 million kilograms of recyclables each month, totaling approximately 12 million kilograms. This is equivalent to saving 204,000 trees if all were paper or reducing 18,000 tons of carbon emissions if all were plastic.
In 2023, SM Supermalls also launched RDC (Recyclable, Disposable, Compostable) segregation bins, along with awareness campaigns that help both employees and shoppers understand and support the group’s broader sustainability efforts.
Meanwhile, SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation (SMHCC) has eliminated single-use plastics in its properties as early as 2018 by replacing them with refillable dispensers and eco-friendly alternatives.
“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,” Daniels emphasized.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, an estimated 19 to 23 million tons of plastic waste enter the ecosystem each year, polluting lakes, rivers, and oceans. Through its united efforts, the SM Group aims to be part of the solution by driving change at scale through practical, measurable, and sustained action.
