The SM Group is ramping up its fight against plastic waste, taking a united, company-wide approach to environmental responsibility. Through a new cross-functional committee led by SM Investments Corporation, SM’s various business units are now actively aligning their sustainability strategies to reduce plastic waste and promote greener practices across the board.
This coordinated initiative supports the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022, a law that compels companies to take charge of the plastic packaging they produce—from usage to recovery and recycling.
“Plastic has become inseparable from modern living, but it has also created one of our most serious environmental problems,” said Timothy Daniels, SM Investments Corporation’s Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability. “We see waste recovery and recycling not just as good business practice, but as a social responsibility. That’s why we’re taking practical, actionable steps across our businesses.”
One example of this shift can be seen at SM Markets—home to SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and Savemore. The retail giant has been pushing eco-friendly shopping habits since 2007, and in 2024 alone, it sold 19 million reusable Green Bags. That move alone prevented the use of an estimated 42 million plastic bags.
At Watsons Philippines, a key affiliate under SM Retail, 81 percent of stores have already switched to paper bags. More than 2,140 products now fall under Watsons’ Sustainable Choices category, which highlights items with cleaner ingredients, better packaging, and refillable options.
Even SM’s investments are making a difference. Goldilocks Bakeshop, for instance, has significantly cut down on plastic by reducing the size of ribbons used in its packaging, leading to an annual savings of 7,000 kilograms of plastic.
The logistics arm, 2GO Group, is also embracing sustainability by switching to recyclable, biodegradable, and reusable packaging materials for its shipping services.
Meanwhile, SM Prime Holdings, the property arm of the group, is investing in the infrastructure needed to support waste management. All its developments now feature standardized waste segregation systems and fully operational Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs). With 15 drop-off points across properties, SM Prime successfully diverted more than 63,000 kilograms of plastic from landfills.
A standout effort is SM Supermalls’ monthly “Trash-to-Cash” recycling market, where customers can trade in recyclable items like paper, plastic, and metal for cash. With around a million kilograms collected each month, the program has diverted nearly 12 million kilograms of waste so far—equivalent to saving over 200,000 trees or cutting 18,000 tons of carbon emissions if all the recyclables were plastic.
On the consumer front, SM Supermalls has introduced Recyclable, Disposable, Compostable (RDC) bins in 2023, helping customers and employees make sustainable choices daily. SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation also joined the movement early, removing single-use plastics from its hotels as far back as 2018.
“Reducing plastic waste isn’t about grand gestures—it’s about consistent action across the board,” said Daniels. “It’s a culture of everyday solutions that builds momentum over time.”
Globally, plastic pollution remains a severe issue, with the United Nations Environment Programme reporting that 19 to 23 million tons of plastic end up in the environment annually. SM’s ongoing initiatives aim to be a meaningful part of the solution—one eco-friendly step at a time.