Award-Winning Circularity: How SM Waste Free Future Is Closing the Loop

Manila, Philippines — SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) has won the Gold Award in the Transformation Category at the 2026 ESG Edge Impact Awards for its SM Waste Free Future initiative. The category recognizes organizations that have meaningfully evolved their sustainability performance and operating model over time.

From Vision to Transformation

The program's roots go back to 2024, when SM Waste Free Future launched at SM Mall of Asia as a group-wide push toward waste circularity and standardized segregation across SM properties. The underlying belief was simple: lasting waste reduction starts with everyday behavior, not just infrastructure.

Following that logic, the program began by studying how waste was actually generated day to day and assessing existing segregation systems, before rolling out a three-bin structure — Recyclable, Disposable, and Compostable (RDC) — designed to make correct sorting easier and, over time, habitual.

The 2024 nationwide launch of SM Waste Free Future.

Early days of employee engagement and awareness-building.

Better sorting alone doesn't close the loop, though. By 2025 — one year after launch — SM Prime had reached an 80% diversion rate for non-hazardous waste away from landfills, a figure that reflects sustained investment as much as good intentions.

The Infrastructure Behind the Numbers

A key piece of that progress is SM GUUN Environmental Company, Inc. (SGECI), a waste-to-fuel facility in Consolacion, Cebu that converts disposable waste into alternative fuel for major cement manufacturers like Holcim and APO Cement — advancing both diversion and circularity by keeping materials in productive use rather than letting them sit in landfills.

SGECI's ecosystem now extends to Asia Brewery, PetValue, Nature Springs, and Concreat, recovering and repurposing waste generated across SM properties and smaller businesses in the area. In 2025 alone, it processed more than 6,000 metric tons of waste.

Through SGECI, SM Prime invests in critical waste infrastructure to help the country address its waste challenges.

Turning a Framework Into a Movement

Infrastructure and systems only go so far without people behind them. SM Cares, SM Supermalls' corporate social responsibility arm, uses its social media reach to pull communities — especially young people — into active participation. Last year's International Coastal Cleanup drew 48,000 volunteers, the largest turnout of coastal cleanup participants the program has seen.

“Creating a waste-free future requires everyone to play a role — from employees and partner-tenants to local governments, communities, and customers,” said Engr. Liza B. Silerio, SM Supermalls VP for Compliance and Sustainability.

“It is always a challenge at the start, but I'm proud of how far we have come. By working together, we can turn waste challenges into opportunities for positive environmental impact,” she added.

SM Prime representatives with Engr. Liza B. Silerio (left middle), SM Supermalls VP for Compliance and Sustainability; Dr. Louernie de Sales (right middle), SM Prime VP for Sustainability and President of SGECI; Ms. Katrina Dalusong (leftmost), Philippine Daily Inquirer's Director for Group Sales; and Philippine Daily Inquirer Business Section Editor, Ms. Tina Arceo-Dumlao (rightmost).

Backed by the SM Green Movement, SM Waste Free Future keeps pushing SM Prime's circular economy work forward — bringing employees, tenants, partners, and communities together behind one shared goal of responsible waste circularity.

“This recognition reflects the power of collaboration in attempting to do what is impossible. The award belongs to everyone who has contributed to the journey. It demonstrates that when we unite behind a common purpose, we can achieve transformation at scale,” said Louernie de Sales, SM Prime VP for Sustainability and President of SGECI.