SM Investments Corporation

2020

Top Community Care Companies in Asia

SM Investments Corporation

Top Community Care Companies in Asia

2020

WORDS FROM THE JURY PANEL

Good governance via a dependable reporting system is needed if sustainability is expected to be a benchmark for corporations. In this aspect, SMIC has got much working for it.

about SM Investments Corporation

Championing growth and sustainability

Conglomerate seeks to become a catalyst for development in the communities it serves.

SM Investments Corporation (SMIC) is a leading Philippine company that is invested in market leading businesses in retail, banking, and property. It also invests in ventures that can capture the high growth opportunities in the emerging Philippine economy.  The SM brand traces its origins to 1958. SMIC was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2005.

SMIC aligns its sustainability strategy with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It identifies specific targets to focus the company’s strategic investments and initiatives on, allowing it to contribute substantially within its sphere of operations and influence. SMIC’s long-standing vision is to build world-class businesses that are catalysts for development in the communities it serves. Anchored on the company’s vision, SMIC provides inclusive economic opportunities, facilitates development, promotes environmental responsibility, creates positive community impact, and drives sustainable growth.

Complementing its sustainability strategy is SMIC’s sustainability roadmap, which serves as a guide in executing its strategy and achieving its vision. The five key result areas vital to the sustainability journey of the company are leadership and strategy; operational performance, projects, and capacity building; data management; sustainability reporting and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) assessments; and communication.

SMIC is also a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and upholds the principles of inclusion, diversity, fairness and meritocracy, serving as an equal opportunity provider. SMIC was the lead sponsor of the first Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Summit in 2018. The next year, it co-presented the first UNGC-GRI Regional Sustainability Summit held in Manila.  The summit brought together leading private and public sector agents to show best practices to build strong advocacy and action towards the national development agenda.

Since 2015, SMIC has established an SMIC Group-wide Steering Committee (Steering Committee) and an SMIC Group-wide Technical Working Group (TWG). The SMIC President/CEO serves as Chairperson of the Steering Committee and engages with the Steering Committee’s members who are the Presidents of SMIC’s business units. The Steering Committee serves as the primary proponent of sustainability and ESG principles and roadmap.  The TWG is tasked to create a sustainability roadmap, implement and monitor the company’s sustainability impact and present recommendations to advance the company’s sustainability performance and agenda. 

SM founder, Henry Sy, Sr., believes that business growth goes hand-in-hand with social development. SM’s community initiatives help its businesses grow sustainably while supporting and empowering its host communities through education, healthcare, disaster response, farmer’s training, environmental programs and care for persons with special needs. SM Foundation, Inc. (SMFI) spearheads SM’s corporate social responsibility (CSR”) programs to the communities in which it is present. 

SM’s main community care initiatives focus on providing better access to education, health care, food security through farmer’s training and social inclusion through SMFI. SMFI helps the Filipino youth achieve their dreams by giving them better access to education through SM Foundation’s college and technical vocational scholarships and school building programs. SM Foundation helps families develop sustainable farming techniques through the Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) Farmers’ Training Program.  SMFI addresses the medical needs of communities through free medical missions and the renovation of public health centers and medical facilities. On social inclusion, SM, through SM Cares, endeavors to be a “mall for all” through programs catering to persons with special needs as well as the elderly.

SMFI holds quarterly operations meetings which serves as an avenue for SMIC to monitor and track its accomplishments from each program for the period covered. SMIC documents the beneficiaries of its CSR programs, which is reflected in the SM Foundation Annual Report. SMIC monitors the state of its beneficiaries through qualitative methods such as interviews, to determine whether the programs have had an impact in their lives. 

“Good governance via a dependable reporting system is needed if sustainability is expected to be a benchmark for corporations. In this aspect, SMIC has got much working for it.”

Shanggari Balakrishnan, Chief Executive Officer, MORS Group

“SMIC identifies specific targets to focus the company’s strategic investments and initiatives on, allowing it to contribute substantially within its sphere of operations and influence, which is principally the best way for a company to embrace sustainability.”

Dr. Jayanthi Desan, Lead Jury, ACES Awards

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