The SM Journey: Why values and ESG+R matter

(This is the author’s acceptance speech as the “MAP Management Person of the Year 2025” Awardee which he gave on Nov. 24.)

SM was once condemned for cutting down trees in Baguio City. Today, I want to tell you why that was the right decision, and what it taught me about leadership.

Across SM Baguio is the University of the Cordilleras, the oldest post-war university in the region. It sits on a hillside and serves thousands of students.

In 2012, I noticed signs of potential soil erosion on the slope above the campus, where our mall stands. Each rainfall risked sending soil toward the classrooms below. I could not sleep knowing the danger it posed to the school.

The only way to keep the campus safe was to build a retaining wall and reinforce the ground. That required the removal and relocation of several trees in the SM Baguio property.

As someone who has long cared about the environment, it was a very hard decision to make. Unfortunately, many saw the act but not the intent.

Despite our efforts to explain the situation, many accused SM of betraying the environment for financial gain. The reactions were harsh. A foreign artist even canceled a concert at our arena in protest.

We finished the work anyway. The hillside held, and the school remains safe. That choice — of doing what is right, even when unpopular — sharpened my understanding of leadership.

The incident also led to a truly unexpected blessing. I had a meaningful exchange with the head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN DRR).

One conversation led to another, and soon after, I was invited to serve as the first Filipino private sector representative to the UN DRR.

Through ARISE Global, I am able to share what SM has quietly practiced since the late 1980s: forward thinking and resilience.

I now work across sectors to help communities prepare and recover faster from calamities.

The Philippines sits in the Pacific Ring of Fire and the typhoon belt. We deal with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and storms on a regular basis.

For 21 consecutive years, our country has been named the world’s most disaster-prone nation. Our geography has made our reality tougher than most countries. To some, that might be reason enough to leave the Philippines. But my family and I — we chose to stay.

I am 70 years old now. And I still hold only one passport, a Philippine passport. That is both a fact and a statement of faith. Despite the risks, the noise, and the many uncertainties, I have never doubted our country’s promise or the strength of the Filipino spirit.

Our nation is not perfect. Our people are not perfect. Yet many of us remain here and keep going, because we believe that hope is stronger than hardship. That life in the Philippines, no matter how difficult, is worth the struggle. And that in time, things do get better.

It is hard to imagine now, but SM was built on hardship and hope. My grandfather got my father to dream big, not just to lift himself from poverty, but to earn more than enough to help others. So, from a single shoe store in downtown Manila, SM now has an ecosystem that includes real estate, banks, retail, schools, and more. Our scale has allowed us to turn growth into service, generating jobs, building infrastructure, and supporting scholars and livelihoods nationwide.

The SM journey has not been linear.

We have been tested by political unrest, economic challenges, and natural disasters. A pandemic even closed our malls. After each test, we came out stronger. Not because we were spared, but because we learned, adapted, and dreamt bigger.

We were able to navigate those moments because two constants guided our choices: our values and our sustainability framework.

In our family, we live by three core values: integrity, hard work, and humility. These are the same values we teach our people. Let me go through each one.

We have a very simple definition of integrity. My father would always say, “Whatever decision we make, we should be able to eat and sleep well.” That belief guided SM’s response to the pandemic.

Three days after the lockdown was announced, we decided to waive rent for our mall tenants nationwide. We did not wait for a government directive. We just knew that it was the right thing to do. By the end of 2020, we had extended over P23 billion in rental concessions. Our income fell, but thousands of small businesses survived and jobs were protected.

The financial risk we faced was real. But we made that call because that is how we were raised. Working hard is second nature to our family. We were raised to believe that there is dignity in every kind of work.

My siblings and I still follow that rule today. We are in the office or on-site six days a week. But I would not really call it work. It is what we love to do.

We enjoy meeting people, listening to customers, and learning from our employees. Each visit reminds us that there is always something to improve, and be grateful for.

I would also like to think that this is why none of us look our age.

Humility — and the simplicity that comes with it — has guided our family for three generations.

When they were young, my children brought packed lunches to school. They had no allowance until they were old enough to understand the value of money. I remember my eldest son, Chico, once telling me that his P5 weekly allowance in Grade 5 was not enough to buy soft drinks at the canteen. I told him, “You can, if you save your allowance for two weeks.” It was a brief conversation, but the lesson stayed with him to this day.

At SM Prime, our sustainability framework is simple yet grounded in decades of experience. We call it ESG+R, or Environmental Stewardship, Social Inclusion, Good Governance, plus Resilience.

In 2006, a documentary changed the way I viewed the environment. Watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth made me realize that we could no longer just talk about climate change. We had to do more. So we did.

We began recycling water as early as the 1990s at SM Megamall. It was the more costly choice back then. But as climate risks grew, we kept expanding our efforts. Today, water stewardship is practiced across our malls. We manage stormwater through large rainwater tanks, and use smart fixtures and waterless urinals to conserve water. We elevated our properties to reduce flooding and strengthened our roofs to withstand stronger typhoons. That allowed us to turn our rooftops into solar fields. Last Nov. 8, we reached 100-megawatt peak capacity. And we intend to keep going.

Our commitment to social inclusion began in 2004, when a 15-year-old boy on the autism spectrum got lost in one of our malls. The noise, crowds and unfamiliar setting overwhelmed him, causing anxiety and an outburst. One security personnel mistook this for unruly behavior and waved him off. Thankfully, other guards helped his family find him. That event transformed the way we served our customers. It taught us that inclusion begins with awareness, but only matters when it leads to action.

Since then, we have worked to make our people and spaces more compassionate. Our teams undergo continuous sensitivity training to better assist persons with autism, Down Syndrome, and other disabilities. Our malls have golf carts, resting areas, accessible paths, and family-friendly spaces so everyone — regardless of age and ability — can move around with ease.

Inclusion also extends to how we run our companies.

At SM, family members and professional managers work together with a shared commitment to good governance. It guides how we make decisions and how we choose our leaders. Our company presidents are non-relatives chosen for their expertise and integrity, whether they grew within the organization or joined from outside. We also have independent directors who are leaders in their fields, and respected in both business and public service. Their common denominator is a deep sense of malasakit and accountability, grounded in the values that have shaped SM from the beginning.

Last in the equation is resilience, which began not as a concept but as an experience.

In 1988, a fire raged for four days and gutted SM Makati. It was one of the hardest moments of my life. I will never forget it because it happened on my mother’s birthday. My father asked me to oversee the rebuilding of the store. When I went to the site during clearing operations, the heat was intense. The air was thick with smoke and ashes, and nothing could be salvaged. I told myself that no one should ever have to go through that. From then on, safety became a personal mission.

In every SM property, we installed sprinkler systems, even before it was a requirement. We improved our design and planning by using both data and experience. We learned from every incident, no matter how small. That fire, while scary and traumatic, taught me the importance of prevention and preparedness.

The events of the past few weeks remind us why values and ESG+R matter. They also show how losing integrity — at a time when we are building climate resilience — can have serious consequences.

Like everyone here, I am affected by what is happening. It is painful to see our country suffer because of the faults of a few. But when the road gets rough, you do not stop and turn back. You keep your hands on the wheel and stay the course.

We in the private sector have a responsibility to create value, opportunity, and stability. That duty does not disappear when times are difficult. This is when it matters most.

In the 1970s, when capital was leaving the country, my father chose a different path. He kept his money in the Philippines and invested in the expansion of SM Makati. It was a bold choice, but it was the right one.

We are making the same choice today. Despite the weak sentiment and perceived risks, the SM Group continues to invest and believe in the Philippines. Nation-building is hard work. But if we do what is right, even when it is difficult or unpopular, we can build a future where Filipinos live with dignity and hope.

Receiving this award is both an honor and a responsibility. It is a reminder to do more for our country. With this in mind, I will devote more time and resources to help strengthen the Philippines. I will focus on the areas where I can make a meaningful difference.

First, education. At the National University, we will continue expanding access to affordable, quality learning. Our goal is to reach 100,000 students by 2027, by opening more campuses and offering more courses.

Second, resilience. Through ARISE Philippines, we will keep working with LGUs to strengthen disaster preparedness and climate adaptation. We cannot stop natural calamities, but we can prevent them from causing greater harm.

Third, community rebuilding. The Cebu earthquake damaged homes in SM Cares Village. After relocating the affected families and listening to the residents, we chose not to rebuild. Instead, we will build a church for the community.

And finally, the future. We will keep investing in developments that reflect what Filipinos truly deserve: smart cities, sustainable communities, modern infrastructure, and green spaces that promote progress, inclusivity, and well-being.

With these efforts, I hope to honor the privilege I have been given, and the legacy of my father.

As I close, I want to thank the people who made this recognition possible. The MAP Board of Governors led by President Al Panlilio, as well as the members of the Search and Judging committees. My wife and children for their unconditional love, support, and understanding. My siblings, who have given so much of themselves to realize our father’s dreams, and who have stood by our family through every challenge. Our employees and professional managers for their hard work, discipline, and commitment to delivering the SM magic to our customers every day. Our customers, tenants, suppliers, and stakeholders, for allowing SM to be part of their daily lives and success.

Most of all, to my father who taught me everything I know and my mother who raised me to be the person I am today.

Hans T. Sy is Management Association of the Philippines’ Management Person of the Year 2025 Awardee. He is the chairman of the Executive Committee of SM Prime Holdings, Inc.

map@map.org.ph

info@smprime.com