More funds in disaster prevention sought

MANILA, Philippines—The head of the country’s largest shopping mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. has underscored the need to invest more in disaster risk prevention to create more resilient cities.

Speaking at a global forum organized by the United Nations last week in Geneva, Switzerland, SM Prime president Hans Sy shared the SM group’s initiatives to mitigate environmental impact through sustainable designs of its malls, citing SM Marikina, SM Masinag, SM Muntinlupa and SM Mall of Asia complex.

Sy represented the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) in the Global Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

“SM Prime places crucial importance on disaster resilience, not as an additional cost, but as part of our core business strategy. It allows us to serve our communities better, to be competitive, to increase our value and to make us more profitable.  But most of all, disaster resilience ensures the safety of our customers and the communities where we operate,” Sy said.

Sy said it was evident that the global private sector was becoming increasingly aware of the importance of disaster resilience.

“My experience has proven that investing in the resilience of company assets simply makes good business sense. We are all aware that disaster resilience is not just the private sector’s business. It is everybody’s business … Collaboration and investments in disaster resilience are crucial ingredients to success,” he said.

He said SM Prime had made significant inroads with regard to sustainable design in the past decade.

“SM Prime takes steps to ensure the longevity of our establishments, and safeguard the communities in which we operate. Partly through prioritizing disaster resilience, SM Prime has managed to both increase profitability, and implement an aggressive expansion strategy,” Sy said.

SM Prime operates 47 malls all over the country with a combined gross floor area of 5.9 million square meters.—Doris C. Dumlao