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SM Prime highlights sustainability drive at UN disaster risk reduction meet in Geneva

DT · Nov 2, 2022, 11:13 AM

SM Prime’s Hans T. Sy (standing, third from right) with officials of the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UN DRR) ARISE General Assembly. Seated, second from left: UN DRR Director Paula Albrito, Ambassador Permanent Mission of India to the UN Office Priyanka Chauhan, UNDRR Head and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General Mami Mizutori, and ARISE Co-Chair Hans Peter.

Hans T. Sy, executive committee chair of SM Prime Holdings, recently showcased the company's sustainability drive at the 2022 General Membership Meeting of the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE) of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in Geneva, Switzerland.

"Resilience, being a priority in SM developments, is factored into every development, with 10 percent capital expenditure allocated for disaster risk resilient features. To add, SM puts equal importance in securing its people and providing world standard processes in dealing with disasters," said Mr. Sy who was invited as a special guest by Ms. Mami Mizutori, UNDRR Head and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction.

"This is one reason the public sees our properties as safe havens," Mr. Sy explained. "We have our SM Resilience Center for status monitoring of malls, our Business Continuity Plan for tenants, and our own SM Disaster Resilience Policy to guide our people."

Mr. Sy is a founding member of the UN DRR local network, ARISE Philippines, which introduced disaster risk reduction projects in cooperation with government agencies including the launch of the World Bank's Building Resilience Index, a web-based hazard mapping and resilience assessment framework.