SM expands mall use for community initiatives
SM Supermalls is expanding its community-focused initiatives, such as reading nooks and environmental programs, to transform malls into social hubs. The company's sustainability and business reporting efforts were recently recognized with multiple international awards.
Why it matters
It reflects a broader trend in the retail industry where physical shopping spaces are being repurposed to foster community engagement and improve corporate social responsibility metrics.
SM Supermalls, the retail arm of SM Investments Corp., is expanding its use of malls as venues for community, environmental, cultural and accessibility programs, going beyond their traditional role as shopping destinations.SM Supermalls President Steven Tan said the company's community initiatives were designed around how people actually use its malls, from providing spaces for reading to promoting local artists and improving accessibility."People experience a mall through the things they do there, not through what we say about it," he said.Among the initiatives cited by the company were the SM Cares Book Nook, which provides spaces in malls for people to read and share books; SM Cares: A Mall for All, which focuses on diversity and inclusion; and the SM Cares Coastal Cleanup initiative.SM Supermalls also runs the SM Green Movement, while SM Mindanao Art provides Mindanaoan artists and their work with a wider public audience.Other programs include the Philippine International…
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in