SM has started implementing its green project following the final approval secured from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the local government. With the plan in place and ready to implement, the company solidifies its status as having the only malls in the country with green facilities meant to address the impact of climate change.
Mall operator SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI) gave credence to the inputs culled from various community consultations prior to project implementation, which helped the company’s hired engineering and design experts to come up with environmentally sustainable features.
“This greening project is really a collaboration between the community, the local government and SM,” said Hans T. Sy, president of SMPHI. “We hold firm our philosophy that it makes good business sense to always keep the community we serve safe. We can do that by being prepared and proactive in finding measures that will help mitigate the impact of climate change.”
The green project will involve the expansion of the back portion of the mall to accommodate a Sky Terrace, a sewerage treatment plant (STP), and an underground rainwater catchment tank. The new design also makes way for additional parking space to help solve traffic and street parking problems in the city. All four features are expected to benefit the community in the long run.
Aside from these main green features, the new SM City Baguio will also mount live plants to create green walls inside and outside the mall where natural light is available. Natural lighting inside the mall is possible because of tensile roofing, which also helps promote efficient ventilation in certain areas so that air-conditioning is no longer needed.
Parking areas will be installed with eco-friendly LED lights and park finders(for confirmation of opns/carpark) to help motorists spot available slots more quickly, thereby helping lower gas consumption and smoke emission from driving around the building. SM City Baguio’s additional parking slots will help solve the city’s street parking woes and ease the worsening traffic buildup especially along Session Road. Additional pedestrian and vehicle entrances along Governor Pack Road will also help further decongest traffic along Upper Session Road.
In compliance with DENR’s provisions for the implementation of this green project, SM has so far planted over 301,333 trees throughout the City and in certain areas in Benguet. The number of trees planted and maintained, mostly found in Busol Watershed, went beyond what the government required consistent with the SM Foundation’s environment program. Currently, the Foundation is targeting to plant 1M trees all over the country in communities where SM is present.
