According to a study made by the US Green Building Council, green buildings can reduce carbon emissions by around 40% on average, water consumption by around 30%, and waste generation by around 70%. Beyond the environmental benefits, green buildings also help meet social needs by enhancing spaces, protecting human health, empowering differently-abled members of the community to take active participation, and ensuring access to basic services at reasonable rates. Economic benefits can be felt as well with green buildings commanding higher rent potentials, encouraging ‘greenovation’ and promoting cultural and recreational activities without harming the environment.
Committed to making everyday living better, SM Prime has taken the lead in incorporating sustainability and resiliency in its designs, making each component work together as a fully-integrated city of the future.
“Constructing greener buildings provides holistic solutions not only reducing emissions but also promoting social well-being.” shares Hans T. Sy, SM Prime Holdings Chairman of the Executive Committee. “We see this in our developments which drives us to build greener and even retrofit our existing malls to meet green standards.”
Among SM’s developments, a number boast of receiving LEED Gold certification while others are in the process of certification such as the SM Baguio expansion, SM North EDSA BPO offices, SM Megamall Mega Tower, and SM Retail Corporation, to name a few.
SM Aura
The iconic SM Aura at the Bonifacio Global City is a mixed-use development that incorporates retail, trade halls, and a Grade A office tower. The LEED Gold Certified mall promotes resource efficiency, green mobility, and green landscapes.
- Green Mobility. Cycling is encouraged with accessible bicycle storage, cyclists’ shower rooms, and convenient access to safe lanes for public transit.
- Green Landscapes. The SM Aura Premier Park covers over 55% of the building, uses recycled water, and provides enough room for plants to grow while protecting the building and people from the heat.
- Resource Efficiency. SM Aura uses 16% less than conventional buildings through a high-performance building envelope that reduces solar heat while allowing sufficient sunlight. Through low flow water sensors and metering faucets, it also reduces 1/3rd of its potable water use. Only low emitting materials were used as paint, adhesive sealants, and floor materials.
Conrad Manila
Known as a lifestyle center, Conrad Manila is LEED Gold Certified. The hotel is designed with a dramatically-formed angular structure that houses a stylish 347-room hotel, spa, and function space while S Maison is home to a swathe of smaller, more bespoke outlets for brands.
- Luxury Means Green Mobility. Boasting of high-end luxury experience, Conrad Manila remains environmentally friendly by providing preferred parking slots for low emitting fuel-efficient vehicles, car-sharing vehicles, and special parking spaces and facilities for cyclists.
- Eco-Friendly Materials. Locally manufactured and recycled materials and products were used whenever possible with more than 80% of the project’s construction waste recycled. Filtration systems maintain a minimum efficiency rating of 90% to eliminate airborne particulates.
- Resource Efficiency. Conrad Manila is designed to reduce energy by around 12% less than American energy standards. Its water heating system recovers heat from the chiller condensers to produce hot water while its ventilation system recovers the coolness from the exhaust air, returning that into the building. The hotel is outfitted with occupancy sensors, tinted with low emissivity insulated glass to keep heat and noise out.
Going beyond the LEED Certification, SM Engineering and Design Development, the mall's design and construction arm have implemented these sustainable design strategies on the following projects:
Today, real estate investors, both for business and personal use have grown to prefer spaces that support the sustainability agendas of the growing population. Pursuing green building standards support the public’s aspiration for more sustainable communities that are designed for environmental and social well-being. SM Prime believes that it is important for developers to work with communities on addressing climate change and achieving shared aspirations – a greener, more sustainable cityscape for all to enjoy.
“Creating a more sustainable way of life requires a sustainable backdrop that supports the shift. At SM Prime, our passion is to create one that is sustainable and resilient for the life we want for today and the future,” Mr. Sy said.
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