SM Supermalls, in collaboration with its corporate social responsibility arm, SM Cares, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), local government units and partner schools and organizations joined the rest of the world in celebrating Earth Day at SM malls nationwide on April 22, 2023.

With the theme “Invest In Our Planet, Invest In Our Youth,” SM Supermalls and SM Cares lined up various activities that aimed to raise awareness among children and their families about the importance of coming together across various sectors to take care of the environment.

SM City Olongapo Central, SM City Olongapo Downtown and the rest of SM Malls nationwide simultaneously held relevant and impactful celebrations with activities such as Children’s Storytelling, Coloring, and Sustainability Tours, gathering 1700 children and 350 employee volunteers. These activities aimed to encourage everyone in the family, particularly the young ones, to protect and respect Mother Earth.

A quick sustainability tour of Grade 3-4 pupils of Little Angel Study Center at SM City Olongapo Downtown’s eco-friendly facilities and learned about how to protect the environment individually and as a community through art and storytelling.

The storytelling activity featured a special Earth Day story based on Manuel Baldemor’s artworks, a multi-awarded Filipino artist, sculptor and illustrator.  The story reflected simple ways children can participate in living sustainably on their own and with their families. Meanwhile, kids and kids-at-heart were welcomed at the coloring activity section. Participants were given art materials and a selection of Baldemor’s drawings to color in. Malls used recycled materials in designing the activity areas.

And to cap off the celebration, a sustainability tour was held wherein everyone participated in a guided tour to one or more of the mall’s eco-friendly facilities such as the water recycling treatment plants, waste segregation bins, Plastic Waste Collection booths, E-waste Collection bins and various bicycle amenities.

Grade 3-6 pupils of Sta. Rita Elementary School were welcomed at the coloring activity section of SM City Olongapo Central. They were given art materials and a selection of Manuel Baldemor’s drawings to color in. Manuel Baldemor is a multi-awarded Filipino artist, sculptor and illustrator.

The Earth Day celebration is just one of the numerous ways that SM is promoting sustainable living among Filipinos, and the company has other programs aimed at helping care for the environment. These are the Trash to Cash Recycling Market held every first Friday and Saturday of the month; daily water recycling systems, and environmental campaigns such as the Green Film Festival, Green Retail Agenda, and the International Coastal Cleanup Drive, just to name a few.

Present during the celebration at SM City Olongapo Central were Sta. Rita Elementary School grade 4-6 pupils and City Councilor Jerome Bacay, chairman, Committee on Environment Ecology Protection, Peace and Order, Urban Planning Zoning and Land Use. At SM City Olongapo Downtown, present were Grade 3, 4 and 6 pupils of Little Angel Study Center, City Agriculture representative Jeremy Payumo and Gamaliel Paz of Gordon Heights Integrated School and advocate of project Big Book.