Retail and property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. brought home the most awards in the prestigious Don Emilio Abello Energy Efficiency Awards for 2015, including five Hall of Fame awards for its outstanding efforts to improve its energy efficiency.
 
In awarding ceremonies at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas, Quezon City, SM dominated the Don Emilio Abello Energy Efficiency Awards getting a total of 56 awards, a significant improvement from the 48 awards it received last year and by far the most numbers of awards that it received since it started joining in 2007.
 
The improved showing of SM is a manifestation of the dramatic increase of its electricity savings due to the implementation of more energy efficiency initiatives to a staggering P431 million this year from P320 million in 2014.
 
Thirty three SM malls and four office buildings were awarded with energy efficiency awards. Four SM malls (SM Lipa, SM Lucena, SM Batangas and SM Iloilo) were also conferred with the Hall of Fame award for being recipients of three outstanding awards for three years.
 
The Don Emilio Abello Efficiency Awards is spearheaded by the Department of Energy in recognition to outstanding companies and energy managers who have undertaken energy efficiency and conservation programs to achieve substantial savings in their energy consumption.
 
The Don Emilio Abello Energy Efficiency Awards gives eight types of award – the Secretary’s Award, Hall of Fame Award, Outstanding Award (achieved energy efficiency by at least 5 percent), Citation Award (efficiency of 3 but less than 5 percent), Special Award (efficiency of one to less than 3 percent), Indigenous Award, Awards of Recognition and Outstanding Energy Manager.
 
The recipients of the Outstanding Award were the SM City malls in Clark, Baliwag, Fairview, Bacoor, Lipa, Lucena, Batangas, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Consolacion, Corporate Offices, One ECom and Cyber Makati 1. 
 
The managers of the said malls and offices were also given the Outstanding Energy Manager Award for efficaciously implementing their energy conservation programs.
 
Special Awards were given to SM City malls in North Edsa (Annex), Mall of Asia, The Podium, Rosales, Pampanga, Valenzuela, Novaliches, Manila, San Lazaro, Marikina, Taytay, Bicutan, Las Piñas, Molino, Sta. Rosa, Muntinlupa, Cagayan de Oro, Quiapo and Cyber Makati 2.
 
More SM malls and office also received the 2015 Asean Best Practice for Energy Management in Buildings and Industries. They were SM City Lanang, SM City Aura, SM City Clark, SM City Fairview and Two ECom.
 
SM City Harrison and SM City Cebu received special citations.
 
SM Engineering Team vice president for EDD Operations Teodoro Bautista said they are particularly proud of their energy efficiency achievements this year because it shows the company is on the right track in its power conservation efforts.
 
“We have been doing this since 1999 when our president Hans Sy gave us marching orders to put energy efficiency our top priority and our improving performance shows were are on the right path,” he stressed.
 
Bautista said because of the energy efficiency programs they have implemented in the malls and offices, they have further saved P431 million in 2015 which is a dramatic improvement from the P320.28 million last year.
 
This translates to combined energy reduction of 13.78 million Liters of Oil Equivalent (LOE) or 52.78M in kWhrs reduction. In terms of Kg of CO2 avoided, this is equivalent to 27.1M Kg. 
 
“SM has always been responsive to the current environmental concerns and has actively participated in its mitigation. Our many programs on energy conservation are tangible proofs that SM is not your typical shopping center, with skyrocketing electricity bills, without sensitivity to its effect to the environment. These awards prove that SM’s energy management efforts are successful. More so, it proves that truly, SM Cares,” Baustista said.