Manila, Philippines — SM Prime Holdings President, Hans Sy, shared how Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction is Good for Business in his keynote speech at the recent Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Global Platform for Disaster Reduction was established in 2007 as a biennial forum across sectors, with the goal to improve implementation of disaster risk reduction through better communication and coordination among stakeholders. The Global Platform is organized by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the UN’s office for disaster risk reduction and secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

A record 3,500 people and representatives from 172 governments attended what is considered the world’s foremost gathering of stakeholders committed to reducing disaster risk and building the resilience of communities and nations.

“The UN Assembly asked us to develop a post 2015 framework for disaster risk reduction in an inclusive process reflecting the views of all stakeholders,” says UNISDR Head Margareta Wahlstrom. “We have a greater diversity of voices here on site… this type of networking brings us closer to the all-of-society ideal we envision.”

Sy, who is a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group of the United Nations International Strategy on Risk Reduction was invited as a keynote speaker to discuss how SM Prime safeguards the communities surrounding its malls by investing on disaster resilience.

He highlighted the concept of resilient investment by discussing case studies of two malls, SM Marikina and SM Muntinlupa. These are cases of innovative partnerships, close collaboration between the public and private sector, and examples of good practices.