Even a shopping mall, for the SM Group, apparently, can moonlight as a library, an art gallery, an environmental command center, and a community hub.
That versatility helped the group collect 12 Stevie Awards at the 2026 International Business Awards, spanning corporate reporting, sustainability, customer experience, arts, environmental action, and community programs.
The group, established by the late tycoon Henry Sy, received four awards through SM Investments Corp., its parent company, and eight through SM Supermalls. The recognition is especially notable because the Stevies are often described as the Oscars of the corporate world, celebrating companies, startups, executives, and teams for business achievements, innovation, customer service, and community impact.
SM Investments won Gold Stevies for Conglomerates (Large) and Best Annual Report for its 2025 Integrated Report. Its 2025 Sustainability Report and the SM Sustainability School each received Bronze awards.
“Clear reporting gives investors and other stakeholders a better view of how we make decisions, manage the business, and plan for the long term,” said Frederic C. DyBuncio, president and chief executive officer of SM Investments. “The other awards show how that same sense of responsibility is carried through by our businesses in the communities they serve.”
The group’s community-facing programs supplied much of the color to the awards haul.
The Philippine International Pyromusical Competition won Gold for Brand Experience of the Year, while the Find Your SM campaign received Silver in the same category.
SM Green Movement earned Silver for corporate social responsibility, while SM Cares Coastal Cleanup and SM Cares: A Mall for All won Silver awards for environmental action and diversity and inclusion.
The SM Cares Book Nook received Bronze for Most Innovative Creative Project, turning mall space into reading corners where people can discover, exchange, and enjoy books.
SM Mindanao Art also won Bronze for community engagement, giving Mindanaoan artists and their work a wider public audience.
“People experience a mall through the things they do there, not through what we say about it,” said SM Supermalls President Steven T. Tan.
And that may be the bigger takeaway. The mall, for SM, is no longer simply where people shop. It can also be where they read, see art, celebrate culture, join environmental efforts, and find more inclusive spaces.
More than 300 business professionals took part in two months of judging for the 23rd International Business Awards, with winners determined based on average scores.
