MANILA, Philippines—For advocating sustainable green business practices in the company’s operations, SM Prime Holdings and SM Investment Corp. First Executive Vice President, Hans Sy, earned the nod as one of the 14 People of the Year awardees given annually by Stargate’s People Asia magazine.

Sy received the accolade from PeopleAsia publisher Babe Romualdez and Senator Grace Poe during ceremonies held recently at the New World Hotel in Makati City.

Being the first Filipino representative for the Private Sector Advisory Group of UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, he was recognized for advocating the “importance of disaster resilience and in providing opportunities and assistance to disaster-stricken areas.”

The award-giving body noted SM Group’s past relief efforts in Tacloban City after Typhoon Yolanda and Bohol after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the island-province. Sy initiated the donation of 1,000 disaster-resilient houses to affected families in the cities of Tacloban, Cebu, Iloilo and Ormoc.

The project is set to be completed in July 2015.

“Quite frankly, 1,000 units are not enough with the damage I saw. But again, I’m not the type who will get discouraged,” said Sy in an interview with PeopleAsia. “But again, I’m not the type who will be discouraged. I just went on with the project and I believe it has also influenced other companies to do the same.”

In November 2014, Sy hosted the largest solar installation in the Philippines consisting of 5,760 solar panels atop SM City North Edsa’s multi-level car park.

“People of the Year” is an annual award given out by PeopleAsia magazine to individuals who have “left an indelible mark through their contributions in business, leadership, advocacies and entertainment, among others.”

Sy was featured PeopleAsia’s 15th anniversary issue, released December 2014. ADVT