Thai Union Ranked No. 1 on Inaugural Seafood Stewardship Index for Contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goals

23 October 2019, BANGKOK – Thai Union Group PCL has been ranked number one on the inaugural Seafood Stewardship Index (SSI), which assessed the contribution of the world’s 30 largest seafood companies to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Thai Union topped the benchmark in three key areas, including:

• Governance and management of stewardship practices because of the detailed targets and robust reporting of its sustainability strategy, SeaChange®;
• Ecosystems, due to its individual and multi-stakeholder activities to improve fishing practices;
• Local communities, for promoting opportunities for local livelihood development.

The SSI, which was developed by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), said Thai Union also performed strongly in stewardship of the supply chain, specifically for traceability, sourcing and its environmental footprint. It noted the company’s strong commitment towards human and labor rights, although areas of improvement remain.

“Thai Union is incredibly proud to be ranked number one in the Seafood Stewardship Index, which reflects our commitment to building a more sustainable global seafood industry,” said Dr. Darian McBain, Thai Union’s Global Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability. “A culture that rewards transparency needs to be developed in the seafood industry, to both understand where the challenges currently are and also the solutions being put in place. Thai Union welcomes the focus that the SSI is bringing through the lens of transparency and continuous improvement.”

The SSI assessed the 30 largest seafood companies around the world, to understand how and to what extent they are contributing to the sustainable management of the oceans and coastal ecosystems and to the SDGs. The review also looked into how companies are implementing responsible social practices in all stages of the supply chain.

The SSI highlighted Thai Union’s performance across key areas, including:

• Governance and management of stewardship practices, for it’s SeaChange strategy including programs around Safe and Legal Labor, Responsible Sourcing, Responsible Operations and People and Communities, with numerous targets in each category;
• Stewardship of the supply chain, for encouraging consumers to use appropriate end-of-life options for its products, and its commitment to ensuring 100 percent of its branded packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025;
• Ecosystems, for its partnerships and active role in multi-stakeholder activities including Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) for tuna to reduce the impact on ecosystems;
• Local communities, for the development of strong activities and programs to support local communities where the company operates.

About Thai Union Group
Thai Union Group PCL is the world’s seafood leader bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for more than 40 years.
Today, Thai Union is regarded as the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 133.3 billion (US$ 4.1 billion) and a global workforce of over 47,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products.
The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch and Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, Bellotta and Marvo.
As a company committed to innovation and globally responsible behavior, Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). In 2015, Thai Union introduced its SeaChange® sustainability strategy. Find out more at seachangesustainability.org. Thai Union’s on-going work on sustainability issues was recognized in 2018 and 2019 by being ranked number one in the world in the Food Products Industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, achieving a 100th percentile ranking for total sustainability score. Thai Union has now been named to the DJSI for six consecutive years. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the third straight year in 2018.

Boundless Trade Opportunity: Promoting Thailand as a dream destination for Indian Weddings

For the past several years, more than 300 Indian couples have traveled to Thailand to get married. Each wedding participated by some 200-500 guests making the spending of each wedding set around 5-10 million baht, that’s an overall value of approximately 1.5 to 3 billion baht combined. Such extravagant spending makes Indian weddings a rising market for Thai entrepreneurs such as the tourism operator, event organizers, florist, shows and performers, producers of gift and souvenirs, costumes and accessories crafters, to the producer of kitchenwares, all set to capture this immense business opportunity.

Organized as part of the STYLE Bangkok October 2019 at the STYLE de Bangkok Hotel Showcase, located at Hall 102 of BITEC, the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce host the enriched seminar entitled “How to Create Products that meet the needs of a niche: Indian wedding”, joined by Mr. Panuwat Jantharajit, former Deputy Commercial Attaché/ Counsellor at Thai Trade Office New Delhi to share his experience in the Indian circle for more than four years.

Mr. Panuwat revealed that the key of success for Thai businessperson is knowledge and understanding of Indian beliefs and cultures which is different in each region. The traditions of an Indian wedding in particular has more details than The Thai weddings and anywhere else in the world.

Former Thai Trade Office New Delhi Deputy Commercial Attaché/ Counsellor added “From my experience working in the Indian community for four years, I found three things that is considered important for Indian people – birth, wedding, and funeral. Indians spend most of their money on the wedding. Unlike Thai or weddings elsewhere; Indian weddings is a traditional ceremony that last 3-7 days. Indian couples travel to Thailand mostly in January-March and October-November after the end of Buddhist Lent which is similar to Thai.

“Indian love the hospitality of Thai peoples as well as our kind gesture. Indian people not only consider price of the goods they purchase but the value of the product. If they see value for family and their loved ones, they are rather happy to pay. So, this is a business opportunity to offer them products that have high value and are meaningful.”

Weddings play a big part in Indian lives as it’s not just a marriage of two person but of the two families. A wedding is also a symbol of a life transition to the householder status which is a second phase of life. Indian weddings feature a number of ceremonies and rituals, plus a series of entertainment and activities to bond the two families together.

A wedding will last anywhere from 3-7 days with 200-500 guests. Typically, the budget starts at 4 million baht up to 10 million baht and approximately 10-15 million baht on each wedding. Therefore, an Indian wedding is a high potential market and is continues to expand. With the support of the Thai Indian Wedding Association and experienced wedding organizers; weddings are planned in dream destinations across Thailand such as Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Pattaya, and Krabi.

Mr. Panuwat further stated that Indians with high incomes will rent an airplane just to get married in Thailand. Indian weddings are usually participated by an average of 400-500 guests spending around 5-10 million baht making the Indian wedding business that generate some 1.5-3 billion baht of revenue per year.

“This is an ample opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs to craft to the needs of Indian wedding couples, the key is Indian-style with something sparkling. They want quality and value as much as when they are in their homeland.

Indians choose Thailand as their wedding destination for several reasons – quality, pricing and variety of exciting venues. The choice of five-star hotels in India is limited and the cost of organizing the wedding is rather high. In addition, travelling to Thailand from New Delhi is convenient with only a 4 hour flight time similar to travel from New Delhi to Mumbai.

Furthermore, Thailand has its own character and intricacy with comes to weddings. The beautiful scenery makes the wedding romantic and it benefits the type of Indian wedding that is extravagant and colourful. Thai wedding organizers can offer what Indian customers want, something extraordinary, delicate decorations, and the adjustable style of wedding.

Besides, Thailand is globally-recognized as a shopping heaven. After the wedding concludes, couples and their families can enjoy some shopping and travel. Statistics show that Indians spend 25 percent of their expenses on shopping, a double from normal tourists.

Trends of Indian Weddings is just one seminar of all exciting seminars, organized as part of STYLE Bangkok October 2019 at BITEC Bangna until 21 October 2019.

19 October 2019
- Material Solution by Mr.Junya Kitagawara, Japanese expert.
- “Future Trend 2020” by Mr. Kriya Bilyala, Trend Analyzer and Global Trend Analysis Project Manager, Creative Economy Agency (Public Organization).

20 October 2019
Techniques for Developing Lifestyle Products for Tourists by Mr. Songpol Nenkanthi, Brand Strategist and Mr. Dusadi Boonchaisri, Founder and Creative Director of Nonnormative

21 October 2019
- “Green Purchasing” by Mr. Anthony La Capara, Senior Vice President – Project EMMA Design & Construction, Singha Estate Public Company Limited

For more information, visit www.stylebangkokfair.com or dial DITP Call Center at 1169.

Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Coke Haad Thip with Fun Festival, “Koh Sawat Haad Thip”

Featuring Free concerts, Southern Thai cuisine, and Fun-filled 

Activities during November 23-24 at centralwOrld 

To thank its business partners and consumers for their constant support over the past 50 years, Haad Thip Public Company Limited, a Thailand-based company licensed to bottle and distribute Coca-Cola products to 14 southern provinces of Thailand, celebrates its five full decades of Coke Haad Thip with “Koh Sawat Haad Thip Festival”, the first-ever festival of fun with an ambiance of the southern sea.

Koh Sawat Haad Thip Festival will bring together famous artists from different music genres - pop, hip hop, dance, rock and folk, to spread happiness to everyone with two full days of free concerts throughout the weekend. Participants can also enjoy fun games and bring home cool prizes, as well as join an auction for hand-drawn T-shirts by 50 famous artists and celebrities to support children with cleft lip and cleft palate. Don’t miss delicious southern Thai cuisine amidst a southern island atmosphere right in the middle of the city. The festival will take place during November 23-24 at centralwOrld Square, centralwOrld. The press conference for the 50th anniversary celebration will take place on October 21, 2019 at Central Court (glass lift), 1st floor of centralwOrld. 

Maj. Gen. Patchara Rattakul, Chief Executive Officer of Haad Thip Public Company Limited, a leader of bottled soft drinks in southern Thailand, talks about celebrating the company’s five full decades of steady growth and contribution to the growth of society and communities in 14 southern provinces in which the company is operating to improve the quality of life, economy, society and environment sustainably.

“As the leader of the non alcoholic beverage leader in the South focusing on sustainable development, we have transformed our organization using technology and innovations to strengthen our competitiveness through this digital transformation era. Meanwhile, we still focus on our social responsibility and we are committed to minimising our impact on the environment alongside strengthening our business.

Over the past 50 years, Haad Thip has played a role in helping communities in the South through education, sports, charity and public services. We’ve also improved the quality of life and the environment through more than 125,000 projects that we support or organise. Today, we recognise the urgent need for protecting and restoring the environment, as it has a direct impact on the people's quality of life and the future of the country's economy.

Our company supports and encourages all departments to utilise energy efficiently to tackle climate change. We use solar energy where electricity is generated from the plant's rooftop to run some of our production, whilst using LGV and NGV for transport and distribution. Additionally, we keep track of our carbon footprint and calculate our greenhouse gas emission in order to effectively reduce it.

To solve water shortage, our company initiated Raknam Project in 2007 to conserve and manage water resources sustainably. We are able to return water to communities and nature more than 100% of the water used in our beverage production. We work with communities to build check dams and mountain irrigation systems. To tackle waste problem, Haad Thip has utilised environment-friendly innovations in our Namthip water packaging, thereby reducing the use of plastic by 35% while making sure it’s 100% recyclable. Namthip’s new PET bottles are engineered to compress when twisted so it takes up less space. We also set up Marine Camp Project together with Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and Reef Guardian Thailand to tackle marine and beach waste. We also have a nursery for coral reefs to create a better home for marine animals and protect the shores.

We’ve also shown strong commitment in helping young footballers achieve their dreams through a project that we’ve continued for a long time. Footballers from Coke Cup and Haad Thip Youth Cup have a chance to pursue their dreams of becoming professional and national players. Their success also inspires Thai youth in the South to play sports and become professional players.

Thanks to our commitment in Environment Social and Governance or ESG, this year, our company was assessed by the SET after being chosen to be among the 79 listed companies for Thailand Sustainability Investment (THSI) list for 2018.

Over the past 50 years, we’ve always kept in mind that Haad Thip is located in the South, and over 80% of our employees are southern Thais. We do everything we can for southern Thailand, and this is why Haad Thip is whole-heartedly trusted by southern Thais. We can proudly say that Haad Thip is part of southern Thailand.”

He also talks about the objective of this festival. “Although Haad Thip’s business is in 14 southern provinces, we’ve been offering freshness to everyone who visits our home. On this occasion, Haad Thip employees and I would like to present a festival with southern charms to bring happiness to everyone in Bangkok, which is the center of Thailand, as a token of appreciation for their support over the past five decades. We bring happiness through music and famous artists from the past to the present to offer memorable entertainment throughout the two days of the festival. There will be cool photo corners depicting Haad Thip paradise island, with a giant Coke truck and beautiful sea views, for everyone to enjoy. Indulge in delicious southern dishes right here in Bangkok from famous eateries such as Tao Khua Jeh Eng, Pa Mol Egg Cake from Had Yai, Khao Tom Haeng Ko Ben from Phuket, and many others. Take part in ultra fun free concerts, starting on November 23 with Carabao, “Poo” Pongsit Kampee, Jenny and Lily, PARADOX, “Mos” Patipan Pataweekarn, Nuvo, New Jew, and TWOPEE. On November 24, enjoy fun music from MAITRI, Ammy THE BOTTOM BLUES, THE KEYLOOKZ,

“Ben” Chalatis, Tata Young, Christina Aguilar, “Jay” Jetrin Wattanasin, Modern Dog and Thaitanium with Wonderframe as a special guest.

On this special occasion, more than 50 actors such as “Aff” Taksaorn Paksukcharern, “Cheer” Thikamporn Ritta-apinan, “Pae” Arak Amornsupasiri, Janesuda Parnto, Aerin Yuktadatta, “Woonsen” Virithipa Pakdeeprasong, Janie Allapach Na Pombhejara, Puri Hiranprueck, and more. Proceeds from the auction will go to benefit The Princess Mother's 100th Year Honoured Fund, Faculty of Dentistry, Prince of Songkla University, to provide treatment for patients with cleft lip and cleft palate for better quality of life.

Get the latest updates and join the fun at “Koh Sawat Haad Thip Festival” during November 23-24 at centralwOrld Square, centralwOrld. Visit Facebook: Coke Haadthip and Instagram: Cocacola_haadthip.

Coca-Cola business in Thailand consists of Coca-Cola (Thailand) Limited as the brand owner looking after marketing activities, and two partner companies which manufacture and distribute the products under Coca-Cola (Thailand), namely Coca-Cola, Coke No Sugar, Coke Light, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, A&W Root Beer, Minute Maid Splash, Minute Maid Pulpy, Fuze Tea, and Namthip drinking water. The two partner companies are Haad Thip Public Company Limited, overseeing 14 Southern provinces in Thailand (from Chumporn and below) and Thai Namthip Limited, overseeing the other 62 provinces nationwide.

NIA is proud to present "Bangkok - Vienna Innovation District Exhibition" To celebrate 150th Thai-Austrian Diplomatic Relations

National Innovation Agency (Public Organization) or NIA, in collaboration with the Royal Thai Embassy in Vienna and City of Vienna, organized "Bangkok - Vienna Innovation District Exhibition" on October 6th-17th, 2019 at Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall, Bangkok, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Austria. They aim to expand the network in smart city development in Thailand and Austria in order to share knowledge, and increase the movements on area-based innovation.

Dr. Pun-Arj Chairatana, NIA Executive Director said, "NIA, the Royal Thai Embassy in Vienna and the City of Vienna have been working together in several dimensions, especially in building the knowledge network in innovation district development continuously. Recently, it was a pleasure to have experts from the City of Vienna as lecturers in Chief City Innovation Officer Program (CCIO).”

“NIA has initiated and developed the innovation districts with the mission to create a suitable ecosystem for national innovation development. We started in Bangkok which is an important economic center with a potential to create innovative development. Now, it becomes one of the most important investment destinations in Asia. NIA is now developing 7 innovation districts which are Rattanakosin Innovation District, Yothi Medical Innovation District, Pathumwan Innovation District, Khlong San Innovation District, Kluaynamthai Innovation District, Bangkok CyberTech District, ​​and Lat Krabang Innovation District. These districts will be connected to be Bangkok Innovation Corridor, in order to create a new economic route of the city. The area has be a mixed-use area, which means the area is an open space to exchange ideas and motivate the target group to create an innovative business. In addition, the important thing is to connect the database of all 7 innovation districts which must be easy to access and easy to make investment decisions. The data must show all 3 aspects which consists of 1. Physical assets: location, types, and transportation. 2. Economic assets: sector and startup in the area information. 3. Network asset: funding agencies and knowledge exchange. This platform will help us to understand and recognize area’s characteristics and distinctive points."

This exhibition consists of the showcase of Innovation districts of Bangkok and Vienna, The Bangkok Innovation Districts book launch, which combines ideas, opportunities, and images of future changes in the development of the innovation districts in 6 innovation districts (Rattanakosin Innovation District, Yothi Medical Innovation District, Pathumwan Innovation District, Khlong San Innovation District, Kluaynamthai Innovation District, ​​and Lat Krabang Innovation District), and the City of Innovation book launch, which is a photo book of "One Shot Knockout: Innovation District" competition. The pictures show different innovative styles in various districts captured by amateur and professional photographers who have been to the 7 Innovation Districts (Yothi Medical Innovation, Pathumwan Innovation District, Rattanakosin Innovation District, Pattaya City, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Khon Kaen). Lastly, there are also the exhibition tours in Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall which show the evolution of the way of life of Thai people.