Thai corporates need to step up sustainable supply chain network

Thais and corporate citizens need to build resiliency, efficiency, and competitiveness to achieve sustainable supply chain management and network, according to Setha Thavisri, Direct Material Procurement Director, Pan International (Thailand).   Pan International is an integrated and centralized procurement company under Thai Bev Group.

He told the seminar entitled ‘The future of sustainable supply chains: purpose and practicality’ at ASEAN’s largest SX Sustainability Expo 2022 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

To achieve such a goal and address the increasing impacts of climate change, Setha said  Thailand Supply Chain Network website was set up 3 years ago to educate, communicate, and connect all stakeholders including founding members, suppliers and partners, public organizations, regulatory bodies.   The founding members include Thai Bev Group, CPF Group, BJC, SCG Group, Global Chemicals,Thai Union Group, Srithai, Bangkok Bank, and TBC.

This network is aimed at exchanging knowledge on product procurement and distribution with use of digital technologies, innovation and showcases, financial services, other related services.   Those qualified SMEs can join the platform and benefit from the network as well.

Thai Bev Group with their 3,000+ local partners foresees the importance and incentives of driving sustainability in the long run as consumers behaviors have shifted towards more environmental friendly and sustainable development.   There are also government stimulus strategies and compliance requirements and global trend of BCG model which includes Bioeconomy, Circular economy, and Green economy, international standards on sustainability which are widely imposed and regulated.

Based on World Economic Forum’s The Global Risks Report  2022, environmental risks dominate concerns for both short term and long term perspectives.  Top 5 environment risks are climate action failure, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, natural resource crisis, and human-made environmental damage.

Climate action failure is also considered the most critical threat to the world with the highest potential to severely damage societies, economies and the planet.

Weenarin Lulitanonda, co-founder, Thailand Clean Air Network & Senior Consultant, World Bank said that PM2.5 air pollution is one of key climate action failures in Thailand which has been structural problem over the past years.   In fact, Weenarin said it is our human rights to breathe clean air which require the government’s obligation to take serious actions on this structural problem.

Weenarin said ThailandCan.com was set up recently to encourage and create public awareness and actions about environmental protection.  Latest campaign is to support the enactment of Clean Air Act Thailand with 3-color supporting papers of Clean Air White Paper (guides to fundamental problem of air pollution), Clean Air Blue Paper (insights on the impact of air pollution and its root cause), and Clean Air Green Paper (proposed solutions by experts to come up with clean air).

Sriprapha Petcharamesree, Ph.D, Advisor, Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol Universirty said most Thai companies do not have human rights due diligence (HRDD) process.  HRDD is to enable corporates to have a responsibility to respect human rights on labor protection and other issues.