November 18, 2019 – Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CP Foods) has stemmed toward sustainable packaging roadmap 2020 throughout the supply chain focusing on the use of reused plastic or recycle plastic or compostable both in Thailand and its overseas operations.
Mr. Wuthichai Sithipreedanant, Senior Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development of CP Foods, said the company has put in place on plastic waste management both in the operation and environment in line with international standard. This aims to ensure business growth of the company and the Kingdom’s economy base on “Circular Economy”. The company also concentrates on selected material, packaging design, as well as concerned innovation and technology throughout life cycle of the product with the most efficient use of resources. This is to reduce waste and pollution throughout the process of product and services.
CP Foods has drawn up a 10-year Sustainable Packaging Roadmap during 2015-2025, which is the operation guidelines to smooth proceeding, in line with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals principles. The roadmap has targeted 100% of the company’s plastic packaging will be reusable, recyclable, upcyclable or compostable by 2025 for Thailand operations and the overseas operation by 2030.
Under the roadmap, the company’s packaging both from paper and plastic have to concern on Optimized Design, Standardization and Harmonization. Almost packaging have to come from compostable materials. The company has most concerned on maximizing efficient use of the materials and food safety which less impacts to environment.
Moreover, the company has not only concentrated on packaging designs but also most concerned on food safety and alleviate environmental impacts. To do so, they have focused on four areas including physical, biological and chemical prevention, not damage foods and reduce energy loss in transportation, functional, safe, easy manage through 3R’s practices (reduce, reuse, recycle) and compostable that match with the product by using compostable materials while increasing more recyclable substances to reduce landfill.
“In 2018, packaging of CP Foods’ in all food products have contained recyclable plastic as high as 99% which reduce materials both paper, plastic and others by 377 tonnes and targeted to achieve 600 tonnes next year,” said Mr. Wuthichai.
At present, CP Foods’ business units including Five Star grilled chicken, Star Coffee and CP Freshmart have gathered toward the Sustainable Sourcing Policy and Supplier Guiding Principle by undertaking more bio-plastic and paper. The Five Star grilled chicken uses paper box to replace plastic bag, Star Coffee launches bio-plastic containers such as cup, straw and lid at its prototype ECO-HOUSE shop to ensure 100% compostable.
Latest, CP Freshmart has joined hand with GEPP, a Thai-based start-up business who expertizes on waste system management, to establish community model for plastic recycle. This co-project aims to draw more collaboration of people in community to define waste plastic on the right way. All those plastic wastes bring to CP Freshmart shop will get fresh egg in return. Moreover, at the shop every Wednesday is a plastic bag free day to encourage customers help reduce single-use plastic.
The continued roadmap has resulted the company reduced plastic consumption of 27,000 tonnes which is equivalent to Green House Gas emissions reduction of 97,000 tonnes carbon dioxide.
