Thai Union volunteers in Thailand, Europe, Africa collect 1,800 kilograms (1.8 tons) of trash on World Oceans Day
BANGKOK – June 15, 2022 – Volunteers from Thai Union Group in Thailand, Europe and Africa last week joined a global coastal clean-up campaign to protect the environment while supporting the Company’s commitment to Healthy Oceans.
A total of 1,809 kilograms of trash was collected by Thai Union employees in Samut Sakhon province in Thailand, employees from Thai Union’s Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC) and members of the community in Tema, Ghana, and by Mareblu employees in Italy. Trash collected included plastic bags, plastic bottles, foam, cigarette buds and glass bottles.
The coastal clean-up was held on World Oceans Day on June 8 as part of a global campaign by the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) and Ocean Conservancy to protect the marine environment.
“The world’s oceans are the foundation of our business, so it is absolutely crucial that we do everything we can to protect this critical resource,” said Thai Union CEO Thiraphong Chansiri, who is also Vice Chair of SeaBOS. “Thai Union has a corporate goal of Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans, which is something we are guided by every day, and the incredible effort by our passionate employees during this coastal clean-up plays an important role in helping us achieve that goal.”
In Thailand, 51 volunteers from Thai Union Group PCL, Thai Union Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Okeanos Food Co., Ltd. and Pakfood Asia Co., Ltd., joined the clean-up effort, collecting trash from a local mangrove forest in Bang Ya Praek Sub-District along with 249 staff from the Samut Sakhon local government, the Samut Sakhon Natural Resources and Enviromental Protection Volunteer Network and the Children and Youth Council of Mueang Samut Sakhon.
In Italy, 15 Mareblu employees cleaned the Genova Voltri beach in Liguria and collected over 4,000 cigarette buds. In Tema, Ghana, 65 PFC employees and members of the community cleaned trash from the Canoe Basin, the Canoe Basin market and the fishing harbor. PFC also offered free medical and health screening for members of the community on World Oceans Day, a service that was visited by more than 180 people.
In Thailand, the trash collected was separated, with the recyclable items taken by a local waste separation company, and the non recyclable items taken by a local waste disposal company. In Italy and Ghana, local waste disposal managed the trash collected.
Plastic bags, glass bottles, foam, plastic bottles, rubber slippers, cigarette buds and other trash were the most common items picked up during the cleanups.
Caption: Proud Thai Union Group volunteers after collecting trash in the Bang Ya Praek Sub-District in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand.
Caption: Mareblu employees helped clean trash from Genova Voltri beach in Liguria.
Caption: Pioneer Food Cannery employees and members of the local community helped clean up areas around Canoe Basin, the Canoe Basin market and the fishing harbor.
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About Thai Union
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 45 years.
Today, Thai Union is regarded as one of the world’s leading seafood producers and is one of the largest producers of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 141.0 billion (US$ 4.5 billion) and a global workforce of more than 44,000 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, Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, OMG Meat, Bellotta and Marvo, and ingredient and supplement brands UniQ™BONE, UniQ™DHA and ZEAvita.
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 participating company 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 when the company was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the eighth consecutive year in 2021 and ranked number two in the world on the Food Products Industry Index. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the fifth straight year in 2020.