SCG: 'Organization of Opportunities' Supporting People Power to Shine, Creating Green Innovations for a Low-Carbon Society

SCG has therefore created a space to establish an 'Organization of Opportunities' (Organization of Possibilities) to allow everyone—employees, partners, and people from all generations—to showcase their power and unleash their limitless passion, think outside the box, and learn through experimentation to develop green innovations that meet customer, societal, and environmental needs while fostering business growth. The various opportunities within SCG include:

1.) Opportunities to turn ideas into innovations such as enabling employees to become entrepreneurs through the internal startup project ‘ZERO TO ONE by SCG’, equipping them with skills and knowledge from understanding customers, identifying problems, developing products that meet customer needs, and expanding customer bases for exponential growth using tools like Design Thinking, Generative AI, and Data Analytics. Currently, over 800 participants are involved, with 100 startups in the program, including ‘Wake Up Waste’, a waste compression platform that reduces waste size for more efficient transportation, and ‘Dezpax’, Thailand's first comprehensive online packaging platform for restaurants, food delivery, and cafes. Additionally, the ‘SCG Young Talent Program’ nurtures new innovators from universities of all years and fields through a hands-on Bootcamp lasting 13 weeks to co-create digital innovations that respond to future trends, with over 850 young participants already involved. Furthermore, employees at all levels are encouraged to propose ideas for development, fostering a culture of openness and a desire to learn new things and improve themselves without being tied to past successes (Open & Challenge).

2.) Opportunities to develop world-class innovations by supporting internal research and collaborating with global experts, such as partnering with Norner AS, a plastic research and development center in Norway, and the University of Oxford in the UK to develop sustainable innovations and technologies. Additionally, collaborating with US startups like ‘Rondo Energy’ to develop advanced technology (Deep Technology) that transforms the low-carbon industry, such as heat storage batteries from clean energy.

And 3.) Opportunities to collaborate with all sectors, including government, private, and civil society networks, to unite efforts in creating a sustainable low-carbon society. For example, driving the ‘Saraburi Sandbox’ to establish Thailand's first low-carbon model city, steering the country towards Net Zero. In 2024, SCG has allocated a budget of over 10 billion baht for developing low-carbon production processes and green innovations.”

“The power of the ‘Organization of Opportunities’ enables SCG to create a variety of appealing green innovations by designing production processes that reduce carbon dioxide emissions while enhancing functionality that meets customer, societal, and environmental needs. For instance, transforming construction and living into a comprehensive green approach, from structural innovations to internal technology systems and decoration, constructing homes, buildings, and various projects with ‘low-carbon cement and concrete’ from ‘SCG Cement and Green Solutions’ that are environmentally friendly, strong, standardized, smooth, and durable, effectively addressing various eco-friendly projects, from large buildings to industrial estates and ports, even underwater projects, while enhancing living standards to be better and more planet-friendly.

Through ‘SCG Smart Living’ offering ‘complete construction materials’ that are beautifully designed, durable, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, certified by SCG Green Choice and carbon footprint labels, along with comprehensive energy efficiency technologies, from reducing energy use from air conditioning systems in buildings with ‘SCG Air Scrubber’ to generating clean energy for use in homes and buildings 24/7 with ‘SCG Solar Hybrid Solutions’, as well as new solutions like ‘Microgrid and Energy Storage System’ that optimize energy management by storing renewable energy from sunlight for use at different times of the day. Additionally, ‘SCG Decor’ is ready to provide comprehensive surface decoration and sanitary ware innovations, recently launching the ‘COTTO CLAY DECOR COLLECTION’ that absorbs heat well, keeping homes cool and saving energy, and the ‘GEO Series Faucet’ that uses a Non-Foundry Process production innovation, incorporating brass pipes into the design, significantly reducing energy consumption in molding and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by over 10%.

Enhancing user convenience and comfort for the planet with innovations from ‘SCGP’ that promote sustainability throughout the supply chain, from developing eucalyptus as a renewable resource to improving the efficiency of recycling paper into production processes, reducing carbon dioxide emissions through Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and increasing recyclable and reusable packaging options to meet usage needs. Additionally, focusing on developing innovations in new product categories such as medical equipment to align health consciousness with sustainability.

Meanwhile, ‘SCG Chemicals (SCGC)’ is focused on developing eco-friendly plastic innovations under the brand ‘SCGC GREEN POLYMER^TM’ while offering green solutions following the Low Waste, Low Carbon approach. They have expanded the production capacity of recycled plastics in Europe, including ‘Sirplaste’ in Portugal, increasing from 9,000 tons per year to 45,000 tons per year, and ‘Kras’ in the Netherlands, increasing from 9,000 tons per year to 18,000 tons per year, addressing the global demand for green innovations. In the region, they collaborate with business partners to make consumer products greener.

For example, partnering with HomePro to develop the first ‘eco-friendly appliances’ in Thailand by recycling plastics from used appliances for reuse. Additionally, collaborating with Braskem to produce ‘bio-plastic’ or Bio-Polyethylene, which shifts the use of raw materials from fossil fuels to bio-based materials with negative carbon emissions, and with Denka to produce ‘Acetylene Black’, an essential conductive material for EV batteries, aiming for Green Mobility. Furthermore, SCGC has developed cutting-edge innovations in collaboration with Avantium to ‘convert carbon dioxide into carbon-negative polymer’. SCGC is also venturing into industrial solutions to improve and solve issues in industrial plants under the brand ‘REPCO NEX’, delivering innovative and digital solutions for sustainability, such as renewable energy and smart manufacturing systems to enhance production efficiency while reducing resource use and carbon dioxide emissions.

For businesses aiming to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, ‘SCG Clean Energy’ helps overcome the limitations of using clean energy in the industrial sector, accelerating the transition with an intelligent clean energy trading platform ‘Smart Grid’ for easier access to solar energy, along with future innovations like ‘heat storage batteries from clean energy’ to replace fossil fuels for heating or steam in industrial production processes.

Additionally, ‘SCG JWD Logistics’ serves as a bridge connecting the low-carbon society, supporting customers and business partners in reducing carbon dioxide emissions in Scope 3 through logistics and supply chain services that utilize technology to manage logistics systems efficiently and environmentally friendly, such as the ‘Cold Chain Business’ using Automated Storage Retrieval Systems (ASRS) along with ‘Solar Roof’ systems to transform warehouses into energy-efficient facilities, reducing fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, there are other green logistics innovations such as ‘electric transport vehicles’, ‘intelligent route optimization systems (AI Route Optimization)’, and ‘automated guided vehicles (AGV & Robotics)’ that help create sustainability and enhance business competitiveness.”

“SCG has been able to advance green innovations to this day, with sales of eco-friendly innovations under SCG Green Choice accounting for 53% of total sales, aiming for 67% by 2030, thanks to the power of everyone. We are ready to continue supporting and inviting everyone to shine brightly to create a low-carbon society where people enjoy a good quality of life, economic growth, and a livable environment, allowing all sectors to participate in an Inclusive Green Growth approach,” Mr. Thammasak concluded.