SINGAPORE- Media OutReach – 7 October 2020 – A total of 81 projects and business leaders across Asia were selected as recipients of the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards 2020 (AREA), which was an increase of 27% from last year. Widely regarded as the gold standard for CSR and sustainability practice, this year’s award ceremony was organized virtually due to the unprecedented global healthcare crisis. A diversity of industries and leading organizations from all over the region received the AREA, demonstrating a continued dedication to responsible business practices despite the pandemic.
Organized by Enterprise Asia, the leading non-governmental organization for responsible entrepreneurship in Asia, the AREA aims to recognize and honor Asian businesses and leaders for championing sustainable and socially responsible business practices. The award categories are Social Empowerment, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Green Leadership, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership and Responsible Business Leadership. Through the award ceremony, this unique opportunity has provided over 600 attendees to interconnect and celebrate virtually.
Company Introduction
Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA)’s core business is to produce, procure, deliver, distribute, and provide electricity services for the public, businesses, and industries to meet customers’ needs and to create customers’ satisfaction in quality and service. In parallel with core business, PEA also takes of environment and quality of customer life by continuously developing corporate social responsibility project.
Scrap Woods for Wealth
Tree branches near power line have affected the PEA distribution system or caused power outage. One of PEA’s duties for protecting these problems is to always check branches along distribution line and cut them down before they make problem. This process causes lots of scrap woods. Therefore, PEA found the opportunity to develop and turn waste into wealth.
Tree branches, which were trimmed and cut down on ground unattended, made PEA the idea to transform and create new products on CSR project called “Scrap Woods for Wealth”. The goal of this project was to turn waste into wealth, instead of discarding them. PEA has researched and designed solutions that turn scrap woods to be beneficial and new products. Then, PEA has educated all know-how to the people in the local communities, so they can apply this knowledge into their careers.
Quality, Stability, Continuity, and Safety
The main mission of “Scrap Woods for Wealth” project was to deliver electricity to all consumers with high quality, stability, continuity, and safety. As the mention above, the tree branches have caused unstable electricity transmission so that PEA must often trim these tree branches and apply the scrap woods to create the new products, which equally benefited the communities.
PEA has used the surveys and interviews from local community to study the main problems and figure out the solutions of scrap woods for the community. After that PEA has engaged with the local community to make understanding and set the commitment together. Then, PEA has educated people in the community to create value or make a new product from scrap woods with a proper process and suitable for each community such as charcoal, fertilizer, furniture, and etc. Finally, PEA has transferred knowledge management by handling a work manual or process manual to them.
Achievements and Impact
PEA had reused and rebuilt scrap woods in each area more than 20 tons at present. Moreover, PEA has established new career opportunities in the communities by brainstorming and creating new products from scrap woods. This can generate income to communities by selling recycled scrap woods in proper product. In fact, this also helps PEA’s distribution system to avoid the disturbance from growing scrap woods.
Through this project, PEA has created connections with the communities as they are able to help monitor uncultivated of wood growth that might disturb the PEA distribution system. That makes the communities understands and looks after power line that may cause power outages by trimming the tree as this will help to deliver electricity to consumers with high quality, stability and safety.
Future Direction
PEA plans to scale up this project and cover all communities in Thailand by arranging courses to educate and provide the project manually. According to developing the scrap wood to a proper product can generate income for all communities, PEA plans to level-up products and quality by working with the designer to develop the modern product.
Moreover, PEA plans to expand a variety of product lines, work on marketing plans, coordinate with government departments and private sectors to launch selling channels. This will include tradeshow, exhibition, and distribution channels additionally including an online marketplace to expand more opportunities to promote and reach the product to more people.
About Enterprise Asia
Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization in pursuit of creating an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine towards sustainable and progressive economic and social development within a world of economic equality. Its two pillars of existence are investment in people and responsible entrepreneurship. Enterprise Asia works with governments, NGOs and other organizations to promote competitiveness and entrepreneurial development, in uplifting the economic status of people across Asia and in ensuring a legacy of hope, innovation and courage for the future generation.
About Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards
The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards program recognizes and honors Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in the categories of Green Leadership, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership and Responsible Business Leadership.
