OR takes the next step of its green and sustainability journey with tangible achievements through its unique SDGs ambition

BANGKOK, Dec. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc. (OR), Thailand's leading oil and retail company, the aspiration for sustainable growth develops from the belief that a business of the future should grow alongside its consumers and the environment. Led by the vision of "Empowering All toward Inclusive Growth" OR seeks to promote opportunities for all while striving to build an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet.

OR integrates green and sustainability standards throughout its operations across the company's mobility and lifestyle ecosystem in compliance with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in OR's way in the following manners:

The S (Small) reflects the way OR operates businesses while simultaneously elevating the quality of life at a microeconomic scale with a strong emphasis on fostering cordial relationships and participating in community and social development, with several ongoing concrete projects, as follows: 

• Thaidet project is initiated with the goal of developing and expanding commercial distribution channels of a variety of good products as well as creating opportunity for Thai farmers, community enterprises, and SMEs entrepreneurs across the country to generate more income and grow their businesses in a sustainable way. So far, the project has supported over 300 small businesses from all over Thailand to sell their iconic local, community-made, eco-friendly products to consumers and visitors at PTT Station countrywide.
• Café Amazon for Chance program seeks to develop careers for the underprivileged by hiring deaf individuals, senior citizens, veterans and vulnerable groups of people as baristas and providing them with steady income. OR sets goal to implement Café Amazon for Chance project in 500 operational branches of the coffee house chain across Asia Pacific by 2027. As of May 2023, there are 273 Café Amazon for Chance branches in Thailand, and one in Cambodia, creating jobs for 227 people. Two more Café Amazon for Chance branches will be launched in Cambodia by end of the year.
• Term Suk Market Project at PTT Station provides a free space for farmers and local residents to sell their produce and community products. Similarly, Asa San Suk project aims at easing the cost-of-living burden by offering free motorcycle oil change for local people living in surrounding communities of OR's operating facilities in 17 provinces across Thailand.

In the D (Diversified) perspective, OR joins hands with business partners to invest in a wide range of businesses, leveraging each other's strengths to foster inclusive growth. The company seeks to invest in businesses of all sizes, as well as startups in Thailand and Southeast Asia to capture new opportunities related to mobility and various lifestyles sectors such as food and beverage (F&B), travel, health, and wellness. Some high-potential partners include popular F&B chains, and online platforms for food supply chain, health and wellness service booking and consumer electronics technology and innovation.

Lastly the G (Green) is self-explanatory: OR encourages every business to become green in support of a low-carbon society. The ultimate goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and net zero by 2050. One remarkable ambition is to build a robust EV Ecosystem by the expansion of EV Station PluZ inside and outside PTT Station network on all major highways and in commercial districts nationwide. 7,000 chargers at the EV Station PluZ nationwide are targeted to be installed by 2030.

Likewise, Café Amazon is an exemplary green business as seen through its sustainable coffee journey from farm to cup. With aim to promote sustainable growth, the coffeehouse enhances the well-being of our society by purchasing raw materials from domestic sources, thus assisting the hilltribe farmers and providing them with a better way of life, adopt resource efficiency and environmental protection practices throughout its production and operation processes, as well as boosting financial circulation within the country and creating an interdependent lifestyle, from upstream all the way to downstream. OR also supports the use of renewable energy at its roasting plant with solar roof installation.

In 2023 OR established a sustainable coffee farming project in Mae Chaem District, Chiangmai to support hilltribe farmers to create a sustainable source of income from coffee harvesting while positively contributing to land use efficiency, green space expansion as well as healthy natural environment in hilly areas.

Café Amazon also has proactive waste to value approach in place, with initiatives such as Café Amazon Circular Living project which contributes to a circular economy by upcycling products used in Café Amazon outlets and roasting plants by turning them into uniform for baristas and furniture used in the coffee chain across Thailand, while Café Amazon Go Green campaign focuses on using eco-friendly and biodegradable products, such as bio straws, bio cups for hot beverages, and PET cups for cold beverages, the last of which can be upcycled into other products and furniture, as well as switching from plastic bags to paper bags.

Meanwhile, Low Carbon Business Area Model at flagship PTT Station comes installed with EV Station PluZ chargers to support growing e-mobility transition and enhance OR's EV ecosystem, as well as solar roofs, composting system that converts organic waste into organic fertilizer, and wastewater treatment system that recycles wastewater to be used for plant watering.

Another initiative Yak Lak Yim School Camp aims at promoting sustainable forms of waste management among the younger generations to reduce our combined carbon footprint.

OR's prominence as a leading sustainable energy company has received both international and national recognition, such as being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) by S&P Global Ratings in the retailing industry group, being named the Sustainability Model Organization in the Thai capital market in the Outstanding Support for People with Disabilities category in 2022, as well as receiving the 2022 Rising Star Sustainability Award from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in the Sustainability Excellence category. Most recently, the company is included in the SET ESG Ratings 2023 (previously known as Thailand Sustainability Investment List or THSI) for the 2^nd consecutive year, with this year being ranked with a highest-level "AAA" ESG rating, and SET Awards 2023: Best Sustainability Awards. 

All these successes affirm OR's emphasis on sustainable business operations determination to develop the organization towards sustainable growth in line with OR SDG and ESG guidelines and create value for all stakeholders, society, communities, and the environment.