Thai Union volunteers remove over 11 tons of ocean-bound trash for World Oceans Day
BANGKOK – June 10, 2024 – More than 470 Thai Union Group employees from Thailand, the U.S., Africa, and Europe united for World Oceans Day to collect trash in their local communities, advancing the Company’s commitment to divert 1,500 tons of ocean-bound plastic from entering waterways and oceans by 2030.
Volunteers from nine locations across four continents joined in on the clean-up efforts.
The Thai Union teams collected a total of 11,036 kilograms of trash from nine clean-up sites including mangroves, rivers, beaches, and cities in Thailand, two sites in the U.S., Ghana, the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, France, and Italy. Among the most common items collected were plastic bags, plastic bottles, foam, old fishing gear, and over 10,000 cigarette butts.
“As a global seafood company, protecting the ecosystems we operate in is fundamental to our purpose,” said Thai Union CEO Thiraphong Chansiri. “Our business depends on healthy oceans and thriving ecosystems, which is why we have committed to the broadest-reaching sustainability plan in the industry. Our aggressive goals impact the entire seafood value chain on a global scale but being a responsible community member is equally vital to us. We have four more clean-up events planned and will continue these efforts year-round.”
In Thailand, 26 volunteers from Thai Union Group, Thai Union Manufacturing, Okeanos Food and Thai Union Feedmill, along with 224 volunteers from local organizations and four local schools joined the effort, collecting 2,237 kilograms of trash at the Mangrove Forest Research Center in the Samut Sakhon region.
In the U.S., 47 volunteers collected 65 kilograms across two locations. The teams organized their clean-ups near one of their commercial offices in Los Angeles, California, at the Manhattan Beach Roundhouse Aquarium, and near their manufacturing facility in Lyons, Georgia, at the Bullard Creek Wildlife Management Area Hazlehurst.
In Ghana, where Thai Union operates Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC), 97 employees as well as members from partner organizations and the community came together to clean the canoe landing beach and the surrounding area close to the PFC factory in Tema. They collected 8,600 kilograms of trash and old fishing gear. PFC also ran blood donations for the Tema General Hospital.
In Europe, 77 volunteers from Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, France, and Italy cleared 134 kilograms of trash from urban areas, rivers, and beaches.
“100 percent of our branded products will be in sustainable packaging by 2025, eliminating non-recyclable plastic from our brands. We also advocate for at least 60 percent of private label products to be in sustainable packaging,” said Adam Brennan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Thai Union. “We are addressing plastic on multiple fronts: within our operations, through our Global Ghost Gear Initiative partnership to recover and repurpose abandoned fishing gear, and through major collaborations to divert 1,500 tons of plastic from our oceans by 2030.”
The trash collected on World Oceans Day was sorted and recorded following International Coastal Cleanup guidelines. Recyclable items were processed by local waste handling companies, while non-recyclables were managed by local waste organizations.
Since Thai Union began its global cleanup campaigns, volunteers worldwide have collected 25,171 kilograms of trash.
###
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 47 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 136.2 billion (US$ 3,912 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, Hawesta, 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.
With a commitment to “Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans,” Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, a founding participating company of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), and current Chair of Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS).
Thai Union's ongoing leadership in sustainability has been taken to the next level with the announcement of SeaChange® 2030, the Company’s expanded sustainability strategy with more ambitious goals for people and planet. Through SeaChange®, the Company was recognized and listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the 10th consecutive year in 2023, ranked number one on the Seafood Stewardship Index (SSI) for the third consecutive time, listed in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook 2024, achieved a B rating from global environmental disclosure non-profit CDP, and was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the eighth straight year in 2023. Find out more about the Group’s sustainability strategy at seachangesustainability.org