Siam Cement Group has topped Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) building material and fixture sector for the first time, convincing SCG’s management that it is on the right business course.
“Our dedication to the sustainable-development [SD] principle reached another milestone when SCG achieved the gold-class level of the DJSI for four consecutive years,” said company president and CEO Kan Trakulhoon.
Last year, it was narrowly beaten to first place in the sector by Switzerland’s Holcim. DJSI is a benchmark indicating the sustainability of a businesses based on regulatory framework; investors’ benefits; balance of benefits among other stakeholders; and environmental impact.
Yesterday, the company hosted the Thailand Sustainable Development Symposium 2011 to share its knowledge with other Thai companies, in the belief that SD is a must as the environmental changes take a toll on the planet. To set an example, the event’s carbon footprint was measured, amounting to 76,602 kg of CO2, which was about 10,000 kg lower than similar events attracting 600 participants, thanks to a requirement that suits not be worn.
Kan assured participants that despite the higher investments required, SD’s returns would be higher in the long run. SCG’s eco-value products, which require green materials and a green manufacturing process, demand higher investment, but when they are produced as mass products, the margins could rise and benefit all parties, he said. Now, eco-value products generate over 10 per cent of the group’s sales revenue.
Pramote Techasupatkul, president of SCG Cement and chairman of the SCG Sustainable Development Committee, said that each year the group is committed to invest Bt1 billion to address environmental problems, while 20 per cent of new investment is allocated to the area.
“We aim to be the leader in spreading awareness in the region,” Kan told attending media including reporters from Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
This year, SCG expects sales revenue to grow by 20-25 per cent from 2010 despite a sales drop in its cement and building material businesses due to the floods, according to Kan. He noted that the floods this year has been more serious and lasted longer than those last year. Sales from the two sectors declined in the third quarter and this will pressure their second-half performance.
Source: The Nation
