BGC vows packaging innovations with focus on sustainability

The move is part of the company's strategy to prioritise sustainability as a major theme to drive its growth going forward, Silparat Watthanakasetr, BGC's chief executive officer, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Amid growing global concern about climate change, BGC's CEO believes that his company's sustainability packaging will be well received in both the domestic and international markets.

Sustainability will be a buzzword to help BGC achieve its 25-billion-baht sales target over the next three years, he said.

Still, he pointed out that the strategy will direct the company to increase its own production capacity as well as further expansion through mergers and acquisitions with related direct and indirect packaging businesses.

"We set our investment budget at around 2 billion baht per year to improve our productivity and merging. We will also keep our eyes on the international market, particularly our neighbouring countries [Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar],” he said, adding that he expected to increase export revenue from 12% to 15% by 2026.

The method would help BGC become a complete total solutions provider for sustainable packaging that could meet all market demands, he said.

Meanwhile, he added that innovation is also present in the management and production processes, as BGC consumes less energy, emits less carbon, and has higher productivity.

"We already have a Technology and Innovation Center, along with researchers and expert teams, to explore and develop new innovation packaging that can meet our clients’ and partners’ demand in both commercial and environmental," he explained.

Besides, as BGC aims to support the Thai government in driving the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy model, the company will prioritise three dimensions: innovation and technology for sustainable development, the most cost-effective management of natural resources and the environment, and net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

He described sustainability as a necessary method for running a business in the long run while having less impact on the environment and the planet.

"Innovation will propel us forward, and sustainability will keep us stable," he noted adding that the more sustainable the globe, the more sustainable the business.

Silparat then discussed how innovations and technology have aided BGC in developing new types of packaging such as the lightweight bottle, fluorescent label, recycled plastic bottle (rPET), and Midlock, a parcel box that does not require tape to seal.

Sustainable and recyclable packaging products would be more visible from BGC, he said, pointing out that these methods would meet the company's goal of reducing raw material use, making the most of products, and increasing the possibility of recycling.

"It's because we can't find a better material for packaging production than what we have now, like plastic. As a result, BGC will make every package worth producing, using, and recycling as much as possible," he said, emphasising that sustainability is a key development in the packaging industry that BGC would continue to focus on.

However, the issue is also a challenge that the company must overcome.

"To achieve the goal of sustainable packaging, the right innovation is required to reduce material and energy costs, as well as overall production costs. Since sustainable package production is still in its early stages. Furthermore, the recycled process in Thailand has been developing but may take time ," Silparat explained.

Although the sustainability strategy is painfully expensive and difficult, Silparat insisted on moving forward with it because he believes that the green packaging solution will eventually arrive and that the company only needs to take the first step to make it happen.