Banpu Public Company Limited, a leading international versatile energy provider, established the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee to reinforce its commitment to pursuing sustainable business growth along with creating value and trust for stakeholders and the society, while striving to meet the future demand for more environmentally friendly, accessible, and smart energy driven by digital technologies in line with the world trend of 3Ds - Decarbonization, Decentralization, and Digitalization. Reinforced the standpoint to deliver "Smarter Energy for Sustainability" to all stakeholders, the Company also set business goals in line with the 7
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) most relevant to its business with focus on environmental issues, in particular on energy and greenhouse gases; social and economic development; and partnerships for the sustainability goals.
The ESG Committee is established to support the Board of Directors' ongoing commitment to ESG by fulfilling its oversight responsibilities regarding occupational health and safety, climate change, human rights, community, corporate social responsibility, etc. The committee is responsible for recommending relevant ESG strategy, overseeing the Company's policies, targets, practices, and performance with respect to ESG matters, reviewing and monitoring ESG risks, stakeholder engagement, overseeing the Company's official public disclosure in relation to ESG matters, as well as performing any other tasks along with the Company's management team to drive ESG operations to achieve goals with the highest efficiency.
Mr. Piriya Khempon - Chairman of the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee, Banpu Public Company Limited said, "ESG has long been acknowledged and deeply rooted in Banpu culture, as a company that has always embedded sustainability and social responsibility within its operations. The establishment of the ESG Committee reiterates the Company's commitment to have an oversight function in place and make the mission to achieve sustainability goals clearer and more concrete. More and more nations across the world are currently setting out new ESG regulations regarding various issues such as climate change, cybersecurity, disasters response, and human resources development. Therefore, the ESG Committee will represent Banpu's Board of Directors, acting as a radar in monitoring the ESG trends, and working closely with the management team to drive the organization in the right direction. The ESG Committee comprises independent directors which are professionals in various fields of knowledge and expertise. The committee members are well-positioned to express neutral and valuable views and opinions to the management team, working together for mutual support to achieve the balance between financial stability and ESG goals for the maximum benefits of the Company,
its shareholders as well as all stakeholders, both in the short-term and the long-term."
In its business portfolio transformation period, as a leading International Versatile Energy Provider, Banpu has constantly adhered to ESG principles and developed business preparedness to cope with the challenges of evolving world in the future. The Company established an operational framework focusing on issues in line with ESG directions and global short-term and long-term risk assessments. In the environmental (E) aspect, Banpu places importance on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water management, and air pollution management. In the social (S) aspect, the Company's focus areas are human resources management and capability development, occupational health and safety management, community relations and community development. And in the governance (G) aspect, Banpu addresses the issue of sustainable corporate governance, business ethics, business partner and contractor management, business continuity management, and data privacy and cybersecurity. Examples of concrete operations in these ESG areas are as follows:
- Environmental (E): Banpu initiated the Greener & Smarter strategy in response to climate change, aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in renewable and greener energy, and venturing into new businesses to meet future energy trends and demands. The Company targeted the EBITDA from greener energy and energy technology business to account for more than 50% of its portfolio by 2025. Banpu also conducts long-term biodiversity programs at the mine operations in Indonesia.
- Social (S): Banpu Heart corporate culture plays a crucial role in connecting multi-ethnic and intercultural employees in 10 countries the Company operates, uniting them as one to work together to achieve sustainability goals according to ESG principles. Several social responsibility programs were implemented to promote education and provide alleviative support to society and communities in times of crisis and disaster. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 occurred in Thailand, Banpu has partnered with Mitr Phol Group to establish "Mitr Phol - Banpu Solidarity to Aid Thailand on COVID-19 Confrontation Endowment" with a total fund of THB 1,000 million, to help people affected by the pandemic.
- Governance (G): Banpu has Incident Management Team (IMT) to manage crisis situations, ensure the effectiveness of safety and wellbeing of employees, and the continuity of business operations during the COVID-19 situation. Besides, Digital Center of Excellence (DCOE) unit was set up to drive Banpu toward digital transformation by leveraging cutting-edge digital innovation and technology across the organization, coupled with introducing the "Agile Working" concept to enhance productivity across all business units, leading to the development of new products and services that better meet the needs of both business (B2B), retail (B2C) and government (B2G) customers.
With continuing business operations adhering to ESG principles, Banpu has been recognized as one of the leaders in sustainability by leading organizations both nationally and internationally, namely, maintaining as a member of Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the seventh year consecutively; remaining the "Gold Class" in the Coal & Consumable Fuels sector of the SAM Sustainability Award 2021; as well as rated A (on a scale of AAA-CCC) in the MSCI, ESG Ratings assessment in 2019, and recently recognized as one of the top 100 Best Emerging Market Performers in the ranking assessment conducted by Vigeo Eiris (V.E), a part of Moody's ESG Solutions, as well as winning a Silver class in Asia's Best SDG Reporting from the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards 2020.
Banpu will continue to enhance its ESG commitment along with transition towards greener and smarter portfolio to the Greener & Smarter strategy while creating value and trust for all stakeholders with full responsibility to make the world and society a better place.