Thai Union Group PCL, the world's leading seafood company, has demonstrated its commitment to Healthy Oceans by encouraging its employees from across Thailand, Europe, and Africa to volunteer for a global clean-up program on World Oceans Day, aimed at protecting the marine environment.
A total of 10,016 kilograms (10 tons) of trash were collected from 8 clean-up sites, including mangroves, beaches, and rivers in Thailand, Ghana, Portugal, Italy, and France. The most commonly collected items were plastic bags, plastic bottles, foam, old fishing gear, and cigarette butts.
This clean-up program was part of a global campaign led by the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS), of which Thai Union is a founding member, in collaboration with the Ocean Conservancy, with the aim of protecting the environment.
"As a global seafood company, the oceans are vital to our business," said Thai Union CEO Thiraphong Chansiri, who currently serves as the Chair of SeaBOS. "We recognise that ensuring the health of the oceans is not only crucial for the future of our business but also critical for the future of the planet. That is why we are deeply committed to clean-up events like this and will continue to expand our efforts."
In Thailand, 38 volunteers from Thai Union Group PCL and its subsidiaries, including i-Tail Corporation PCL, joined forces with 312 official offices, community groups, and educational institutions from the Samut Sakhon region, collecting 2,183 kilograms of trash in the mangrove forest.
In Ghana, 300 employees and members of the community united to clean the canoe landing beach and the surrounding area near the factory in Tema. They successfully collected 7.5 tons of trash and old fishing gear.
In Portugal, the company mobilised 40 volunteers who gathered 80 kilograms of trash at a beach in Peniche, where the factory is located. In Italy, Thai Union's Italian brand, Mareblu, partnered with their NGO ally Legambiente. Thirty volunteers cleared 17 kilograms of trash from the beach of Genova Sturla in Liguria. In France, Thai Union's teams from Petit Navire, MerAlliance, and Thai Union Europe organised four clean-ups with 59 volunteers, collecting 236 kilograms of trash from beaches and the Odet river near their factories in Brittany and around their commercial office in Paris.
"At Thai Union, we are firmly committed to ensuring Healthy Oceans, and we strive to implement actions that contribute to their well-being," said Adam Brennan, Group Director of Sustainability. "In addition to clean-up activities, we are also addressing the root of the problem. For the past five years, Thai Union has been working with the Global Ghost Gear Initiative to tackle the issue of abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear."
"In the coming month, Thai Union will announce even more initiatives to support ocean health as we launch the next phase of our SeaChange® sustainability strategy, which will include new commitments and goals through to 2030."
The collected trash during World Oceans Day was separated and data was collected following the International Coastal Cleanup guidelines. Recyclable items were processed by local waste handling companies, while non-recyclable items were taken by local waste management organisations. Since Thai Union joined the global coastal cleanup campaign with SeaBOS in 2021, Thai Union volunteers across various regions have collected a total of 14,135 kilograms of trash.
