Bangkok. For the first time of cooperation between four of Thailand’s leading organisations – BMW Group Thailand, the Chaipattana Foundation, Microsoft Thailand and SCG, the ‘Choice is Yours’ programme is to encourage and support Thai university students to leverage their capabilities in designing sustainable concepts that can lead to positive impacts on the environment and society.
The programme has been organised to support and broaden the horizons of the younger generation on sustainable environmental protection. Participating students can explore through hands-on project development – which can be implemented in daily life. The Choice is Yours programme encourages university students of all faculties to submit their applications with projects focusing in four areas: REduce with BMW Group Thailand, REuse with the Chaipattana Foundation, REthink with Microsoft Thailand and REcycle with SCG. In this regard, experts from the four organisations will support as consultants and a committee throughout the programme. The application period starts on 29th June 2022, the qualifying teams will be announced on 5th August 2022 and the winning team will be announced in November 2022. The winning team will receive the opportunity to undertake an internship with the organisation whose expertise lays in each area.
The objective of the Choice is Yours programme is fully in line with the goal of the Paris Agreement i.e. to limit global warming to not exceed 1.5˚C compared to pre-industrial levels and promote the concept of sustainability, with ideas to:
- REduce with BMW Group Thailand ‘Minimise for More’ – to minimise the use and consumption of relevant materials and resources to make a change, aiming to yield less rubbish, pollution, and waste for more sustainable natural resource conservation.
- REuse with the Chaipattana Foundation Reusing resources to its fullest value and benefit in order to efficiently preserve them, for example, extending product life cycle by reusing or modifying existing and local resources while still maintaining its original value.
- REthink with Microsoft To integrate and implement technology to adjust or develop creativity that promotes sustainability and understanding of environmental impacts. This idea will also drive change at all levels: individuals, organisations, and society.
- REcycle with SCG To bring used resources back to life by undergoing processing. The main concept that differentiates Recycling from Reuse is to manage the waste or leftover materials that would have become rubbish for processing and improving the quality. The quality of the processed resource will be as efficient or almost as efficient as it was previously or even become a new material or a new product. However, the purpose of the use may also vary, creating new value for the resource and generating a sustainable circular resource.
In addition, the programme also promotes awareness of the ‘Circular Economy’, highlighting product and services designs that emphasize the most efficient use of natural resources by circulating materials and products while creating the smallest negative impact on the environment. Focus also lays upon the implementation of each programme as it can be used in daily life to generate a positive impact for a better future because: the Choice is Yours.
During the programme, the participants will join the workshop, consult with experts in each area and attend study trips at factories and operational units of BMW Group and partners. The winning team will receive the opportunity to do an internship with experts in each organisation, a certificate of participation and a project exhibition for the media and those interested during the events and activities.
Mr. Alexander Baraka, President and CEO, BMW Group Thailand, said: “BMW Group Thailand is pleased to be a part of the ‘Choice is Yours’ programme, whose goal is to support ideas on sustainable development amongst the young generation. The objective of the programme is in line with BMW’s commitment to sustainability under the zero-waste-to-landfill concept and carbon neutrality, especially for ‘REduce’ – reducing the use and consumption of natural resources. We believe that the knowledge shared, and skills acquired from the hands-on workshop with experts will equip the participants with experience and comprehensive knowledge for the development of many more projects and innovations in the future.”
Khun Bhakamol Rattaseri, Member and Deputy Treasurer, the Chaipattana Foundation, said: “Pat Pat shops have been given permission to use the royal seal granted by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in the marketing of our products, which comprise goods produced by our own projects as well as community and farmers’ produce in each locality. These products – including processed and handicraft goods – have been developed to be aesthetically outstanding, diverse, and reflect the true development objectives of the royal initiatives. Our products’ value and differentiation lie in the story and development guidelines, which has led to proud farmers and satisfied customers. One example of that pride is the reed products by ‘Friends Help Friends’ – the farmers’ group of royally bestowed 105 jasmine rice production in Surin province – who transformed their products from ordinary reed mats into beautiful and elegant reed furniture. With our expertise in bringing value to local products, we hope to see the next generation of young people expressing their creativity and expanding the REuse concept in other adaptations that lead to environmental and social sustainability in Thailand.”
Khun Chanikarn Pronanun, Deputy Managing Director – Marketing & Operations, Microsoft (Thailand) Limited, said: “We are more than excited to hear about the sustainability ideas from the young thinkers, and hope that this project will open doors to many participating students and allow them to learn about the vast opportunities of how technology can be used to drive sustainability. We hope that the project will bring inspiration and knowledge that makes their desired future possible as we believe good innovations play a part in empowering everyone, whether it is to invent new things or to ensure sustainability for our world – Microsoft aims to be carbon negative by 2030.”
Khun Yuttana Jiamtragan, Vice President – Corporate Administration, SCG, said: “SCG is pleased to become a part of this project with the specific focus on recycling, which is one of the main concepts for the Circular Economy that SCG has continuously emphasised. This goes in accordance with the SCG Circular Way, which highlights the most efficient use of resources throughout the process, starting from design, production, and up to recycling the remaining materials or waste to become new material again. There are several examples of this practice including recycling used paper boxes as paper field beds, bringing used plastic to the recycling process as a high-quality plastic, and recycling the remaining parts left from construction for new methods of use. Moreover, we are also committed to raising awareness amongst our employees on the efficient use of resources and proper waste sorting to make the most recyclable opportunities for the used resources. We are also expanding cooperation to the communities around factories, temples, schools, universities, and markets. These initiatives are part of our business operations, which underlines responsibility for society and the environment, in alignment with the Sustainable Development (SD) framework, which we leveraged to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), the development framework set as the global business standard, with ESG 4 Plus including 1. Set Net-Zero by 2050 2. Go Green 3. Reduce Inequality and 4. Enhance Collaboration under Trust Through Transparency. We are confident that this cooperation will encourage great ideas from the participating students for the development of projects and innovations leading to a sustainable planet for the next generation.”
Interested university students can lodge their application at https://forms.office.com/r/LyscnH6L7q together with the submission of an introduction video from 29 June to 22 July 2022. Details of the contest is available at https://www.bmw.co.th/en/discover/choice-is-yours.html. Twenty qualifying teams – five teams for each area, will be announced on 5 August 2022 on www.bmw.co.th and the announcement of the winning team will be made in November 2022.
Published on: Jul 1, 2022