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Continue readingTG Celebrates ISCC PLUS and GRS Certificates Receival
Flexible Packaging Manufacturer Delivers Value as a Sustainability Advocator
Thong Guan Industries Berhad celebrates the acceptance of ISCC PLUS and GRS certifications with a small yet significant ceremony on Monday, the 7th of February 2022.
This highly anticipated milestone is very significant for the Thong Guan family.
Our sustainability efforts began over 20 years ago and subsequently the official opening of our recycling plant in September 2011.
Over the years, we have slowly but gradually increased our efforts in creating impact in this industry.
These certificates come in the wake of many recent initiatives and accomplishments, including:
- The launching of #LiveGreen, our green initiative programmes, in April 2021
- The release of NanoGreen, our first 30% recycled machine film with high containment force
- The achievement of higher than 50% recycled content in our flexible packaging with consistent quality performance
Suffice to say, today it is and will be our continued mission to advocate for sustainability.
The private ceremony was attended by our distinguished guest, Mr Supun Nigamuni, the General Manager of Control Union Malaysia, who also presented us with the certificates.
Officiated by Dato’ PK Ang, Executive Director of TGIB, it was a short luncheon ceremony to commemorate the milestone achieved.
On our recent acceptance of these green certificates, Thong Guan Group Managing Director Dato’ Ang Poon Chuan noted that
“This momentous milestone is significant for us as it solidifies our commitment towards sustainability. In contributing to preserving our environment and reducing our carbon footprint, we are helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals as well. We will continue to increase our sustainability efforts and innovations towards a circular economy for the industry.”
Quantifying our sustainability efforts
“Improved assessments and frameworks, like ISCC and GRS, have made advocating circular economy possible for us as a plastic film manufacturer. As such, this marks a significant milestone for Thong Guan to charge forward with quantifiable sustainability impacts and innovative solutions,”
– Dato’ PK Ang, Executive Director of Thong Guan Industries Berhad
Aptly spoken.
With the standards and systems designed by organisations like ISCC Association and Control Union, companies like ours can easily quantify the impacts of our sustainability efforts.
As a flexible packaging manufacturer, part of our sustainability advocacy is to demystify what was once thought impossible or misconstrued as the creator of pollutants.
As we cannot stress enough that plastic is not the problem.
Plastic waste management is the primary factor in our threatening situation.
That is why we ensure we have our in-house recycling plant and continually find ways to reuse plastic wastes in closing the loop without compromising the quality of our products for our customers.
The efforts benefit not just us but also our customers in achieving their own set of sustainability goals.
Inspiring changes and creating impact
Embarking on the path to closing the loop is not an easy journey.
Many changes and sacrifices have to be made—from the way we run specific processes to the mindset of the people influencing change in partners and customers.
Amid challenges, our determination and the beliefs of our stakeholders in us have driven us to achieve one milestone after another.
We hope our work inspires others in our industry—partners, customers and stakeholders—to attempt at closing the loop.
Everything is possible when we do it together.
In this industry, when all stakeholders, namely resins makers, equipment makers, plastic converters, packagers, policymakers and regulators, and brand owners, communicate, work and brainstorm well together, we can achieve wonders.
So let’s do it for the sake of posterity.
You may check out our previous articles on how our obtainment of ISCC PLUS & GRS certificates will impact you positively.
Leave us your comments and thoughts at info@thongguan.com.
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Continue readingTG acquires ISCC PLUS certificate solidifying sustainability commitment
Officially awarded with an ISCC PLUS certificate in December 2021, Thong Guan takes on the commitment to ensure justifiable sustainability not just for the company but for their customers as well.
Climate whiplash, a matter beyond climate anxiety
Climate change is happening. Biodiversity is diminishing.
Ocean pollution, plastic pollution and greenhouse gases emissions are real. And they are part of the biggest threat to life on Earth.
It is a morbid reality we have a role in.
As such, the role we want to take should be on seeking practical solutions that contribute to the development of the circular economy and bioeconomy.
It is time we put our hands together in addressing these global problems.
The increasing need for more responsible handling of materials, products, wastes and residues is apparent with the emergence of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and EU’s Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy.
Thong Guan recognises the need to be involved and be responsible for our materials, products, wastes and residue handling. However, just doing it and advocating it isn’t enough.
That is why we seek guidance from a globally-recognised leading sustainability standard body for our steps forward.
Hence, the ISCC PLUS certification.
So, what does this certificate entails and what does it mean to our valuable customers?
What is ISCC?
ISCC, which is the initialism of International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, is internationally recognized for its sustainability certifications programs.
It is an independent multi-stakeholder organisation that aims to contribute to the implementation of environmentally, socially and economically sustainable production and use of all kinds of biomass in global supply chains.
Their global leading certification systems offer credible solutions to address sustainability requirements for the chemical industry, packaging, industrial applications, and even food, feed and energy markets. It is for all types of agricultural and forestry raw materials, waste and residues, non-bio renewables, recycled carbon materials and the respective supply chains.
The implication of getting ISCC certificates
A company awarded with an ISCC certificate means the feedstock used in their materials are fully traceable and deforestation-free.
So, when you see products with the ISCC logo, it means behind the scenes engineers have gone through the painstaking process of calculating GHG emissions and savings of the materials used in the product from source to market.
You may refer to their market applications for more information about the logo.
These certifications mean the sustainability of raw materials and products used is ensured.
ISCC PLUS Certification System
ISCC PLUS is a sustainability certification program covering bio-based and circular (recycled) raw materials for markets and sectors not regulated as transportation fuels.
It is a credible certification scheme for the circular economy and bioeconomy.
The standard includes circular and bio-based materials like plastics, food ingredients, animal feed, chemical and bioenergy, technical substances and other areas where biomass is used.
It also includes the sustainability and traceability criteria of all types of agricultural and forestry raw materials, like crops and wood used in the production of biofuel.
Many recognise the ISCC PLUS standard for the recovery of waste and residues that provide feedstock for circular plastics, chemical intermediates, and a wide variety of consumer-facing products, where most importantly to us, the packaging.
A step towards solidifying our sustainability commitment
In Thong Guan, obtaining the certificate matters to us significantly.
Since we embarked on this green journey, we have been advocating sustainability not just in our culture and policy, but also in our products.
We believe that all of us play a role in ensuring the continuity of our business ecosystem by protecting our environment.
With the ISCC PLUS certification, we can guarantee the traceability of the raw materials we used and audited, also the whole supply chain is in conformance with established ISCC standards.
You will find our first few products with the ISCC PLUS logo, which are Maxstretch Green and NanoGreen, where both products contain 30% recycled materials.
Moving Forward
Every little action matters to the grand scheme of things.
In supporting us, you are participating in this vital journey of change for the future.
We will continue to invest our resources into creating more ISCC PLUS certified products with retained or better quality for your packaging needs.
Look out for these on our products moving forward.
To understand more about our ISCC PLUS certificate award, please contact us at info@thongguan.com.
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Continue readingNet Zero & ESG Strategy: Thong Guan joins the race to zero
ESG or Environmental, Social, and Governance is commonly discussed these days.
Investors and stakeholders increasingly include this factor in their evaluation of companies to identify material risks and growth opportunities.
It measures a company’s ethical impact on the environment and the sustainability of its investment.
So why is ESG important to companies besides being worthy of investment?
Simply put, it’s for posterity sake.
As standard operations of a company, ESG is becoming a solid culture to practice to ensure the company’s continuations.
We can’t expect to do that if the world deteriorates. Thus, it should be, perhaps, a symbiotic relationship.
If we take care of the environment, we can only have a conducive environment for a company to thrive.
And then we have Net-Zero.
What is Net Zero?
Net Zero is a much bigger and longer-term goal than for mere companies.
Generally, the state of net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is known as carbon neutrality.
Obviously, we can achieve that by transitioning to a post-carbon economy. This means we must reduce CO2 released from, for instance, transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industry to a level where absorption by the environment is balanced.
In other words, the balancing of carbon dioxide emissions with the removal through carbon offsetting.
The term Net Zero we hear today refers to more than just CO2 balance. It encompasses all greenhouse gasses (GHG) that affect our climate by increasing global temperature. Though, CO2 contributes the most.
We will reach net zero when the amount of GHG we add is no more than the amount taken away by nature.
Why does joining the race to zero matter?
Paris Agreement @COP21
Through the Paris Agreement, enacted during COP21 in Paris in 2015, momentously, every country that attended agreed to work together to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees to minimise the impacts of changing climate.
Our commitment to the agreement is vital. Every degree matters as evidence show us that as our planet gets hotter, many lives are lost and livelihoods damaged.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation
(source: public.wmo.int)
- The warmest 20 years on record have been in the last 22 years.
- The warmest seven years were from 2015 to 2021 (the top 3 were 2016, 2019 and 2020).
- The global average temperatures are 1ºC higher than in the pre-industrial era.
Most emissions come from just a few countries.
If this trend continues, predictably, global temperature will increase by as much as 3 to 5ºC by 2100.
We must reign in our GHG, mainly CO2, emission at every level as much as possible to curb the impact of global warming.
As such, the Paris Agreement had countries committed to bringing forward national plans (Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs), setting out how much they would reduce their emissions. And they agreed that every five years, they would come back with an updated plan that would reflect their highest possible ambition at that time.
For a livable climate, many countries have submitted their NDCs.
How can we contribute to the race to zero in the plastic packaging industry?
Be it in the country, companies or individuals, tackling climate change is now at the top of the agenda.
The same goes for Thong Guan.
At Thong Guan, our primary focus has always revolved around product excellence, load stability & safety, and quality & performance consistency.
As these are focused on sustainability at the baseline, it helps to reduce the hidden sustainability impact, such as reducing
- damaged goods on arrival, which are wastes of packaging materials, transportation and the goods produced
- the need for more stretch wrapping where optimisation means less unnecessary wasted plastic wrapping
That’s not all.
We hope that with our ESG strategy in place and going strong, we can join in the race to achieve Net Zero by 2050.
Here are some of our ESG strategies & efforts over the years.
Thong Guan has been recycling for more than 20 years
Plastic packaging is made from natural gas and crude oil, “cracked” into ethylene and propylene in resins form. They are then combined using various formulas into polymers.
We all know that for every kilogram of fossil-based plastic produced, there are between 1.7 and 3.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide released (source: woodly.com by Tomi Nyman, Chief Commercial Officer of Woodly). From transporting the crude oil to processing, manufacturing the products, and disposing of plastic packaging releases CO2.
Thong Guan has been recycling for more than 20 years as part of our ESG goals to reduce the carbon footprint of plastics. In 2010, to further strengthen our resolve, we acquired a recycling facility known as TGSH today to collect and process post-industrial (PIW) and post-consumer plastic waste (PCW).
Our subsidiary TGSH has about 5,000 metric tonnes of post-industrial and consumer recycled plastic resins annually.
Going beyond sustainability through product innovation
TG Bio Series
This year’s release of our TG Bio Series allows us to eliminate the need for non-renewable feedstock as raw materials for some of our products.
Some of the benefits of the TG Bio series includes
- Replacing fossil products and raw materials;
- 2.7 kg CO2/kg polyethene (PE) savings;
- No food/feed competition;
- No direct/indirect change in land use;
- Recyclable; and
- Sustainable forestry
Specially formulated using plastic resins made from tall oil, which is wood waste, our customers can now be part of the sustainability plan when they buy our bio-based stretch films.
What’s more, our bioplastic for our stretch film product range is a step beyond—we’re closing the loop of another industry.
Other Product Innovation
iPak5: An IoT solution designed to provide customers with a data-centric ecosystem to have performance visibility and traceability, including film wastage and carbon emission saved
NanoGreen: A high-performance, 15-µm 30% recycled machine film
Bolt: A stretch film dispenser uniquely designed to achieve hand wrapping consistency with proper containment force, thus reducing waste from unnecessary wrapping or damaged goods
- Nano Zero: Nanotech coreless stretch film offers less wastage and environmentally-friendly stretch film application
For more information regarding Thong Guan’s #LiveGreen Initiatives, please visit www.thongguan.com/live-green/.
Takeaway
Efforts may be small compared to others like those at the country level. However, we believe every effort counts in contributing to the bigger picture.
We challenge ourselves daily to go above and beyond to bring our business towards sustainability to contribute to Net Zero by 2050.
Join Thong Guan in the race to zero today!
You may visit Thong Guan Sustainability Report 2021 to read more about Thong Guan’s Sustainability and ESG efforts.
Email us at info@thongguan.com to find out more.