Biodiversity 

 

BJC Group acknowledges the influence and connection between climate change and the environment, especially biodiversity, which represents the global system, that supports all life, including all fauna and flora, and its significance to rehabilitate, restore and protect the global ecosystem, which is critical to the wellbeing and survival of both society and the environment, enabling corporations to continue the activities of farming, harvesting and sourcing of critical raw materials, used in the production of goods and services, fostering business growth, while protecting society against the human rights violations of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, which may arise from chronic and acute climate-related risks.

 

To foster the 1 + 5 Strategy, BJC group utilized the established BJC Biodiversity Road Map, which provides an underlying guideline of how BJC group will manage and interact with biodiversity across the value chain to foster a balance between business activities and environmental wellbeing, ensuring that BJC group strives to minimize negative biodiversity impacts. This is achieved through strict compliance to the corporatewide BJC Biodiversity and Deforestation Policy, which is further enforced through the BJC’s Standards Operating Procedure of Biodiversity Management, enforcing all business to take early steps to secure biodiversity, and benefit from the opportunities available, which empowers BJC group to remain competitive and create a net positive impact on biodiversity, through the implementation of diverse and targeted initiatives which aim to minimize negative consequences on biodiversity throughout the value chain.

 

The BJC Biodiversity and Deforestation Policy is governed by the Sustainable Development Committee (SDC), and is regularly reviewed and updated to fit with the continuously evolving environmental needs. The policy clearly commits BJC Group to integrate the following biodiversity related considerations into all operations and decision-making.

 

The scope of BJC's Environmental Policy also extends to include biodivrsity protection, through a recognition that biodiversity is the core component to the rehabilitation, restoration and protection of the global ecosystem, a critical component to the wellbeing and survival of both the environment and society, from which companies’ source raw materials to drive business operations. A lack of functioning biodiversity will result in a chain of direct and indirect consequences to the ecosystem, which in turns effects business operations, from a lack of ability to source quality and reliable raw materials for the production of products and services, chronic and acute climate-related risks, and volatile operational expenses from a lack of resources available.

 

BJC has longed recognized the important role of biodiversity to the overall health and wellbeing of the ecosystem and has developed the BJC Biodiversity Roadmap as an overarching guideline to create a balance between business activities and the environment, to minimize negative implications and foster long-term sustainability for both, in addition to the BJC’s Standard Operating Procedure of Biodiversity Management, as a guideline for all business units to take early steps to secure biodiversity, and seize opportunities that enable BJC to remain competitive and to create net positive impact on biodiversity, implemented through diverse initiatives to minimize negative operational impacts on biodiversity throughout the value chain.

 

 

 

 

Biodiversity, Deforestation Targets and Progress

 

Following the prioritization of Biodiversity, BJC has established a long-term targets and commitment for biodiversity and deforestation as follows;

 

Biodiversity	No Deforestation
Long-term Goal	Long-term Goal
Biodiversity assessment 100% by 2025	No Net Deforestation by 2032
No net loss of  biodiversity by 2032 and determined to prevent and minimize the impact of our activities	No Gross Deforestation by 2050
Net Positive Impact (NPI) by 2050

Note: 2032 for Own Operation & 2050 for Supply Chain

 

 

Year 2020 was the first year in which BJC took proactive actions in order to achieve the long-term targets in 2050, through the conduct of risk and environmental impact assessment of business units and operational sites, which accounts for 10% of all operations. 

 

Biodiversity Commitment required of Value Chain

 

 

1	2	3
Own operations and supply chain must not operate activitiesnear sites containing globally or nationally important biodiversity	Apply mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimize, restore & offset) when operating in areas in close proximity to critical biodiversity	Work with external partners to fulfill the commitment

 

 

 

Biodiversity Exposure and Assessment 

BJC does not conduct operations that directly impact biodiversity. For the retail industry, the company procures from suppliers who follow sustainable and ethical practices to ensure that products come from areas without deforestation, and that marine products are sourced from sustainable fisheries. the company also carries out projects that support biodiversity, as per the information below.

In 2023, BJC reevaluates the Biodiversity Exposure and Assessment of business units and their respective critical suppliers with manufacturing oriented operations, such as production, extraction, plantation. These include Berli Jucker Foods Co., Ltd. (BJF), Berli Jucker Cellox Co., Ltd. (CPC),  Rubia Industries Co., Ltd (RIL),  Thai Beverage Can Co., Ltd. (TBC), Thai Glass Industries Co., Ltd. (TGI),Thai Malaya Glass Co., Ltd. (TMG), and Thai-Scandic Steel Co., Ltd. (TSS). The majority of which are located in industrial estates, which has been approved by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to construction. Under the agreement with the respective industrial estates, all operations strictly conplies with relevant environmental laws, regulations and standards ensuring minimal environmental impacts to surrounding communities and biodiversity. The business units and their suppliers involved in the Biodiversity Exposure and Assessment are shown in the table below;

 

Business Units	Number of Sites	Area (Hectares)	Location	Critical Supplier Names
BJF	2	3.48	Samut Prakan, Ayutthaya	Potato farmers
CPC	2	22.08	Prachinburi, Samut Prakan	Double A (1991) Public Co., Ltd.
				WP Energy Public Co., Ltd.
RIL	1	2.89	Samutprakarn	P.S.C. Starch Products Co., Ltd.
TBC	1	8.96	Saraburi	Novelis Korea Ltd. UACJ(Thailand) Co., Ltd.
TGI	1	11.52	Samutprakarn	Grungthai group Co.,Ltd
TMG	2	24.03	Saraburi	Grungthai group Co.,Ltd
TSS	1	4.38	Rayong	Best Steel Co.,Ltd
Total	10	77.34

According to the 2023 Biodiversity Assessment conducted by the BJC, it was determined that the sites studied did not have a significant impact on biodiversity and hence do not require a management plan.

 

(I)     Assess and Interpret & Prioritize

BJC identifies the most material impacts on natural resources by referring to Corporate Environmental Policy which mentioned about protected areas, including the World Heritage areas in accordance with the criteria of UNESCO, and protected areas according to The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category 1-4. BJC Group use these areas as the target protected areas for business units to verify if BJC’s and critical suppliers’ operational activities are close by. 

BJC also uses Aqueduct™ tools to identify and evaluate current water risks in all Thailand’s provinces (baseline water stress level). The tools belong to World Resources Institute (WRI), which can map water risks such as floods, droughts, and stress, using open-source, peer reviewed data.

 

(II)    Measure & Set

As a result, from conducting biodiversity exposure and assessment in the beginning of 2022 of BJC’s business units on operational activities of their own and their critical suppliers, there is no operational activity nearby or located in the protected areas and no operational activity creates negative impact to biodiversity.

 

(III)    Mitigation Plan

Since there is no operational activity nearby or located in the protected areas and no operational activity creates negative impact to biodiversity, the mitigation plan includes surveillance and rehabilitation plans.  

• Surveillance Plan : All business units and their critical suppliers monitor and ensure that their current operational activities remain efficient and effective regarding the impact created to biodiversity.  Moreover, they have to keep updated with the current issues regarding biodiversity nationwide and worldwide, and be ready to adjust their business operations accordingly.
• Rehabilitation Plan : Not only to avoid creating negative impact to biodiversity, BJC encourages all business units and their critical suppliers to conserve and strengthen biodiverstiy in their areas as well.  The plan is normally executed through various of activities throughout each year.  
• This rehabilitation plan also extends to all subsidiaries under BJC. e.g. 

 

Example of biodiversity mitigating acting as follow:

 

Transform	Transform operations to help reduce negative impacts
	In 2023, BJC launched the deployment of its first 100% Electric Vehicle Trucks (EV Trucks) in the transportation and distribution of products from Big C distribution center to Big C branches across Bangkok, with the aim to continuously increase the number of EV Trucks in operations to more stores located throughout South East Asia, allowing BJC to significantly reduce GHG emissions from transportation and logistical services.

Restore	Restore biodiversity restoration
	In 2023, Berli Jucker Cellox Ltd. (CPC) initiated a project to release aquatic native species into the Prachin Buri river, to promote the idea of “Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature”. The project released over 200,000 fish and other aquatic species into the Prachin Buri river, in an effort to restore local biodiversity for the river.

Regenerate	Regenerate the creation of natural diversity
	BJC Cellox continuously collaborate with suppliers and surrounding communities, BJC Cellox plant tress to increase green space for communities as well as to reduce global warming. In 2023, BJC Cellox has planted 1,640 trees, with 8 local communities engaged. Since 2020, 6,204 trees have been planted.

Reduce	Reduce the negative impact on biodiversity
	CPC has longed been devoted to protect the well-being of its paper source including minimize negative impacts from operations to surrounding society and environment. This is achieved through CPC’s utilization and sourcing of paper pulps, sourced from suppliers with certifications from accredited body, such as the Forest Stewardship Council TM (FSC TM) Chain of Custody certification (CoC).

Avoid

Avoid not establishing operational areas important for biodiversity

In 2023, Berli Jucker Foods (BJF) continuously support registered farmers to adopt farming practices, in accordance with Good Agricultural Practices System (GAP) of the Department of Agriculture for the fourth consecutive years. Compliance with the system also encourages farmers to use organic fertilizers in place of chemical fertilizers to prevent environmental impacts and protecting farmers health and safety. It is estimated that this reduced the use of chemical fertilizers by 190 tons per year, equivalent to 235.0 tons of CO2 reduction per year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(IV)   Act

Business unit that operates or whose critical supplier operates close by the protected areas, apply and execute mitigation hierarchy, which is an approach to protect and enhance biodiversity: avoid, minimize, restore and offset. The approach includes preventive action and remedial action.

 

 

(V)   Track

All business units and their critical suppliers monitor and validate their mitigation plans and actions annually, with a disclosure through BJC Annual Sustainability Report or the company website. The mitigation plans and actions are reviewed for their accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness, as well as for the next year planning.  For the operational sites located in the industrial estates, the industrial estates also have their biodiversity and water risks mitigation plans reviewed and updated regularly. This is to maintain their quality of utilities service excellence for all sites operating in their areas.

Throughout 2023, BJC continued to actively monitors potential biodiversity impacts from operations on all manufacturing oriented operations to minimize biodiversity impacts to surrounding ecosystems.

 

Engagement with Stakeholders on biodiversity

 

 

Planting Big Trees For Our House In 2023, BJC Big C Group partnered with local communities and the Royal Forest Department to restore forests in Chiang Rai through the "Planting Big Trees for our House" project. This initiative involved planting 20,000 trees in national reserved forest areas such as Doi Luang Forest, Nam Yao Forest, and Nam So Forest in Chiang Khong District, Chiang Rai Province. The project aims to restore 100 Rai of degraded forest, recognizing forests' crucial role in absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2). It aligns with BJC's commitment to sustainability and its goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions (Net Zero) by 2050.
Big Tree Planting Project     Berli Jucker Cellox Company Limited (CPC) have continued to implement the “Ploog Mai Yai, Hai Baan Loew” (Big Tree Planting Project) annually, which encourages local communities and partner to plant tree and reserve green areas to protect the ecosystem and mitigate deforestation risk. In 2023, BJC Cellox has planted 1,640 trees, with 8 local communities engaged.
Mangrove Planting Activities BJC Group organizes mangrove planting activities at Bang Pu Nature Education Centre, on September 13, 2023, CID & 3rd Party led a team of volunteer employees in mangrove planting activities at Bang Pu Nature Education Centre. They led the team to plant 200 mangrove trees and white sage trees. The mangrove forest have a high photosynthesis rate, planting mangrove forests can help to reduce carbon dioxide, increase oxygen, and also increases sources of greenhouse gas absorption, alleviate global warming problems and can be used as carbon credits in the carbon market according to measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Big C” organized tree planting activity and delivered 3,100 saplings, given to the project “Plant a million trees, create green areas and dust-filtering walls throughout the city.” On August 4, 2023, “Big C” organized tree planting activity and delivered 3,100 saplings to the project. “Plant a million trees, create green areas and dust-filtering walls throughout the city” of Bangkok, participated in planting trees in the area of ​​Phahonyothin Road 49, Bangkok. “Big C” promote environmental conservation Therefore organized the activity “คุณปลูก บิ๊กซีปัก ร่วมกันสร้างป่าใหญ่” through the game "Big Forest" that gives customers the opportunity to plant trees online through the LINE application, after planting and taking care of the trees until they reach maturity as specified, you can choose to donate one tree. By this activity, there are customers who join in donating trees and total of 3,100 tree saplings, Big C will take the trees that customers have donated to plant and support the saplings for the project, "Million Trees" of the Bangkok Environment Agency that cooperates with the 50 district offices, the private sector and the public To create green space and a dust filter wall, helps reduce the problem of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and absorbing carbon dioxide, one of the major causes of global warming.