Bangkok, February 21st, 2024 – Demonstrating a united front in sustainable business practice and maintaining the ecosystem and biodiversity, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment by Mr. Jiravat Ratisoontorn (5th from left), Deputy Secretary General of the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), presided over the Forum on Finance for Biodiversity – Fin4Bio which was organized by ONEP in collaboration with UN Global Network Compact Thailand, The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Blue Renaissance (BR) and Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) at C ASEAN Rama IV. On this occasion, True Corporation Plc. by Dr Piyaporn Pasakanon (2nd from left), Head of Sustainability Division of True Corporation Plc, as one of the founding member organizations of the UN Global Network Compact Thailand attended the meeting and reiterated True’s intention as a Thai tech company that considers the biodiversity as a key factor in planning the installation of True-dtac signal towers in all areas throughout Thailand. This is to achieve the goal of net positive impact (NPI) on biodiversity and zero deforestation by 2030 in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 15: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.
Dr. Piyaporn Pasakanon, Head of Sustainability Division of True Corporation Plc, said that “Installing signal towers, for which True Corporation considers biodiversity and environmental impacts include a process covering from 1. Select an area to set up a signal tower, assess risks and impacts on biodiversity and various species of life in the ecosystem surrounding the signal tower area. 2. Assess and prioritize risk areas with an in-depth assessment tool of the world-class standard program Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Trends and Conditions Assessment Tool (BESTCAT) to screen for sensitive areas. 3. Follow the corrective and preventative plan to reduce the impact by adhering to the principle of mitigating impacts according to hierarchy, starting from avoiding activities that may have an impact, reducing unavoidable impacts, rehabilitating the area by planting local plants and compensating by planting trees outside the project area and 4. Encourage the surrounding communities to participate in conserving and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity, such as the Patcharasuthakachanurak project’s elephant early warning system and the Thai Crane Restoration and Conservation Project. In addition, True also promotes recording of tree planting in the digital society through WeGrow application to help restore the ecosystem and create a fertile habitat for living things. Currently, more than 6.2 million trees have been planted throughout Thailand and can calculate the amount of carbon dioxide stored by the planted trees to 332,132 tons of carbon dioxide.”
