APIC ’23: Government-led policies key to petchems sustainability – FTIPC chair

NEW DELHI (ICIS)–Thailand’s government-led policies aimed at promoting sustainable frameworks and practices will help drive the domestic petrochemicals industry’s move towards a circular economy, the chairman of the Petrochemical Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTIPC) said on Friday.

Under the “Bangkok Goals on Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy” policy that was first introduced last year at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Thailand, the petrochemicals industry will work towards four key target areas, Charoenchai Pratuengsuksri told delegates at the Asia Petrochemicals Industry Conference (APIC).

These targets include climate change mitigation, sustainable trade and investment, environmental resources conservation and waste management, he said.

Collaboration between industry players will also play a key role in promoting sustainable practices, and in the case of the FTIPC it is working with PPP Plastics and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) to develop prototypes and new ways to reuse plastics and preventing those plastics from leaking into the environment, according to Pratuengsuksri.

The FTIPC is also working on a project with the Thai government and academia to implement a code of practice to control volatile organic compound emissions (VOCs) from petrochemical industrial processes.

“In 2022, the Thai government issued guidelines to control VOCs using the measurements from this collaborative pilot project,” Pratuengsuksri added.

The APIC in New Delhi, India, runs on 18-19 May.