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WWF Thailand is currently collaborating with sugar growers and processors to ensure the sugar used by The Coca Cola Company is produced with minimal adverse social and environmental impacts. To that end, WWF is studying the impacts of sugarcane production and processing on the environment in northeast Thailand.
WWF Thailand is currently collaborating with sugar growers and processors to ensure the sugar used by The Coca Cola Company is produced with minimal adverse social and environmental impacts. To that end, WWF is studying the impacts of sugarcane production and processing on the environment in northeast Thailand.
Intensification of the sugar industry to increase yields has compounded the environmental impacts. First, there are impacts from chemical usage. None of the growers interviewed analysed soil fertility before applying fertilizer, which results in pollution of watercourses by run-off from the fields. A second impact occurs when farmers burn their fields to speed up the harvest to ensure their crop gets to the factory on time. Finally, all the farmers interviewed reported declining land quality and increasing soil erosion.
In the study area, two companies operating crushing mills and sugar processing factories are Mitrpohl and Khon Kaen Sugar. The major impacts from these include dust pollution from trucks, machinery and road surfaces. Piles of bagasse, which is crushed sugar stalks, are also a major waste problem.
From the preliminary results, Mitrphol’s environmental performance indicates the best practice. However, it is uncertain how the group’s expertise can be transferred to others of the industry. Much of its work appears to be driven by a long-standing corporate culture of environmental responsibility, coupled with pressure from international buyers. Companies which lack such a culture, or focus on domestic and regional markets, may not experience the same pressures to improve their performance.
Once the initial report, which documents sugarcane production and processing in the northeast of Thailand, is completed, Better Management Practices (BMPs) and key players will be identified. The work will begin to influence these progressive actors who are at the cutting edge of the industry in Thailand to promote change in the industry.