ThaiBev aims to implement water stewardship practices for the long-term sustainable use of water for local communities, in order to mitigate impacts from our own operations, while also seeking collaboration from key stakeholders, including government, business and value-chain partners, non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities.

Our aim is to drive water stewardship in terms of water availability, usage, consumption, quality, and replenishment, as well as promoting clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

ThaiBev’s Corporate Water Management Policy was endorsed by the Board of Directors, in order to strengthen the company’s water management. The policy sets out clear intentions and guidelines to minimize water impact from the company’s production activities, by assessing water quality and quantity, applying international water resource management tools and standards, using new technologies, and being responsible for water consumption.

ThaiBev has identified water management as one of the key material issues that serves to enhance the company’s climate resilience. We manage water-related issues by identifying risks and opportunities, as well as monitoring the risks. We review our physical risk assessment related to water in all our production facilities every three to five years, in order to understand potential risks and to prepare for the impacts of climate change. This enables each facility to develop appropriate water-related risk management plans and mitigation measures.

ThaiBev focuses on ensuring that all production facilities are certified with the international standards for environmental management (ISO14001). In terms of controlling the standards of effluent discharge, the company treats wastewater to a higher quality standard (in terms of pH, temperature, COD, BOD, TSS, oil, and grease) than legal requirements before releasing it into the water source, thereby ensuring minimal impact on the ecosystem. ThaiBev has joined forces with the National Hydro-Informatics Institute (HII) on the initiative “Community Water Management Project in accordance with the Royal Initiative of Muang Mae Haad Community, Chiang Mai Province” to enhance water security via sustainable land, water, and forest management. The problems that need to be addressed are water shortage, and a deteriorated and damaged water delivery system. The project is designed to restore water sources as a social geography water reservoir system capable of distributing water according to the community’s needs, while also generating income for the community.

To be completed in nine months, the project involves excavating and expanding water reservoirs to increase the volume of reserved water for consumption and agriculture, as well as reinforcing water management structures in the area. A check dam will be built to divert water from Mae Klang Waterfall over a distance of 9,800 meters. ThaiBev hopes that its active involvement will enhance the capacity of raw water storage through these activities. Control gates will also be installed to manage water within the Muang Mae Haad community. This initiative is expected to benefit more than 681 households, or approximately 2,218 people, resulting in an annual increase of reserved water volume by more than 270,000 cubic meters. Consequently, it will improve the community’s water resources for consumption and agriculture, while ensuring efficient and sustainable water management for the Muang Mae Haad community.

This project will serve as a model for public–private collaboration focused on enhancing long-term water security and generating community income. In 2023, ThaiBev continued its commitment to ensuring that local communities and the agricultural sector receive clean water. The Spirits Product Group initiated a CSR activity “Sharing Water with the Community”, in which the factories in Kanchanaburi, Prachinburi, and Surat Thani Provinces helped provide clean water to more than 50 neighboring communities.

The Grand Royal Group (GRG), a subsidiary of ThaiBev in Myanmar, launched the “Clean Water Project” in 2016, to enable local villagers to have safe drinking water. Digging wells and treating water has created clean water sources for more than 7,500 households and 50,000 residents in total. The Inver House Distillers (IHD), a subsidiary of ThaiBev in Scotland, is conducting trials of “high-gravity mashing”, a technique that involves using a higher malt-to-water ratio. This method helps to conserve water and improve energy efficiency, while preserving the unique character of our spirits. In addition, IHD is planning trials of a new yeast strain, which will enable the implementation of high-gravity mashing, leading to a reduction of approximately 5% in both water and energy use. The Spirits Product Group has installed an innovative rotary rinser for cleaning new glass bottles, as part of our commitment to water conservation. The rotary rinser is designed to reduce water consumption from around 80,000 cubic meters to 9,000 cubic meters and lower electricity usage from 88 kWh to 3 kWh. Additionally, it reduces wastewater generation from this process by approximately 15,000 cubic meters per year. The initiative has not only achieved significant water savings but has also ensured the quality of glass bottles before use in the production process. The Beer Product Group has initiated a project to reclaim effluent from the wastewater treatment process, through the use of ultrafiltration technology at the Cosmos Brewery in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province. The project is expected to reduce water withdrawal from natural sources by 20%, or 200,000 cubic meters, per year. Additionally, it is anticipated that this initiative will yield an annual cost reduction of approximately 700,000 Baht. The water recovered through this process will be repurposed in non-production-related areas.

ThaiBev is collaborating with the national Hydro-Informatics Institute (HII) on the “Water Resources Management for the Community” project to study and assess the risks of floods and droughts in both short and long terms, by using the HII’s Water Resource Information System for Sustainable Development. The first project covers a radius of five kilometers around the Beer Thai Brewery in Kamphaeng Phet Province.

The initiative aims to support the management of water resources in local communities at our production facilities located in “high to extremely high water stress” areas.

The study process is as follows:

• Study the general condition of the area, the watershed condition, and meteorological and hydrological data, including potential sources of water pollution, to assess the flooding and drought situation and the historical occurrences of such events in the past.
• Study the impacts of climate change on flood and drought issues, including the indices and trends in extreme rainfall data for current and future conditions. Create a probability map for extreme rainfall index values in the catchment area and its associated watershed areas around the factory.

The results showed that the study area as a whole is at low risk of flooding and drought. Only about 3% of the area is at high drought risk, which could result in insufficient water to meet production and community demand.

ThaiBev will expand the “Water Resources Management for the Community” project to include three factories in Chiang Mai, Lampang, and Nakhon Sawan Provinces , which located in extremely high water stress areas. Through this initiative, ThaiBev will be able to operate its business and create value for the communities that share the same water sources. Thailand’s Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) has organized a collaborative effort called the “River Basin Committee” representing the 22 watersheds across Thailand, which brings together the agricultural, industrial, and commercial sectors to develop better management of the country’s water resources. This significant initiative encourages the different sectors to work together in solving water-related problems such as floods and droughts.

ThaiBev’s representatives were elected onto the industrial committees for the Tha Chin River Basin and Ping River Basin, focusing on improving water management, rehabilitating ecosystems in watersheds, and enhancing quality of life for communities near water sources. This participation includes efforts to alleviate problems related to floods, droughts, and water quality. In addition, the company hopes that increased participation in national water policies will further embed efficient and sustainable water management practices in the country for a healthier environment and society. ThaiBev has continued its initiative to ensure that local communities, especially children, receive clean drinking water, by expanding the “Clean Drinking Water” project in schools and communities around its factories. ThaiBev’s representatives provide basic training on the maintenance and cleaning of the water filtration system so that school students will always have clean, hygienic drinking water that meets quality standards. We have successfully completed 33 WASH projects in 11 provinces: Pathum Thani, Chonburi, Buriram, Prachinburi, Ratchaburi, Uttaradit, Surat Thani, Nakhon Pathom, Ubon Ratchathani, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, and Nakhon Sawan. These projects have benefited a total of 13,500 people. Our target is to add five additional WASH projects annually. ThaiBev distributes distillery slop, effluent from the biogas production process in spirits factories, as a soil conditioner to local farmers, because it contains essential nutrients for plant growth, particularly for sugarcane. Research has found that distillery slop increases sugarcane yields without causing negative environmental impacts. It can reduce farmers’ outgoings on chemical fertilizers and result in an increased yield of approximately 10,000–15,000 Baht per rai.

In 2023, ThaiBev expanded its distribution of distillery slop to farmers in Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani provinces for more than 280,000 cubic meters, covering over 4,000 rai (640 hectares) of sugarcane fields, rice paddy fields, and corn fields.

Our subsidiary in Myanmar, GRG, is dedicated to supporting local farmers engaged in spring paddy cultivation and rice production in the model village of San Phel. Located in the eastern region of Bago, this village serves as the primary source of raw materials for GRG’s products. The farmers in this region face water scarcities, particularly during the summer season, as they struggle to afford the costs of accessing irrigation facilities.

The project aims to give access to a daily supply of 1,500 cubic meters of irrigation for over 111 rai (18 hectares) of paddy fields. As a result, the project has yielded 4,110 baskets of paddy – equivalent to 85,734 kilograms – thereby increasing the income of ten landowners to a total of USD 25,430. Furthermore, the project has enabled farmers to cultivate three rice crops annually during the summer, rainy, and winter seasons, with an impressive 50% reduction in costs compared to diesel generator-powered alternatives.

GRG has expanded its efforts by implementing an RO Purified Water System and Treatment Plant, which is powered by solar energy. This is designed to operate during the rainy season when irrigation water is not required for agricultural purposes.