To drive efforts to reduce food loss and waste within the company, ThaiBev has committed to the target of zero food waste to landfill by the year 2030. To achieve this, we are following the guidance of the United Nations Environment Programme’s “Mapping and Measuring Food and Drink Waste” module, which applies the Food and Drink Material Hierarchy from Prevention, Optimization, Recycling, Recovery, to Disposal.

Within ThaiBev’s Beer, Spirits, and Non-Alcoholic Beverage Product Groups, all possible food loss is now classified as valuable by-products that can be further used as resources throughout the manufacturing process. This in turn has led to the total volume of food loss sent to landfills from these groups being reduced to zero.

In the Food Product Group, the Food Loss and Waste Management Working Team, consisting of restaurant and food production facility’s directors and managers, was established at the end of 2020 to directly manage food loss and waste from both the company’s production site and retail outlets. In late 2021, the Food Product Group began a collaborative effort with internal partners like FEED Addition, Thai Beverage Recycle (TBR), and HAVI Logistics to develop a comprehensive food loss and waste management project. This initiative encompasses monitoring and management of food loss and waste as well as packaging waste, extending from production facilities to retail sites, with the primary goal of preventing any food loss and waste from ending up in landfills. Furthermore, rather than merely donating these materials, the Food Product Group is actively exploring ways to generate income from its food loss and waste. Food loss and food waste are related, but have different meanings based on where they occur in the value chain. Food loss is the decreased quantity or quality of food from harvesting, transporting, and production, while food waste occurs at the retail and consumption levels.

Target 12.3 of the UN SDGs calls for halving food loss and waste per capita by 2030. ThaiBev’s goal of zero food waste to landfill by 2030 is therefore a lot more ambitious, requiring all food loss and waste generated by the company to be purposely used elsewhere. We have devised several strategies across our four Product Groups to reduce the total volume of food loss and waste generated, as well as the volume of food loss and waste discarded. These include campaigns to promote consumer awareness about reducing food waste and to sell eligible food loss and waste for repurposing. Furthermore, the company aims to work with all of its stakeholders to innovatively track and reduce food loss and waste throughout the value chain. ThaiBev categorizes food loss and waste using various systems of measurement. At production sites, food loss is accumulated, measured, categorized, and stored before being managed accordingly, which allows for the loss to be traced back to where it occurred. We also use other measuring methods, such as calculating the weight difference between full and empty truckloads during the retail distribution process. At the retail level, methods include weighing food waste at each restaurant and subsequently calculating the volume of waste by using the inventory system.

Food loss and waste data are compiled by data collectors at the food production facility in Chonburi Province, Thailand and at the company’s retail outlets across Thailand via the online Sustainability Data Management System (SDMS). Data is gathered from relevant departments and suppliers, summarized and analyzed collectively by data analysts and sent to the Project Management Office for further consideration. From the data, further discussions on food waste reduction efficiency are held to improve upon the existing process. ThaiBev sorts food loss into different categories - including fish scraps, vegetable scraps, bread crumbs, and other food scraps - while tracking the monthly volume and disposal method for each type of waste, most of which is either sold to suppliers or donated to the community as animal feed. Food loss data is consistently maintained and monitored so that we can track each type of food loss by weight. In addition, the company collaborates with its suppliers to ensure that raw materials meet the required quality standards and are not unnecessarily lost due to poor packaging or transport practices, while also continuously searching for new means of utilizing food loss that may possibly generate returns for the company. ThaiBev is continuously working to improve data accuracy for food waste from its restaurants in Thailand - such as Shabushi, Oishi Ramen, and KFC - so that the data reported best reflect actual status of operations, and help to better pinpoint areas for improvement. To avoid potential safety and hygiene issues in restaurant settings, food waste - which expires in a very short time - must be dealt with swiftly. Therefore, we work with logistics partners licensed in waste handling to ensure that food waste is collected and handled properly. We are constantly exploring methods to create new value-added uses for food waste, including repurposing clean and high-quality unused ingredients into new products, and donating surplus food from our restaurant chains to organizations and communities.

ThaiBev has made some revisions to our food waste data collection system in 2024, with a major change being additional inclusion of customers’ leftovers to the calculation of food waste percentage - thereby contributing to the sharp increase in food loss and waste data reported in 2024. In addition, over the course of 2024, we have gradually expanded the scope of our restaurant brands in food waste data collection and reporting - further contributing to the increase in amount of food waste reported. Used cooking oil from ThaiBev’s Food Product Group operations in Thailand is eligible to be repurposed into biofuel, so we actively seek out business partners who are willing to purchase our used cooking oil for this purpose.

This results in value generation for both sides while also helping to mitigate climate change. In 2024, the Food Product Group announced a collaboration with BSGF - a joint venture under Bangchak Oil Refinery and Retail Gas Station Group - to drive best practice for managing used cooking oil by collecting the oil and reusing it as a raw material for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which can reduce carbon emissions by approximately 80% compared to traditional aviation fuel. Under this initiative, 1,463,460 kilograms of used cooking oil from restaurants were sold to produce biofuel, generating income of around 38.90 million Baht. In this program, surplus food is donated directly to people living in disadvantaged circumstances. The QSR of Asia, or QSA - ThaiBev’s Food Product Group business unit which oversees the management of the company’s KFC restaurant branches in Thailand - provides surplus food to 8 vocational institutes across Thailand, including the likes of Baan Metta (Nakhon Ratchasima Province), Baan Wangthong (Phitsanulok Province), Baan Maharaj (Pathum Thani Province), and Baan Tabkwang (Saraburi Province) among the arrays of vocational institutes - along with the Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) Foundation. In 2024, KFC restaurants under QSA’s operations donated a total of 5,922 kilograms of high-quality food, which is worth approximately 1.09 million Baht. Shabushi (Shabu buffet restaurant chain) has created the “Kin Mod Kliang” challenge for its customers. “Kin Mod Kliang” means “Eat it all so there’s no food waste.”, reminding people to be considerate by reducing their leftovers. Since Shabushi is a buffet-style restaurant, the consumers are at liberties to take as much food as they wish - sometimes an exceedingly large amount that they are unable to finish. This campaign raises consumers’ awareness not to take too much food at a time. The challenge operates in 205 branches across Thailand (185 branches of Shabushi, 6 branches of Oishi Buffet, 9 branches of Oishi Eaterium, and 5 branches of Nikuya), with a total of 436,860 customers participating. ThaiBev’s Food Product Group works with the SOS Foundation to donate food surplus to various vulnerable communities. The foundation works with restaurants to pick up food surplus (either raw or cooked) that is still of high quality and edible. Restaurants are given instructions on how to store the food - including whether containers are necessary, and what food categories are accepted - to ensure the safety of those receiving the food.

In 2024, the project has expanded into 21 restaurants under the Food Product Group in Thailand (14 branches of Shabushi, 5 branches of Oishi Buffet, and 2 branches of Nikuya). A total of 2,268.50 kilograms of food surplus was donated, which is worth approximately 119,349.12 Baht.