DHL continues to sow seeds of volunteerism with 'Ton-Kla' Project in Thailand
DHL Thailand reinforced its commitment to protect environment and empower local communities through a reforestation project called “Ton Kla” (or “Young Plant”).
This annual event, which also actively involves the locals residing in the area, is organized by DHL Thailand in collaboration with the Royal Forest Department.
The “Ton Kla” this year coincided with DHL Global Volunteer Day (GVD) in Thailand and saw more than 500 employees from four DHL business units in Thailand – DHL Express, DHL Supply Chain, DHL Global Forwarding and DHL eCommerce— participating in the tree planting exercise, which was held in the Bang Lamung National Forest in Chonburi, a province in eastern Thailand.
In 2015 and 2016, 6,800 trees have been planted over an area of about six hectares by more than 1,000 DHL employees. This year, DHL Thailand has added more than 2,000 trees within another 1.6ha of land, to the count. Prior to the trees being planted, volunteers from DHL Thailand had nurtured the seedlings provided by Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for three months.
“By 2025, Deutsche Post DHL targets to plant one million trees each year. To achieve this goal, DHL Thailand has initiated ‘Ton-Kla Reforestation Project’ as part of GVD to boost the greenery which in turn adds to the oxygen supply in the area, thereby improving the air quality for the local communities living there,” said Chananyarak Phetcharat, Managing Director, DHL Express Thailand. “Since we started this project in 2015, DHL volunteers have helped plant more 8,800 trees in total land area of 7.68ha, reflecting our strong volunteerism and spirit to better the world, which is at the heart of DHL’s core business.”
“GoGreen is no longer an option, our mission is to empower our employees to maintain and grow their reforestation projects over time,” said Kevin Burrell, CEO, DHL Supply Chain, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. “Global Volunteer Day helps strengthen our employee engagement to deliver positive outcomes for the communities we work and live in.”
“We are committed not only to provide the best logistics solutions but also green logistics. Global Volunteer Day is a core priority for our CR activity and encourage our employees to preserve natural resources for the country,” said Kiattichai Pitpreecha, Managing Director, DHL eCommerce, Thailand.
“Sustainable environment protection is a priority for all of us. We aim to reduce the impact of our business on the environment while offering sustainable protection to our communities,” added Nira Jit-aroon, Head of Business Process Organization, DHL Global Forwarding, Thailand.
Global Volunteer Day was initiated in the Asia-Pacific region in 2008 and soon expanded to the United States, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The program has become a success story in which more and more employees are directly involved. Since 2013, it has been a global, Group-wide initiative. In 2016, approximately 106,000 employees worldwide contributed 365,000 hours of their time to 2,490 GVD projects worldwide. The activities planned for 2017’s GVD are diverse – from reading to children in kindergartens and rebuilding homes in areas affected by natural disasters, to organizing donation drives. And to further support the 2050 zero emission target, Deutsche Post DHL Group collaborates with partners to plant one million trees every year. All GVD activities contribute to the Group’s three main corporate responsibility focus areas: GoGreen (environmental protection), GoHelp (putting our expertise to work to provide emergency relief to people in need) and GoTeach (improving educational opportunity and employability).
