Fun activities, learning - and a new school building - under Banpu CSR project

The school had been struggling to accommodate an ever-increasing number of students in its old building, and had insufficient funds for the construction of a replacement building.

Banpu earnestly believes that its business will grow sustainably and profitably when the company can show similar social development in our communities, in education and in environmental conservation, said Udomlux Olarn, head of corporate affairs at the listed company.

“We believe it is our responsibility. We have developed our CSR projects in these areas. ‘Banpu Punfun Punyim’ is another educational development programme that demonstrates our corporate core values of ‘Banpu Spirit’. It not only shows care for youth and society, but also commits to promoting synergy, another of our core values, among different generations of employees,” she said.

The “Banpu Punfun Punyim” project in Nakhon Ratchasima aimed to promote employee involvement across various functions, based on their best skills, to organise activities giving students fun and learning time outside the classroom, she explained. 

These activities included joining with community members to construct the new school building; planting organic vegetables and learning how to produce homemade organic fertiliser with an  expert in the field; preparing lunch for students; and educating children with fun games and story-telling.

“Banpu Punfun Punyim” put smiles on the children’s faces as they laughed along to all these ‘edutainment’ activities, which also gave a sense of joy and pride among the Banpu employees involved, said Udomlux. 

Furthermore, Banpu employees managed to put together their own donation of Bt90,000 to buy 150 sets of gym uniforms for students, while the left-over sum became seed money to set up a lunch fund.

“I have been involved in Banpu CSR projects for the past four years. ‘Banpu Punfun Punyim’ was a part of our ‘30 Years, 30 CSR Ideas’ programme that was organised from last year. We brainstormed ideas and worked together for over a month. We also generated funding for schools that could not afford new gym uniforms. 

“We feel we were acting from the heart under Banpu’s ‘Do by Heart’ approach because we believe that small things can change our society for the better and these activities would help bring employees together from all parts of the organisation to work in harmony with each other. It also makes us proud to be representing Banpu in being able to contribute to society,” said Chanapa Keawsapsak from Banpu’s Financial Department.

Likit Suriyo, the director of Ban Don Yai Nong Sano School, said: “We are a small primary school and have been struggling to provide classes to our 150 students. We did not have sufficient funds to repair our 50-year-old building. The majority of students’ parents are farmers, so they cannot support the school financially. Therefore, Banpu’s fund definitely responds to our needs. 

“We would like to thank Banpu for the contribution and for organising today’s activities of knowledge and joy”. 

For three decades since its inception, Banpu has adhered to its business credo: “An industry will be strong only when it is developed in tandem with social and environmental responsibilities”. 

The company has, therefore, focused on implementing CSR programmes at the corporate level by encouraging its employees to actively be part of its CSR campaigns.

Last year, Banpu initiated the “30 Years, 30 CSR Ideas” programme to commemorate its 30th anniversary. 

The programme encouraged employees from both the Bangkok head office and its northern mining site to work together across departmental functions to develop their own CRS projects that contribute to society, community and the environment. 

In the end, 50 CSR projects were conducted in many parts of the country, more than was originally expected. Each project was financially supported by the company to the tune of Bt5,000-Bt15,000.