33 x Trees – an Epson Thailand initiative to protect and rehabilitate forests

Sustainability has become a crucial topic among global communities, amid increasing realisation that attention to the issue can no longer be ignored or postponed in the current situation. Several nations, Thailand included, have adopted sustainability as national policies and established sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a benchmark of their sustainability efforts.

Sustainability has not only been adopted by government agencies, even corporations of all sizes and industries have been joining the trend to promote sustainability practices via products, services, marketing activities, as well as their business operations and corporate culture. One of the established companies that has displayed a distinct corporate DNA in sustainability is Seiko Epson Corporation, a Japanese multinational giant in the printing and imaging industry.

Environmental policy

Seiko Epson has pursued an environmental policy since the early days of its operation. It has become the world’s first corporation to completely eliminate ozone-layer damaging CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) from all production processes. In December 2023, Seiko Epson became Japan’s first company in the manufacturing industry to successfully switch to 100% renewable energy.

Thanks to the company’s strong commitment to the environment, the sustainability-focused DNA of Seiko Epson has been passed on to its subsidiaries worldwide, including Epson Thailand that has been operating in the kingdom for more than three decades.

Yunyong Muneemongkoltorn, Managing Director at Epson Thailand, told The Nation that the world and Thailand’s environment was facing several negative impacts that were growing at a worrying speed. This prompted Epson Thailand, as a subsidiary of Seiko Epson Corporation, to adopt the parent company’s “Environmental Vision 2050” as a long-term environmental policy.

“We are also committed to the United Nations’ SDGs, especially goal No. 13 via the introduction of printing innovations and solutions that help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and save energy,” he said.

The UN’s SDG No. 13 stipulates that related parties take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by regulating emissions and promoting developments in renewable energy.

Range of annual activities

To ensure the continuation of sustainable effort, Epson Thailand has also been holding corporate social responsibility activities every year to boost awareness and participation from employees, stakeholders, and supply chain providers, said Yunyong.

“We are living in a decade when the global temperature is at record highs, which has severely and frequently affected people’s lives on a large scale. We have been communicating with related parties, be they consumers, business partners, the media, and our employees on what we can do to minimise the negative impacts on the environment. These efforts are, for example, installing artificial reefs to increase habitats, shelters and food sources for marine wildlife; a seminar session for students and young entrepreneurs on sustainable business practices, and a campaign to reduce single-use plastic and promote plastic recycling.”

CSR campaign on forest fires

Yunyong pointed out that one of the most serious environmental issues that Thailand has been facing is forest fires. Tens of thousands of rai of forest areas have been damaged every year, on top of contributing to the air pollution and rise in temperature in several provinces. To tackle the issue, Epson Thailand last year launched a CSR campaign “33 x Trees” (three three and trees) to mark the company’s 33rd anniversary and its commitment to prevent forest fires and rehabilitate damaged forests through three activities.

The campaign started by inviting Epson employees and their family members, as well as members of the press to a workshop called “True Story of Firefighters”, organised in collaboration with Khao Yai Forest Fire Control Station in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Participants have learned about the true causes of forest fires, their impacts, and how to prevent the blaze with firefighting exercises at the end of the session by professional firefighters from the centre.

Epson Thailand also donated equipment to the centre that would help the operation of firefighters, including backpacks, field cooking gears, long socks and power banks.

“The workshop has opened our eyes to the hardship faced by firefighters who have been patrolling Thailand’s forests to prevent fires that could occur for 7-8 months per year, starting October to May,” said Yunyong. “We learned that most of the forest fires are a result of human actions, and that rehabilitating forests damaged by fire takes much longer than growing one. This is why forest fire prevention is of the utmost importance, and the best prevention is to prevent human actions that could cause the fire.”

'Ordaining the forest'

The second part of the campaign involved a ceremony called “ordaining the forest” at Khao Khlung community in Ban Pong district, Ratchaburi province. Epson Thailand led local monks and community members in a religious rite to bless the forest as a sacred ground to prevent future encroachment and deforestation.

“We chose the Khao Khlung community forest because it had been nearly destroyed by human actions in the past, but is now fully rehabilitated thanks to the hard work of the residents of Sa Si Mum village,” said Yunyong.

He quoted the village headman as saying that in 1990, the village had put an end to ongoing deforestation of Khao Khlung for hunting and expanding of agricultural areas, which had turned the once verdant forest into treeless wastelands.

“The community worked together to plant new trees and let nature heal itself, leading to Khao Khlung eventually being able to register as a community forest in 2019. Khao Khlung nowadays is a home to diverse flora and fauna, and serves as the community’s food and revenue sources, as well as a biodiversity learning centre, visited by researchers from institutes all over the country.

“The village headman told us that the Khao Khlung forest had never been ‘ordained’ for at least four generations, so we decided to go ahead with the ceremony as a ploy to raise public awareness on forest protection. A monk’s saffron robes have been tied around tree trunks to signify that the forest was protected by sacred beings. The campaign would help villagers realise the importance of the forest and allow Khao Khlung to further flourish as one of the most abundant community forests in the western region,” Yunyong said.

'Tree-donating caravan'

The last activity in the campaign is a “tree-donating caravan”, which combines the charm of spiritual tourism with tree planting initiated by three Buddhist temples in Lampang province.

Epson’s employees and the media enjoyed a ride on Lampang’s iconic horse-drawn carriages from Nakhon Lampang Railway Station, where the first carriage was launched 108 years ago, to Wat Si Rongmuang, Wat Chai Mongkhol, and Wat Srichum in Muang district.

When they arrived at each temple, the group donated 111 sprouts of Siamese rosewood, totalling 333 plants to the temples to plant in their monastery as well as give away to visitors. Participants also engaged in rare Buddhist ceremonies to wash the face of a Buddha statue at Wat Chai Mongkhol, and wrap a giant saffron robe around a pagoda at Wat Srichum.

A Lampang local revealed that the three temples shared one similarity – all of them were built by wealthy Myanmar nationals in the logging industry, who sought forgiveness from tree deities for cutting down the forest.

To conclude the 33 x Trees campaign, Epson Thailand invited Watthana Bunyang, Thailand’s most famous forest-theme author, to share his experience in forest travel, myths and supernatural stories in his documentary “Tale from the Wild”, the latest collection to his 47 published documentaries, novels and short stories.

“The 33 x Trees campaign reflects Epson Thailand’s effort in social responsibility in the past year. The company will continue to oragnise activities that promote sustainable environment, in line with Seiko Epson Corporation’s vision to achieve negative carbon emission, as well as end the use of underground resources by the year 2050.

“Epson will also continue to minimise environmental impacts from its manufacturing processes, products, services, and supply chains by working with partners who share the same efficiency and standpoint, to encourage awareness and influence change in behaviours of parties related to Epson’s business as much as possible,” said Yunyong.