24/03/2020
Caption: The solar cell installation on the roof of a primary grade building at Wat Khao Yee San School, Samut Sakhon.
11 March 2020, BANGKOK – Thai Union Group PCL and Solar D Corporation have installed solar cells to Wat Khao Yee San School in Samut Sakhon province to provide electricity and reduce the burden on their budget.
The school is part of Thailand’s CONNEXT ED Project, which aims to promote access to quality education for Thai students and support their well-being.
The solar cells, with a capacity 3.25 kilowatts, were installed on the roof of a primary grade building to help generate electricity to the school. As a result, the monthly cost of electricity for the school has been reduced by almost half since it was installed in January 2020.
Wat Khao Yee San School is located near the end of a public water pipeline and has to use three electric water pumps for water consumption as well as for the school agriculture program. The use of these public utilities (water and electricity) absorbs about 50 percent of the school’s annual budget.
“We can now use this cost saving to hire a teacher or provide more educational resources for our students,” said Decha Boonchoo, school principal at Wat Khao Yee San School. “I would like to thank Thai Union for its support and help in coordinating with Solar D Corporation, who provided and installed the solar cell.”
Sumrit Sitthiwaranuwong, managing director at Solar D Corporation, said: “We are proud to be part of this educational program and thank Thai Union for introducing us to Wat Khao Yee San School. We learned about the school’s limitations and were delighted we could support them. The school can also utilize these solar cells to teach the students about science.”
Vorarat Lertanantrakool, Human Resources Director at Thai Union Group, said: “We engaged Solar D because we knew the solar cells would provide great benefits to the school, as it not only provides an energy cost saving, but also a learning module about solar systems and energy.”
Thai Union recognizes that education is an important foundation for improving the lives of children, with programs such as this playing an important part of the Company’s global sustainability strategy, Seachange®.
CONNEXT ED is a partnership program between the Thai Ministry of Education and private companies, including Thai Union, with aims to minimize inequality in society, develop people’s potential, and increase competitiveness to students in public schools. Currently, Thai Union supports 40 schools through CONNEXT ED across Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Phetchaburi and Prachuap Kiri Khan provinces.
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About Thai Union Group
Thai Union Group PCL is the world’s seafood leader bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for more than 40 years.
Today, Thai Union is regarded as the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 126.3 billion (US$ 4.1 billion) and a global workforce of over 44,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products.
The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch and Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, Bellotta and Marvo.
As a company committed to innovation and globally responsible behavior, Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). In 2015, Thai Union introduced its SeaChange® sustainability strategy. Find out more at seachangesustainability.org. Thai Union’s on-going work on sustainability issues was recognized in 2018 and 2019 by being ranked number one in the world in the Food Products Industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, achieving a 100th percentile ranking for total sustainability score. Thai Union has now been named to the DJSI for six consecutive years. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the third straight year in 2018.
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