Plastic waste is today considered a major environmental crisis, with much of the problem caused by the reliance on plastic bags.

Plastic bags take almost 500 years to degrade and accumulate in landfills or the natural environment with severe negative impacts on the ecosystem. In Thailand, which is heavily burdened by plastic waste, both the government and private sectors are focusing on environmental campaigns that invite consumers to say no to plastic bags when buying goods from stores.

The situation has led FamilyMart employees to launch the “Green FamilyMart” campaign to promote awareness among Thai consumers of the need to protect natural resources.

Chiranun Poopat, president of Central FamilyMart, says that environmental preservation and sustainability are among the key missions of Central FamilyMart and all other subsidiaries of the Central Group. Activities include giving directions to employees to separate the garbage before leaving, as well as to reduce and stop the single use of plastic bags. The Green FamilyMart committees are committed to play a role in restoring natural resources and not create waste or pollution.

“Over the past several years, we have worked together with our customers, the government sector and local communities on many campaigns, such as the sorting of wet garbage at Koh Samui. This has resulted in the reduction of up to 30 tonnes of wet garbage per annum and allowed processing of biogas for schools on the island. ‘Every No Bag’ is another activity and here we ask for cooperation from our customers to say no to plastic bags while also reducing the number of plastic bags given out at our stores throughout the country. A ‘No Bag Store’ campaign has been launched at selected FamilyMart stores. Other activities include the campaign for reduction of plastic bags in Phuket in cooperation with local communities, and the company’s involvement in the government’s project encouraging people to stop using plastic bags on the fourth day of every month.

“We were able to reduce the amount of plastic bags by more than 30 per cent in 2018 compared to the previous year. For 2019, Green FamilyMart plans to expand its campaign in order to reduce plastic bags in many other areas in collaboration with other companies under the Central Group to underline its commitment to caring for the environment and building sustainability.

“We are also aiming to reduce the amount of plastic bags offered by the FamilyMart stores by another 30 per cent this year,” said Chiranun.

Today, to mark Earth Day, FamilyMart is launching an activity to show its involvement in environmental protection by not offering plastic bags to customers at its stores nationwide. The company has also organised an internal campaign to encourage staff to turn off the electricity for one hour.

FamilyMart operates about 1,010 stores, half of them energy saving outlets. Over the past four years, FamilyMart has reduced its electricity consumption by 80 million units and reduced its carbon footprint by more than 80,000 tonnes.

Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG) targets annual growth of 20-30 per cent in loan guarantees till 2022 from the end of last year, focusing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs/micro SMEs), said the company’s new president Dr Rak Vorrakitpokatorn in an interview with the Nation.

“Currently, up to three million SMEs are operating in the country, of which two million are unable to access loans from commercial banks, picos and nano finance companies, while the other one million have already secured funding from financial institutions. In addition, there are two million micro-SMEs who have also been denied access to loans,” he said.

Micro SMEs include  taxi drivers, motorcycle taxi drivers and small online businesses, he added.

“Micro SMEs is now our target group. We will advise them on ways to successfully apply for funding from banks and finance companies. As a priority in driving growth, we have set out to support these small operators and to enhance our reliability among lenders in the process of loan approval”.

Rak took over the presidency four months ago on a four-year term till the end of 2022.

In line with the new strategy, the company will adjust its business model from evaluating loan guarantees for companies suggested by the banks to reaching out to potential clients.

“We plan to launch Loan Clinic, an online app offering advice and expertise from how to manage a company’s revenues and spending to preparing financial statements for a loan application. It will be unveiled next month, he said.

Rak said the app is accessible to all users and TCG will waive the guarantee fee for the first year as means to reduce a company’s operation cost prior to applying for a loan.

This year, the company will invest up to Bt200 million in upgrading its information technology(IT) system in line with the new business model.

To meet customer demands, another Bt300 million will be spent on digital technology development between 2020 and 2022.

With the upgrade of its IT system, TCG will further reduce the process of loan guarantee approval for its customers to a single day next month. The process has already been reduced from 14 days to three days, he said.

“The faster working process will increase our approval target for loan guarantees from an average of Bt88 billion in previous years to Bt115.5 billion this year. It will also boost the number of our new customers from an average of 54,969 a year to 89,166 in 2019,” he said.

TCG is also embarking on a re-organisation process. It has appointed PWC as its adviser on business restructuring and operational direction for the future.

These measures will drive TCG forward as the top guarantor for both loan applicants and lenders in the country, Rak concluded.

Expedia Group is one of the world’s largest travel platforms.

Pimpawee, 40, is the director of market management at Expedia Group Thailand, overseeing the Expedia Group Lodging Partner Services (LPS). She is responsible for leading the LPS account management teams and sourcing lodging supplies in Thailand.

“Our goal is to help Thai hoteliers attract more global travellers from 75-plus countries through our powerful travel brands portfolios and equip them with the best-in-class tools and technologies, so they can be more competitive in the digital world,” she says.

She says that Expedia, as the world’s leading online travel agency, provides an innovative and powerful platform that has been proven to help hoteliers reach millions of travellers worldwide and reap the benefits from a set of its tools and technology. This is a critical factor that helps Expedia Group harness partnership with partners in Thailand.

“I think that today, hoteliers in Thailand have a better understanding of the importance of being visible and bookable online,” Pimpawee says.

“Over the past 10 years, we’ve built a strong relationship with our partners, empowering them with the latest technology and tools to help them succeed. We strongly believe the platform, tools, and services we offer are competitive to cater partners’ needs.”

Pimpawee says that Expedia, together with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), is committed to playing a pivotal role in improving the digital literacy across Thailand’s hospitality sector and, ultimately, help generate more income for local economies.

Pimpawee, who has a background in engineering, was attracted to the travel industry because she was born and raised in Thailand, where tourism plays a major role in the economy.

“My combined background in engineering and an MBA (master of business administration) convinced me I should do more for the Thai tourism industry and here I am, together with my team, supporting hoteliers across the country to showcase their products and services to the travellers around the world,” she adds.

Pimpawee places great value on collaboration and diversity. She said that it is the teamwork and the collaboration that has got her to where she is now. She adds that she aims to make a difference and relentlessly strive for better outcomes in everything she does.

When asked if it is a challenge to work within this global organisation, she says she is proud to be a Thai female in a leadership position in such a prominent company.

“I have been with Expedia Group for 12 years and I must say this is a great company that values diversity and gender balance,” says.

“Gender discrimination has never been applied to me or those around me. I want to encourage women in the workforce to be vocal about the issues they are facing and seek support and mentoring sponsorships within the organisation. Plus, it’s critical to get male colleagues involved in advocating diversity and gender balance. There has been much research that shows that companies with a good gender balance obtain the best business results.”

Of the challenges that she faces in her work, Pimpawee singles out time – and the lack of it in her busy schedule.

“I feel I never have enough time to do everything I want to do,” she says. “Time management is vitally important to achieve success. I have learned that prioritisation and effective delegation are required. Being able to rely on a team and having teams to work together towards a goal is absolutely critical.”

Under her management style, she has encouraged her team to come up with a strong sense of project ownership. The overall success of the team must come from the collective work each team member contributes.

“I have high standards and believe in aiming to be better each and every day,” she says. “We foster a feedback culture where we help to provide feedback to one another, so that we can improve continuously.”

To this end, Expedia Group uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in its everyday business.

“Our interactions with the customer give us millions of data points that we can leverage to understand where customers’ intent is, and how best to assist them in their conversions,” Pimpawee says. “We harness the power of our global platform by analysing these millions of data points, wrap hoteliers with data-driven tools around them, and provide insights that matter for their businesses.”

Pimpawee believes that Expedia is now one of the first choices that come to people’s minds in Thailand when it comes to booking travel services – be it hotels, flights, local activities or packages. She herself does travel occasionally for leisure and, of course, uses Expedia to book her own trips. New York is her favourite destination.

“I love New York. Last time I went there was before I got married and had a son. I want to go back there again to see if it is still my favourite destination. I keep having a feeling that Australia could be our new family’s favourite destination,” she says.