Environmental Stewardship

Sustainable Water Management

Risk

The two AMATA City Industrial Estates are in the eastern region of Thailand, which is a water-stressed area. Thus, the continuously increasing demand for industrial water due to the expansion of the industrial sector with the development of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project, the rapid increase in the population in the area, and climate change are resulting in a water crisis. All these factors present risks and challenges to the Company’s water management and may result in significant negative impacts on the Company’s key stakeholders in terms of business operations, environment, public health, and quality of life. Poorly managed water resources can also lead to issues such as water scarcity and competition for water access. Therefore, water and effluent are always two of the most important material topics that have been focused on by the Company and its stakeholders from the beginning.

Moreover, ineffective wastewater management or the inability to control the effluent discharged by the factories will increase the risk of effluent leakage from industrial estates. This not only impacts the environment, community health, and surrounding communities, but also has a significant impact on stakeholder trust in the Company.

Opportunity

By adopting a circular economy approach and implementing innovations in water management for the industrial estates, the Company can reduce operating costs and ensure water security for both the users within the industrial estate and the surrounding communities, which rely on natural water sources. This is a key factor in building trust among stakeholders and investors and enhancing the Company’s competitiveness in the industry.

Management Approach

The Company has set a Water Management Policy and assigned the Water Management Committee, consisting of the Chief Executive Officer, a working group from the engineering department, and its subsidiaries, namely AMATA Water Company Limited, and AMATA Facility Services Company Limited, to be responsible for water management within AMATA Industrial Estates and reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer.

The Company strictly complies with relevant laws under the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act (B.E. 2522, 1979), the Factory Act (B.E. 2535, 1992), and ISO 14001:2015 environmental standards. Water quality is regularly monitored by laboratories registered with the Department of Industrial Works, and the operating results on water and wastewater management are disclosed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports. The EIA Monitoring Report is regularly presented to the Environmental Quality Audit Committees of both AMATA Industrial Estates every six months. Business operators in the industrial estates are also supervised to ensure their compliance with the regulations of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand to prevent and mitigate social and environmental impacts.

Since its inception, the Company has planned for the sustainable use of natural resources by utilizing surface water resources as efficiently as possible and establishing corporate goals in wastewater management not to discharge effluent outside of industrial estates, in accordance with the Zero Discharge principle. This includes regularly measuring the water quality of the raw water sources used by the factories and wastewater at multiple checkpoints, as well as supervising and ensuring that the water quality indicators do not exceed the legal standards, and do not affect stakeholders in the short and long term.

In addition, the Company cultivates a deeper understanding of its business operations and promotes sustainable water management among the communities surrounding the industrial estates. Furthermore, the Company provides expertise to improve community water management by fostering collaboration among the Company, government agencies, and communities.

Water Supply and Reservoir Development for Industrial Water

In the Company’s value chain, it is essential to rely on water resources to support the production process and operation of the factories in the industrial estates. Before starting business, the Company studied the social and environmental impacts of the water demand of both AMATA Industrial Estates to assess opportunities and risks from sharing water resources with the communities.

All of AMATA Industrial Estates are located in the eastern region, which is a water-stressed area. The Company conducted a drought impact assessment in the areas surrounding AMATA Industrial Estates and found that the main risk for AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate is the availability of raw water reserves for consumption within the industrial estates. The Company has therefore provided a backup source of raw water both within and outside the industrial estate and optimized the reuse of treated wastewater to reduce its dependence on raw water from natural sources.

AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate is situated upstream of the catchment area, where the primary risks are the integrity of watershed conservation and the confidence of surrounding communities in the ability to reserve and share the water supply. The Company has expanded raw water reservoirs within the industrial estate and secured a water reserve from outside while implementing the riverside and watershed forest conservation project and developing a water supply system to support communities in the event of droughts, etc.

The Company has set an industrial water supply policy and targets that there must be raw water reserves from various sources not less than 150% of the total consumption demand in AMATA Industrial Estates per year. In 2023, the demand for water in AMATA Industrial Estates was 60.8 million cubic meters, an increase of 16.6% from 2022. The Company has reserved raw water in 17 reservoirs with a total capacity of 61.2 million cubic meters in both AMATA Industrial Estates and provided a reserve water source outside the AMATA Industrial Estates, allowing the Company to meet more than 150% of the total water demand within AMATA Industrial Estates throughout the year. As a result, the Company has never experienced a water supply shortage in AMATA Industrial Estates in the past 30 years.

The Company recognizes the expectations and concerns of various stakeholders regarding water management, particularly industrial operators within both AMATA City industrial estates and surrounding communities directly affected. Therefore, communication initiatives have been organized to elucidate the water situation and management approaches to stakeholders, as outlined below:

On 16 August 2023, AMATA Water Company Limited held a webinar to explain the water situation in 2023, instilled confidence in water management, and informed the operators within the AMATA Industrial Estate.
On 13 December 2023, AMATA Water Company Limited held an annual general meeting for the members of water-user organizations at AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate to report on the operations for the fiscal year 2023.
On 15 December 2023, AMATA Water Company Limited held an annual general meeting for the members of water-user organizations at AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate to report on the operations for the fiscal year 2023.

Responsible Water Consumption

Wastewater Management in Industrial Estates

In the wastewater management process of industrial estates, the Company oversees the quality of effluent discharged from industrial factories. Factories are required to separate rainwater drainage systems from the wastewater drainage systems and discharge only qualified, initially treated effluent into the central wastewater collection center, which is managed by AMATA Water Company Limited, a subsidiary that is responsible for water management within AMATA Industrial Estates.

The factories must deliver the preliminary treated wastewater with quality according to the regulations set by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand to the central wastewater collection center of such an industrial estate to perform the treatment according to the standard set under the announcements of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment B.E. 2559 (2016) and the announcement of the Ministry of Industry, B.E. 2560 (2017). Treated water from the central wastewater treatment system of the industrial estate will be thoroughly inspected by a private laboratory registered with the Department of Industrial Works and must pass all standard criteria before being reused in any form. The Company checked the quality of the wastewater discharged from the factories on a monthly basis. When the Company found that the quality of wastewater released into the central system did not meet the standards, a warning letter was sent to the factory requiring its system improvement and an additional wastewater treatment service fee.

Circular Water Management

The Company is aware of the importance of using water resources wisely and efficiently and aims to reuse all effluent in accordance with the Zero Discharge Principle. In 2023, the Company has set a target to reduce surface raw water consumption to 60% of total raw water demand in order to reduce dependence on natural water sources, create balance for the environment and the community, and increase the proportion of treated water used for recycling.

The continuous improvement of wastewater treatment systems and quality control allowed the treated wastewater from the central wastewater treatment system to meet the water quality standards according to the Ministry of Industry and was completely utilized (100%). In 2023, a total of 24 million cubic meters of wastewater were treated by the central wastewater treatment system. The Company benefits from reusing all the treated water (100%) within the industrial estate, and 52% of the treated water was used to produce high-quality water through the water reclamation system, where the high-quality water produced was used to replace natural raw water in the tap water production process for industrial purposes. The remaining treated water was used in the power plants for cooling & stream turbines and in the green areas at 29% and 19%, respectively.

Since 2008, the Company has invested in developing a high-quality water production process by using a reclamation system with reverse osmosis technology and has continuously expanded its production capacity of high-quality water. The high-quality water produced was used to replace natural raw water in the tap water production process for industrial purposes. Currently, the water reclamation system has a total capacity of 35,360 cubic meters per day of high-quality water production, enabling the Company to reduce raw surface water withdrawals to 36.78 million cubic meters in 2023, or 60% of the total amount of water demand. This helped the Company save 78.93 million baht per year on raw water purchase costs.

This circular economy process helps extend raw water reserves by five months, mitigating the risk of water shortages and potentially providing support to local communities during drought crises. The expansion of the reclamation system capacity has also boosted the confidence among customers and local communities surrounding the industrial estates in the adequacy of water resources and sustainable water management. This includes reducing negative impacts and the possibility of contamination of public water sources and the environment.

Water conservation in office buildings and common areas

The Company promotes water conservation among all employees in AMATA offices through the "ALL SAVE, ALL WIN" program. This includes communication through posters and emails, urging employees to avoid leaving tap water running while cleaning and regularly checking for water leaks in the building and surrounding areas. Furthermore, equipment and water distribution systems within the building undergo regular inspections and maintenance to ensure they are in good condition. Additionally, to conserve water resources and maximize benefits, the Company uses melted ice water to clean food-contaminated packaging waste before it is sent for further waste separation.

In 2023, the Company consumed a total of 36.78 million cubic meters of raw surface water in the industrial estates due to efforts to reduce raw surface water usage and increase recycled water usage. The water consumption intensity in 2023 was 1,105.11 cubic meters per rai, or 6,906.93 cubic meters per hectare, an increase of 15.25% compared to 2022. This increase is due to significant expansions in production capacity by some industrial estate operators, including those who temporarily halted production and resumed operations, such as factories in the solar cell panel manufacturing group. In this case, the water consumption of these factory operators is not under the Company’s control.

Promotion of water resource preservation among stakeholders

The Company aims to encourage the factory operators in industrial estates, government agencies, and communities surrounding the industrial estates to have knowledge and understanding of the Company’s operations and sustainable water management guidelines. Additionally, it seeks to promote awareness of the potential impact on stakeholders and the environment that may result from inefficient water management practices. Since 2009, the Company has established a Water Management Learning Center in AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate to share knowledge and insights from its water management practices, make it available to surrounding communities and the public to study the industrial estate's water management model, and raise awareness of visitors and their cooperation in water resource preservation.

Since the commencement of the Water Management Learning Center in AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate in 2009, the center has welcomed 400 visiting groups with a total of 12,141 visitors. The Company has targeted encouraging its key stakeholders, such as customers and local communities, to have a better understanding of water management in AMATA Industrial Estates. The Water Management Learning Center is open to general visitors, and organizations that are interested in visiting can submit their requests to AMATA Water Co., Ltd. or AMATA Corporation, PCL. In 2023, a total of 1,279 visitors came to the Water Management Learning Center located in the AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate. The visitors totaled 46 groups, comprising 3 groups of entrepreneurs within the industrial estate, 23 groups of general interest, 10 groups of students, and 10 groups of central and local government agencies.

In addition, the Company leverages its knowledge base to support the development of public water source management in community areas adjacent to AMATA Industrial Estates. This is achieved through integrating collaboration between the Company, government agencies, and communities to reduce and prevent the discharge of wastewater and waste from the community into the public water system, maintaining the quality of the water system, and improving the environment of the community.

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Sustainable Water Management