P&G in switch to gas

The conversion is scheduled for completion by the

end of next year.

"We started exploring the conversion of our opera tions to run on natural gas about two years ago and entered into discussions with Wellgrow Industrial Estate for permission to have natural gas piped into the estate. I am pleased to announce today that we have received permission from Wellgrow Industrial Estate to be one of the first plants in the estate to convert to natural gas.We're now working with PTT Natural Gas Distribution to pipe natural gas to the facility," managing director Parinda Hasdarngkul said yesterday.

The company's policy is to make environmental sustainability a competitive strategy and effective proce dure in fighting against such business challenges as high production costs driven by increasing petrol and raw material prices, appreciation of the baht and headstrong inflation.

The Bt12-million conversion project will eliminate the burning of more than 2 million litres of heavy oil per year.

The company hopes other facilities operating at the estate will also take advantage of the option to use natural gas from the new pipeline.

P&G is Thailand's largest manufacturer and exporter of skin- and haircare products. It has the largest plant at the estate, occupying 80 rai.

"We've fully converted to natural gas. We also expect our total greenhouse gas emissions to decline 30 per cent. Other emissions and waste will also go down, with less air pollution and dust.

"It will also reduce indirect pollution, since compressed natural gas will be supplied by underground pipes rather than the lorries that are used at present to deliver our heavy oil," Parinda said.

"Accelerating environmental sustainability also helps ensure that our operating costs remain highly competitive, so that we can contribute to delivering good-value products to consumers and continue to be a competitive export-manufacturing centre in Asia."

P&G has also achieved other measurable environmental milestones in its "Year of Accelerated Environmental Sustainability", she said.

Last month,the company's monthly wastewater discharges were cut 85 per cent to 600 tonnes, from 4,000 tonnes in the same  period last year.

"Another important milestone is that the company's water consumption has been pushed down sharply due to various conservation and recycling initiatives. In only one year, monthly consumption of water has been brought down 38.5 per cent.

 In June 2007, it was 130,000 cubic metres; in June 2008, it was down to only 80,000 cubic metres," she said.

The wastewater-discharge and water-consumption reduction programmes will save P&G about Bt80 million annually.

Last month, P&G completed a three-year, Bt3.5-billion investment programme to double the production capacity of the plant to about 300 million litres annually, which would make Thailand one of Asia's major export hubs for beauty-care products.

The plant now exports more than 85 per cent of its output to almost 20 countries, including Olay skincare products to India, started last year, and Head & Shoulders haircare products to Japan.

"This year, we'll invest about Bt450 million and most of that will be related to the plant and such programmes that continue to make the facility more efficient," she added.