Eka Global sees carbon border tax as new challenge
and confirms green products as solution to sustainability
While carbon border tax becomes a current issue in the global market, Eka Global, a leading longevity packaging producer, encourages Thai SMEs to shift to green products in order to increase global competitiveness.
Mr. Chaiwat Nantiruj, Eka Global’s CEO, said that global business sector currently pays high attention to UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) and has introduced many stricter measures to achieve such goals. These measures have been adopted to alleviate adverse impact from Climate Change.
Following this increasing awareness on sustainability, some countries have introduced carbon border tax on goods imported from countries that do not have carbon emission control. Big countries like the United States, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Japan and Singapore are studying carbon border tax. Joining the band wagon, Thailand is studying carbon border tax, which is a part of its plan to achieve Net Zero by 2065.
“Carbon border tax has become an increasingly important issue in the global market, especially in Europe and the US. This posts a new challenge and Thailand has to take this seriously. The first group of products to feel the impact from such tax are aluminium, steel, cement and chemicals. More products will soon be affected, including one-time use plastic products like plastic packaging, drink bottles and food packages. Exporters of all sizes shall start to adopt measures to promote sustainability. They need to design new business model, develop sustainable products and adopt low-carbon business process if they want to remain competitive,” said Chaiwat.
Eka Global’s goal is to be an innovator under circular economy concept. To achieve sustainable growth, the company has invested heavily in R&D to initiate more environmentally friendly packaging. With its focus on green products this year, Eka Global has introduced environmentally friendly products in three categories – 1) bioplastic (PLA) that is partially made from natural raw materials like tapioca, corn and sugarcane; 2) biodegradable packaging made totally from natural materials and are fully biodegradable; and 3) Post-consumer resin (PCR). These new products will add on all Eka Global’s products which can be 100% recycled.
In the third quarter of 2022, the company expected positive business performance driven by changing consumer behavior after COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers have higher demand for more sustainable products and longevity packaging. This trend has resulted in increasing orders from food manufacturers worldwide, especially in the US, Europe, China, India and Thailand. Due to the increasing demand, the company has exceeded its full production capacity of 2,850 million pieces per annum. Eka Global has, therefore, planned to increase production capacity at its Thai production facility and built a new production plant in India. The Indian production facility is expected to commence commercial operation within this year.
