Biodiversity Overview

Why is this Important?

Currently, the public utilities sector, particularly the electricity generation business, is facing challenges in balancing the demand for energy and the conservation of biodiversity. The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy helps reduce emissions, but can impact ecosystems and habitats due to the related infrastructure, such as wind turbines, hydropower dams, and solar panels. Therefore, planning and implementation that take the environment into account are essential for a sustainable future.

EGCO Group is committed to sustainable business practices and biodiversity conservation. The company has announced “Biodiversity and Forested Resource Conservation Commitments”, carrying out concrete projects both in Thailand and abroad through its power plants and the Thai Conservation of Forest Foundation (TCOF). These initiatives include developing databases of species to monitor ecosystem health, protecting native wildlife, and restoring watershed forests, all with the goal of creating positive impacts on the environment and local communities.

Sustainability Material Topic: Biodiversity
Stakeholder Impact on Materiality Topics

Community

Media

Management Approach

Biodiversity Target and Commitment

Achieve a no net loss of biodiversity relative to 2021 levels by 2030 and are determined to prevent and minimize the impact of our activities across the lifecycle of our power plants
Achieve net positive impact across all our operations and supply chains
Avoid operation/exploration/M&A in World Heritage areas and IUCN Category I-IV protected areas
Achieve no gross deforestation across all our operations and supply chains within 2030, which includes no deforestation of natural forests, including High Carbon Stock forests; No conversion of other natural ecosystems, including peatlands of any depth; and protection of natural forests and ecosystems within our area of influence

100% of EGCO’s subsidiaries power plants have set up a target for Net Gain from projects implemented to conserve and restore ecosystems and biodiversity
Target No Net Loss in operations implemented according to the prevention plan and reduce environmental impacts from power plants with commercial operations
Conduct a biodiversity survey at Khanom Power Plant, as continued from 2020 to create a list of species, population size estimation, conservation status, and ecological value for species indicated in the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act, B.E. 2546 (2003), CITES, IUCN Red Data Book (2015), and including endemic wildlife and species that have never been reported before
Participate in training and activities of business networks, government networks, independent organization networks with missions to drive sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity conservation and restoration, while promoting such knowledge to EGCO Group’s power plants.
Review and improve the Biodiversity Statement of Commitments and set targets in writing and ensure targets are communicated to relevant departments

EGCO Group’s power plants have No Net Loss to biodiversity from operations implemented according to the prevention plan and reduce environmental impacts from power plants with commercial operations
Power plants with plans to restore or offset impacts of project implementation during the construction phase are able to restore or offset 100% of the proportion within the time period planned
Expand the scope of biodiversity survey at Khanom Power Plant to cover organisms in beach ecosystems and economically important marine species. The survey development plan was implemented in collaboration with Walailak University, with an implementation period from December 2024 - December 2025.
Provide promotion and support to government agencies, private sector, independent organizations, as well as non-profit organizations in driving operations to promote conservation and disseminate knowledge for biodiversity conservation and environmental issues related to climate change. No less than 5 activities/projects wer conducted under the driving force of main alliance networks, such as Biodiversity-Based Economy Development Office (Public Organization) or BEDO, Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development, and other related networks.
EGCO Group employees participated in training and knowledge-sharing activities on sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity conservation and restoration, covering no fewer than 5 lecture topics and over 20 hours.
Conducted a review and update the Biodiversity Statement of Commitments, setting targets and methods for managing biodiversity and conserving forest resources through the Biodiversity and Forested Resource Conservation Commitments.
For power plants that have already commenced commercial operations before setting targets, ongoing efforts are being made to maintain green spaces within the plants in accordance with EIA measures during the project implementation phase. EGCO Group has continuously supported the operations of Thai Rak Pa Foundation, a charitable organization established by EGCO Group to promote sustainable conservation and restoration of watershed forests in collaboration with all sectors of network partners. In 2023-2024, Thai Rak Pa Foundation continued to conserve 100,000 rai of watershed forest areas together with local network partners, and participated in restoring degraded forest areas and adjusting agroforestry totaling 793.65 rai.
Quezon Power Plant and SBPL Power Plant planted forests and mangroves to enhance biodiversity through a reforestation project, using a total of 20 species of trees. A total of 19,502 trees were planted, including 18,510 mangrove trees and 992 forest trees.

Biodiversity Management

EGCO Group prioritizes ecosystem and biodiversity conservation across all operational areas. The company therefore announced its Biodiversity and Forested Resource Conservation Commitments as fundamental operating principles for all commercially operated power plants and new projects.

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