Green Living

• Carbon
• Education
• Energy at Home
• Funerals
• The Future
• Gardens
• Health
• Homes
• Kidz Zone
• Ladies Only
• Lifestyle
• Recycling
• Resources
• Shopping
• Travel
• Vehicles
• Weddings

Green Work

• Business
• Farming
• Jobs
• Manufacturing
• Purchasing
• Teaching
• Work
• Thailand

Renewable Energy

• Solar
• Wind
• Ground-Source Heat Pumps
• Geothermal
• Biomass
• Combined Heat & Power
• Fuel Cells
• Sequestration

Environment in Thailand

Renowned for its traffic and air pollution, Bangkok has seen simple changes in the past decade that have helped to clear the air. Officials convinced oil companies to make cleaner fuels, introduced higher taxes on polluting motorcycles, and cleaned up taxis and buses, resulting in 47% cuts in the most dangerous pollutants in the atmosphere. Though the city's pollution levels are still higher than some of its big-city Asian counterparts, the rapidity of change and the small amount of resources needed to pull it off make Bangkok's conversion an impressive step toward a more sustainable, breathable future.

Bangkok Governor, Apirak Kosayodhin has announced an ambitious new target to reduce carbon emissions in Bangkok by 15% in the next 5 years. 24% of the nation's emissions come from the capital and the Governor has set wide-ranging actions to tackle the problem.

Green Thai Initiatives

Visit the Environmental Competence Center Care (ECC) in Chonburi to see what Thai-German initiative can achieve. They hold workshops and seminars at their center which showcases zero-emission bungalows, wind turbine, solar arrays and reed bed purification system.

Looking for local green events, field trips or conferences? Try Green Networking Days. A great place for networking!

Tesco Lotus Salaya (Buddha Mondhol V Rd), Bangkok has opened an environmental technology showcase store with pond, wind turbines, solar cooling system (by Ravotek) and a biogas plant. They have spent over Bt1M on the initiative and will reap Bt1M of savings/year whilst reducing carbon footprint by 40%. (Oct-08)

High school students from every part of Thailand can participate in the School Ecological Footprint Challenge, part of a British Council initiative to raise awareness about climate change.

For 100 tips to help the environment, see tips in Thai language or visit our hitlist page for tips in English.

This section is dedicated to promoting those who make Thailand a "greener" place. Please send us your nominations.

Khun Somthai has fought to reduce the mountains of waste in central Thailand for many years and the amount of recycling going on there is testament to his success. His motto is "there is no such thing as rubbish" as his factories buy almost all waste for segregation and recycling.

Wongpanit are now expanding to other provinces and to Malaysia! Congratulations!

Thailand is indeed fortunate to have its own Green Architect working hard to make quality green homes available to the masses. Plans will be available in late 2008 from Chulalongkorn University for homes to be built by any of ten recommended builders. He is also involved in the new Shinawatra University and other green building projects in Thailand. See some of his rooms here.

Green Thai Companies

Green Thai Links

• Green Thai Organisations.
• For natural cosmetics and body/hair care products try Oriflame (from Sweden) and Body Shop.
• Natural soaps and more....
• Try Thai site Energy Fantasia (Tel 02-769-8300).
• For Thai green games click here.
• Dell computers have a global recycling scheme, so for redundant Dell-brand hardware, call Dell to collect.
• Recycle Supply Group buy your old office equipment and machines for recycling/refurbishment. Tel. 081-8013109.
• Recycled paper is made in Chiang Mai by HQ Papermaker.

Organic/Natural Food and Drinks

• OM Mangosteen fresh organic juice has the highest Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of any Asian fruit giving multiple health benefits.
• Thai Green Net is a foundation for retailing organic products. Home deliveries possible, otherwise find their products in major supermarkets.
• For 1,600 natural Thai products including organic Thai Jasmin rice and vegetables, contact Aden Shop or phone 02-913 6571-3.
• For juicers, blenders and washers of wheatgrass and all health foods, and yoghurt makers, try click here or phone 02-933-7886.
• Since 2004 Lemon Farm has been promoting their health foods in Bangkok. They now have shops in Sukhumvit area where you can eat, drink or shop for good green/organic products including clothes. They have been using degradable carrier bags for nine years already. Visit Lemon Farm The site is mostly in Thai, but the export page is in English.

• Otsuka Saha Asia Research Co., Ltd. (OSAR) are making Neutraceuticals to improve the health of people in Thailand. This Thai-Japanese venture now have a great new red grape drink called Q10. Q10 claims to be the source of energy in human cells. They also sell balanced nutrition of soy and whey protein called Balanz.

The following companies have been accredited for some of their products by Thailand Environmental Institute:

Thai Renewable Energy Links

If your company would like to reduce utility bills with an eye on improving your local environment and social responsibility, NRG-Asia can provide an energy audit with detailed proposals to do it.

For eco-friendly suppliers and organisations doing a good job in reducing greenhouse gases in Thailand, read on:

sector	location	field
International biomass technology & plants	Thailand	Biomass
Environmental consultants	Sukhumvit, Thailand	Consultant
Environmental consultants	Samut Prakarn, Thailand	Consultant
Financer of renewable energy projects (engineering from Suntechnics)	Thailand	Finance
Natural Gas for Vehicles	Thailand	Fuel
biogas, biomass, waste heat, waste incineration & carbon finance	Sathorn, Thailand	general
Instruments to measure air, liquid and environmental quality	Thailand	Measurement
Thai Environment Institute	Thailand	Organisation
Weholite HDPE water management systems	Thailand	Piping
German-standard water piping	Thailand	Piping
German manufacturere of recycling machinery: composters, shredders, fermenting, separation	Thailand	Recycling
Sharp Thepnakorn has a range of photovoltaic modules	Thailand	Solar
design,install & service solar water heating systems	Chiangmai, Thailand	Solar
International standard solar pumping, windturbines & mini-grid energy for remote sites	Thailand	Solar
exterior solar-powered lighting & mobile-phone chargers	Samut Prakarn, Thailand	Solar
Subsidiary of Greenworld Solutions specialising in solar power	Bangrak, Thailand	Solar
Thai leader in solar-powered systems	Thailand	Solar
Greenworld Solutions	Bangrak, Thailand	Solar & Biodiesel
Wind turbines	Pravet, Thailand	Wind
Global Energy Management (GEM) turnkey solutions	Bangna, Thailand	Wind
Thai Renewable Engineering wind power solutions	Bangna, Thailand	Wind

Thai Organisations

There are other Bangkok-based organisations working for the environment:

• For the Thailand Environmental Institute responsible for green labelling, click here.
• United Nations Environment Programme.
• For Green World Foundation with education, click here.
• The Environmental Engineering Association of Thailand (EEAT) provides information on the latest technologies on environmental control.
• Do you have a complaint about poor environmental quality and wonder who to report it to? Visit links of EEAT to find the various agencies, or contact EEAT direct at info@eeat.or.th.
• Many eco-travel destinations are shown at Open World Thailand.
• For Thai Environnet, click here.
• For a Thai environmental consulting service, click here.
• For environmental impact assessments and related services, visit IEM-Thai.
• See the site of the Energy Policy & Planning Office, or the links on the Thailand Energy and Environment Network for more contacts.