Ajinomoto is transforming its business focus Shaping the Future to Become a Leader in Sustainable Well-Being for Thai Society  Supporting all life stages for a healthy aging society and enhancing environmental sustainability for consumers

Bangkok – 5 October 2023 - Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. announced a new mission and vision aimed at driving significant business transformation, with a goal of emerging as a leader in creating well-being for Thai society. This transformative plan is based on The Ajinomoto Group Creating Shared Value (ASV) principle, which aligns seamlessly with Ajinomoto Group’s 2030 sustainability goals to promote improved health and living for one billion people worldwide, while simultaneously achieving global sustainability by reducing environmental impacts by 50% through food and health innovations and solutions.

Mr. Ichiro Sakakura, President of Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. said, “In response to the evolving business landscape and the changing dynamics of people's lives, our commitment to addressing the diverse needs of all stakeholders, including our valued customers, society, the environment, and our employees, has led us to refine our corporate vision. We have transitioned from our original vision of ‘To be the most reliable food company in Thailand’ to a new vision of ‘Leading in Creating of Well-Being’ for Thai society by taking on a new mission of ‘Solving issues in food and health of the society through core values”.

"We are simultaneously prioritizing our operations so they are aligned with Ajinomoto Group's 2030 Sustainability Goals. This commitment includes our role as a provider of food and health solutions and innovations with AminoScience. We strive to promote improved health and living for one billion people while implementing environmentally friendly practices including resource management practices, to reduce our environmental impacts by 50%. As part of this goal, Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. plans to launch more than 10 innovative products by 2030 aimed at enhancing well-being in all life stages for over three million people in Thailand, in light of Thailand's aging society, while extending the company’s mission to reduce environmental impacts among consumers nationwide by promoting the ‘Too Good To Waste’ campaign to disseminate the principles of food loss and waste management to Thai households.”

Transforming a vision to creating well-being and happiness for Thai society

Ajinomoto Thailand is dedicated to pursuing its mission of fostering well-being and happiness within Thai society by emphasizing their importance among its employees and all Thai citizens. In regard to our employees, the company provides accurate knowledge on nutrition and has undertaken various improvements within the workplace. For instance, we have established a cafeteria with healthy menu options and standardized exercise facilities. These efforts aim to promote positive changes in dietary and exercise behaviors, eventually contributing to improved overall health and well-being. Furthermore, the company has set a goal to support over three million Thai individuals of all life stages in achieving good health and enhancing the well-being of Thailand's elderly population through innovative initiatives related to nutrition and health. This is in accordance with the company's comprehensive strategy, which encompasses three key approaches:

Well-Balanced Nutrition: Our Group is committed to promoting healthier living among Thais, offering nutrition without compromise through the development of healthier products that contain reduced levels of sodium (RosDee Less Sodium, YumYum, etc.), and sugar (Bridy Ready-to-drink coffee, Lite Sugar, Blendy Stick Café Au Lait Half Calorie, etc.), in our food offerings. Furthermore, healthy and delicious recipes are being developed, together with a ‘Nutrient Profiling System for Thai Menus (NPS-M)’ which Thais can use to select their favorite, tasty meal options best suited to their health.

Sports Nutrition: As part of the Thailand Victory Project, our Group is implementing a nutrition program – the Winning Meal Program – to incorporate proper nutrition to strengthen the body and provide sufficient levels of energy. Additionally, we provide products with amino acids (aminoVITAL) to players of the Thai national volleyball and badminton teams to support their peak performance.

Health Supplement Products: Our Group is harnessing the power of AminoScience to address health challenges faced by people across the age spectrum, from working professionals to the elderly, in preparation for Thailand's transition to a hyper-aged society in 2035. Furthermore, we are gearing up to introduce over 10 new products in the categories of food and dietary supplements by 2030, providing an alternative for healthier lifestyles to all life stages for over three million Thais.

Committed to sustainably managing every phase of our business activities to reduce our environmental impacts

In terms of Ajinomoto Thailand’s operations, we are focused on five areas to achieve our sustainability goals by 2030: 1) Reduce GHG emissions by 50%; 2) Conserve water resources by 80%; 3) Achieve zero plastic waste; 4) Decrease food loss and waste by 50%; and 5) Attain 100% sustainable procurement practices, optimizing limited resources for maximum benefits in both the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

All of our company's factories operate in accordance with the principles of the Bio-cycle in the production process. Our group has adopted the 3Rs (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) principle to manage resources more efficiently. For example, we are better managing water resources throughout our production by treating and recirculating water within the factory. We utilize rice husks from agriculture as fuel for biomass steam boilers to generate bio-steam for use in the production process (Biomass Cogeneration), and harness solar energy instead of fuel oil.

In the agricultural sector, our group has implemented the “Thai Farmer Better Life Project” with a specific focus on cassava farmers, who produce a crucial raw material for Ajinomoto’s production. We promote the use of advanced technology and provide farmers with expertise in soil management and improvement, cassava breed development, analysis of cassava mosaic virus disease (CMD), and the distribution of disease-free cassava cuttings and seedlings to farmers in Kamphaeng Phet and nearby provinces affected by CMD since 2021. To date, the company has distributed 73,025 plants.

Additionally, Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. is preparing to launch the “Too Good to Waste” project to promote the idea of managing food loss and food waste among Thai households. This campaign builds upon the principles of food loss and food waste management used in our factories, aiming to reduce food loss and food waste from the production process. We are accomplishing this by transforming surplus materials from production into co-products that are returned to the agricultural sector. For instance, we are converting leftover fermentation water from the production of AJI-NO-MOTO® MSG into liquid fertilizer for crops and using it as an ingredient in animal feed. We are also repurposing rich husk ash from biomass co-generation power plants into soil-enriching products.

With reference to operational accomplishments in the last three years (FY2019 – FY2022), Ajinomoto Thailand improved the efficiency of its water usage in production by treating and recirculating water within the factory. This has led to a 91% reduction in water usage per production unit. Our wastewater quality exceeds legal requirements before being returned to natural sources, while we managed to reduce GHG emissions by 267,000 tons over the past three years, which is equivalent to the carbon dioxide absorption of 30 million large trees.

Furthermore, we achieved a substantial reduction in plastic use through strategic packaging modifications. This involved resizing or thinning plastic packaging without compromising product quality and eliminating secondary packaging, such as our one kilogram MSG packets. As a result, we successfully reduced our plastic consumption by over 307 tons when compared to levels in 2019. Additionally, Ajinomoto Thailand managed to reduce food loss and waste by 49%, equivalent to approximately 1,000 tons.

“We anticipate that the projects and initiatives stemming from our company's commitment, both aimed at enhancing well-being and happiness within Thai society and mitigating environmental impacts, which are currently underway or set to begin in the future, will be well-received by the Thai people, much like our successful endeavors in Japan. This reaffirms our dedication to leading the way in creating well-being and happiness for Thai society, ultimately contributing to the achievement of our sustainability goals by 2030.”