East-West Seed (EWS) reaps the Renewable Energy Adoption Award at ESGBusiness Awards
EWS is the market leader for tropical vegetable seeds, headquartered in Thailand, with more than 40 years of experience serving over 23 million smallholder vegetable farmers with quality seeds and innovative services.
East-West Seed was recognised for the deployment of 2.1 megawatts of solar power across its seed processing facilities.
A successful energy transition rests not only in the hands of the power sector but in the participation of all industries. Recognising its responsibility as a corporate agriculture company,
East-West Seed has been rolling out solar energy units in its facilities globally, winning the Renewable Energy Adoption Award at the inaugural ESGBusiness Award 2023.
Since 2019, the company has deployed solar energy units in its strategic seed processing facilities in India, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Tanzania. Its farm irrigation in
Guatemala is also using 100% solar energy.
This brings the company’s total installed capacity to about 2.1 megawatts, with the rooftop solar energy units generating around 2.2 mill kilowatt-hours in 2022.
EWS’ initiative also drives the company’s energy self-sufficiency as the deployment reduced its overall annual grid power dependency by 53% across the seven processing units, whilst the Vietnam seed processing plant is solely reliant on the solar power generated, with the excess
energy supplied to the government grid.
“This strategic global approach demonstrates the company’s commitment to sustainability on an
international scale and our commitment to clean energy and sustainability has further solidified
its position as a responsible environmental steward,” said Sandeep Jadli, Group Head Processing.
EWS’ solar installations at its seed processing plants did not only benefit the company but the
wider industry as the effort reduced its reliance on conventional energy resources, thus enabling
the company to be more resilient amidst energy price fluctuations and supply disruptions.
This move has also significantly reduced the company’s operational costs, saving around $170,000 annually, allowing the company to spend the savings to invest in sustainable agriculture for the sustained production of high-quality and resilient vegetable crops.
Currently, EWS is working towards establishing its strategic roadmap for sustainable operations
and plans to extend its “green energy” efforts throughout its supply chain through knowledge sharing and collaboration with its partners.
The ESGBusiness Awards recognises the efforts of businesses that showcase outstanding
commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance practices. It recognises initiatives towards the achievement of sustainable development goals, innovation, and driving contribution in various areas such as climate change mitigation, resource
conservation, social responsibility, and ethical governance.
The ESGBusiness Awards is presented by ESGBusiness. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2024 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].
