Canned water on the table of the world leaders APEC 2022 Thailand

The APEC Leaders’ Summit has come to an end, marking the end of the era for plastic water bottles. For this event, water on the table of world leaders came in aluminium cans that are recyclable.

น้ำดื่มกระป๋อง APEC 2022 Thailand
Picture credit: APEC 2022 Thailand
น้ำดื่มกระป๋อง APEC 2022 Thailand
Picture credit: APEC 2022 Thailand

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) is a platform for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region that holds global significance. It was founded in 1989 with the primary goal of promoting free trade, investment, and cooperation in various social and developmental dimensions. In 2022, Thailand had the honor of hosting and organizing the APEC meetings throughout the year, including the APEC Leaders’ Summit held on November 18-19.

The main concept of APEC 2022

In the post-COVID-19 era, Thailand prioritized economic recovery as its top agenda. Therefore, it aimed to promote the concept of “Open. Connect. Balance.” as the core theme of APEC 2022. As the host country, Thailand recognized the opportunities in enhancing trade and investment linkages in all dimensions to safely restore travel and support sustainable growth through socially responsible business practices, emphasizing creating a balance beyond profit. The BCG Model, which comprises the Bio Economy, Circular Economy, and Green Economy, plays a crucial role in alignment with the direction of APEC 2022.

น้ำดื่มกระป๋อง APEC 2022 Thailand
Picture credit: APEC 2022 Thailand
น้ำดื่มกระป๋อง APEC 2022 Thailand
Picture credit: APEC 2022 Thailand

Since the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021, discussions have centered around climate change. The conference aimed to limit global temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. The official COP26 websiteeven stated that COP26 is of “exceptional urgency” and might be the “world’s last opportunity to address climate change under control.”

The changes to achieve this result may be seen from conferences to the use of aluminium bottles for drinking water, which is another packaging trend that has emerged to reduce the use of plastic bottles currently causing a global waste problem. This underscores the direction the world is taking towards seriously addressing environmental issues.

ขวดน้ำอลูมิเนียม COP26
Picture credit: Cop26 Conference Glasgow
ขวดน้ำอลูมิเนียม COP26
Picture credit: Cop26 Conference Glasgow

Why choose aluminium canned and aluminium bottled drinking water?​

The plastic waste that occurs today, whether it is single-used plastics or general plastics, can only be recycled a limited number of times and may degrade in quality. This has led to the production of more eco-friendly alternative packaging. This shift reflects a change in mindset among manufacturers who wish to be more environmentally conscious and cater to consumers who also prefer to use eco-friendly products.

Aluminium cansand aluminium bottles are becoming a popular eco-friendly packaging trend due to their ergonomic design, lightweight, portability, rapid cooling capability, and creatively designed aesthetics. Moreover, for aluminium cans, the seal between the can and the lid is airtight, which can completely prevent the permeation of gasses, air humidity, and light, thereby preserving the original quality of the beverages. And aluminium bottles solve the problem of not finishing the drink in the first time by providing a resealable lid for subsequent consumption and the ability to reuse the packaging.

Crucially, both aluminium cans and bottles can be recycled entirely, 100% and endlessly, making aluminium cans and the new option of aluminium bottles increasingly prominent as eco-friendly packaging solutions that clearly demonstrate sustainability.

Regarding production standards, although aluminium cans and bottles use recycled aluminium for their production, the cleanliness and safety can still be assured according to the standards of packaging and beverage manufacturers. Furthermore, recycling helps reduce the use of new resources by efficiently reusing existing materials. Moreover, using recycled aluminium materials can decrease the energy needed for production by 95% compared to extracting new ore, thus significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the production process. This offers another solution to address climate change issues.

Aluminium cans and the BCG concept 

Aluminium cans can be endlessly recycled in a closed-loop system, also known as Closed-Loop Recycling, where cans are recycled back into new cans continuously (Can to Can). This supports the concept of a Circular Economy, one of the three dimensions of the integrated economic development model (BCG Model: Bio Economy, Circular Economy, Green Economy) of Thailand.

Circular Economy is a system designed to restore or give new life to various materials in the product life cycle, to utilize natural resources efficiently and effectively, and to extend the lifespan of these resources as long as possible. This approach must not impact on the environment and generate the least amount of waste, to facilitate the continuous circulation of resources.

น้ำแร่ธรรมชาติและน้ำแร่ธรรมชาติชนิดอัดแก๊ส บรรจุกระป๋องอลูมิเนียม ตราช้าง
น้ำแร่ธรรมชาติและน้ำแร่ธรรมชาติชนิดอัดแก๊ส บรรจุกระป๋องอลูมิเนียม ตราช้าง

At the APEC event, there are 2 types of canned water available: natural mineral water and carbonated natural mineral water, branded as Chang, from Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, a key partner in supporting Thailand’s hosting of the APEC.

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