SCG X Starboard: Collaboration For A Sustainable Future

“We have only one world, and it is everyone’s job to save it.” This powerful remark was made by Svein Rasmussen, the Chief Innovator at Starboard, the world’s premium surfboard product manufacturer, during an exclusive interview with SCG’s All Around Plastics team.

United by the painful awareness that the impacts of global warming and climate change are growing in both scale and severity, leading organizations like SCG and Starboard decided to sign an agreement to jointly initiate the Collaboration for Sustainable Future in order to use their knowledge and expertise and apply the concept of circular economy to their business operations to achieve sustainable development goals in economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Mrs. Kjersti Rodsmoen, the Norwegian Ambassador to Thailand, also congratulated both organizations and expressed her support for this collaboration.

The project agreement covered the scope of study and collaboration in three major areas: 1) the development of eco-friendly materials, 2) the promotion of actions against global warming, and 3) the cultivation of resource efficiency awareness in children. Both SCG and Starboard hoped that by operating within the defined scope and collaboration framework, they would be able to significantly reduce environmental impacts and continuously contribute to environmental restoration.

To address the first area of the Collaboration for Sustainable Future, the Chemicals Business, SCG, will leverage its knowledge and expertise in polymer, design, and material processing to develop new eco-friendly materials for Starboard products. At present, SCG’s team of experts is actively designing and developing protective devices for iQ Foil windsurf boards as they are often damaged during transportation. These devices are made of hybrid plastic that combines virgin plastic resin and plastic pellets made from residential waste.

This presents an opportunity to reuse refuse from households, keep it in use for as long as possible, and reduce waste in order to minimize environmental impact. This process is in line with the concept of circular economy, which both SCG and Starboard have adopted as a guiding principle in their business operations. In addition, the formulation of plastic resins that incorporate household plastic waste is a testament to SCG’s expertise and its efficient waste management process, which could yield clean and uncontaminated recycled plastic pellets for use as a raw material for the manufacturing of the protective packaging for iQ Foil.

 “When consumers see this, the special thing is that they will learn that there is a story behind the product or the material. For instance, if you can show them that this product was a fishing net brought up from the ocean, it becomes a good story that they want to become a part of and talk about. They would want to purchase that product and share the story with their friends,” added Rasmussen.

As for the last two areas of the collaboration, which are the promotion of actions against global warming and the cultivation of resource efficiency habits in youths, the clearest examples include growing mangrove forests for carbon sequestration, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and cultivating eco-consciousness in pursuit of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among younger people, which will be the driving force behind the conservation of natural resources in the future.

The cooperation between SCG and Starboard in the Collaboration for Sustainable Future Project marks another important step in promoting collaboration among the world’s leading organizations that share the goal of seeking solutions to global warming and sustainable approaches to environmental protection in order to achieve a future society where everyone can be happy. This spirit is captured by the final remark of Starboard’s Chief Innovator Svein Rasmunssen:

“Our lesson today is that we have a huge challenge waiting for us in the next 10 or 20 years. We need to take action right now before it’s too late. That’s what we need to think about right now.”