Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) has announced a sweeping initiative to reach zero food waste by 2030, positioning the plan as a strategic mission to both protect the environment and unlock new economic opportunities. At the Thailand Zero Food Waste Forum 2025, CP’s CEO, Suphachai Chearavanont, described the campaign as a vital movement to “generate immense value” from waste and drive Thailand toward a sustainable future.

The plan spans all levels of the supply chain, from upstream agriculture to retail and consumption. CP is working in alliance with CP Axtra (the entity overseeing Makro and Lotus’s retail operations), the newspaper Krungthep Turakij, and government agencies, with the aim of reducing waste and transforming it into usable products or social subsidies.

Suphachai cited alarming global and domestic statistics: one-third of food worldwide becomes waste, amounting to some 1.05 billion tonnes annually and contributing up to 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In Thailand alone, the group estimates roughly 6.18 million tonnes of food waste are generated each year, making it the second highest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “Food waste is not only vast in volume but also generates high pollution and becomes a breeding ground for pests and germs,” he warned.

The group has already recorded measurable progress from 2019 through 2024, achieving an average annual waste reduction of 24.25 percent. Current operations convert waste streams into fertilizer, animal feed, renewable energy, and value-added food products. In 2024, CP processed 25,207 tonnes into fertilizer, donated 13,586 tonnes as feed, allocated 11,441 tonnes through foundations, used 8,581 tonnes for upcycled food, employed 6,436 tonnes in black soldier fly farming, and generated energy from 4,290 tonnes.

CP has set the target of shrinking its annual waste from 41,513 tonnes (2024 baseline) to just 5,480 tonnes by 2030. Suphachai closed by urging nationwide cooperation: “Every time we throw away food, we lose resources and harm our world without realizing it. I believe sustainable change is truly possible if all sectors move forward together.”

To support these ambitions, CP Axtra has launched a complementary project, “AXTRA Zero Waste: Less Waste, More Value”, aiming specifically to eliminate food waste sent to landfills from retail operations. The program includes two pillars: redistributing edible surplus (“No Edible Food Wasted”) and converting residual waste into value (“Zero Waste, Countless Benefits”). In 2025 alone, it expects to divert more than 15,000 tonnes from landfill and generate economic value exceeding 76 million baht. CP Axtra has also forged a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to support waste sorting, redistribution, composting, biogas, and black soldier fly projects under the “BKK Zero Waste x From Waste To Worth” initiative.

These coordinated efforts reflect CP Group’s broader Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda, which also embraces carbon neutrality, sustainable packaging, and inequality reduction. As the largest integrated agribusiness in Thailand, CP’s zero waste commitment signals a major private sector push to embed circular economy principles into national food systems, leveraging scale, innovation, and cross-sector partnerships.