SCG Chemicals (SCGC), a regional market leader in the chemical business, has agreed a major new award scheme to develop novel ideas and nascent research from Oxford’s laboratories into environmental sustainability solutions for the global chemicals industry.

The SCGC Fund for Innovation and Research in Sustainability and Technology (SCGC-FIRST) will be administered by the University of Oxford and will run for four years initially, supporting £ 1 million for innovative research and sustainable solutions that support SCGC’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives.

Roongrote Rangsiyopash, President  & CEO of SCG said, “SCG takes its commitment to the environment and sustainability seriously. We are committed to supporting the decarbonisation of the global chemicals industry. While we see our work as essential in empowering our customers to build the world and economy of, we must balance that with the world and the economy we leave for our children, and the pressing need to respond to climate change. Our strengthened partnership with Oxford will help us to address that balance and mitigate our impact, and aid us in constructing the sustainable world of tomorrow.”

“The SCG has a long and rich history of collaboration with the University since SCG - University of Oxford Centre of Excellence establishment in 2012, and the launch of SCGC-FIRST strengthens those connections. For a long time now, SCGC has been collaborating with us to help keep sustainable innovation at the heart of its business strategy. This new fund will help us to unearth some of the most impactful ESG ideas the University has to offer and catapult them into being by harnessing SCGC’s know-how”, added by Professor Chas Bountra, Pro Vice Chancellor for Innovation, University of Oxford.

Suracha Udomsak, Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Vice President of SCG Chemicals Public Company Limited or SCGC, said, “SCGC places a high emphasis on and continuously promotes commercial research through Open Innovation. This is achieved by fostering R&D collaborations between SCGC and an array of networks, including the government sector, private sector, and educational institutions both domestically and internationally. The goal is to harness the potential of each sector to jointly create innovations for the future, promote a good quality of life, and accelerate the development of products, services, and solutions to generate business opportunities and support a sustainable environment. The SCGC-FIRST research funding initiative focuses on three main areas: reducing energy and carbon emissions, minimizing environmental impacts, and developing plastic materials for the future.”