Post by Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand

On Thursday 25 June, the JFCCT Sustainable Development Committee Chair Martin Venzky-Stalling held an in-person luncheon and committee dialogue at NEXTOPIA, Level 5, Siam Paragon, Bangkok, with more than 20 participants from the JFCCT SDC committee and the wider Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand network. The session brought together perspectives from retail, property, procurement, climate finance and development finance. Nareerat S., Executive Vice President, Siam Piwat , shared how NEXTOPIA is being developed as a space for sustainability innovation, tenant engagement and new forms of collaboration within a major retail and property ecosystem. Nienke Benders , Head of Partnerships at givvable.com, presented the Ayala Land case from the Philippines, showing how better supplier data, credential intelligence and responsible procurement practices can help large property and retail groups work more systematically with suppliers and tenants on sustainability performance. Marc Forni from the World Bank added a development finance perspective, explaining how private investment for clean energy and climate infrastructure can be unlocked by addressing budget constraints and aggregating verified small-scale emission reductions into internationally tradable carbon assets. The discussion highlighted an important theme for Thailand: property and retail owners can play a catalytic role in advancing sustainability across wider business ecosystems. By working with tenants, suppliers, financiers and public institutions, they can help turn sustainability from individual corporate commitments into practical collaboration, investment and implementation — especially where SMEs and smaller suppliers need support to participate in the transition. Participants also enjoyed a delicious lunch at FIKKA restaurant, followed by a guided tour of NEXTOPIA. A fun highlight was the kinetic floor, where the group took a jumping photo together — a playful demonstration of how footsteps can be converted into clean electricity. Thank you to Siam Piwat, NEXTOPIA, FIKKA restaurant, Givvable, the World Bank, and all JFCCT members and guests who joined the discussion. #JFCCT #NEXTOPIA #Sustainability #Givvable #SiamPiwat #Fikka #RetailSustainability