By Nitipol Kiravanich
The Asian Institute of Technology’s (AIT) Master’s student in Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CCSD) program, Reeshika Rai, shares how her internship at one of the world’s leading petrochemical producers, Indorama Ventures, has exposed her to “another dimension of sustainability”.
Indorama Ventures was established in Thailand in the year 1994. It is the world's largest producer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins, offering variety of petrochemical products including feedstock, PET, Packaging, Fibers and recycled products. They are currently operating in 33 countries with 125 manufacturing facilities and 24,000 employees around the world.
Reeshika’s academic and professional pursuits have been driven by her passion for the environment and sustainability. Through the CCSD program at AIT, her interest in sustainability revived further, especially in the sustainability transition of businesses and corporate climate action. The internship opportunity as a Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Intern offered by Indorama was the right fit for her to gain exposure in the sustainability work of large organizations. Her internship tenure was for a period of four months starting from October 1, 2021, to February 4, 2022.
The mission and values of Indorama Ventures, which are translated into the tasks of the CSR Department, are to disseminate knowledge on recycling, to assist the society with an improvement in people’s wellbeing, and to preserve the environment. Employing the ‘shared value creation’ framework to ensure that social and environmental issues can be addressed while benefitting both the business and communities, Reeshika immersed herself throughout her four-month internship in the new aspect of sustainability that she had not been exposed to before.
Assigned to work on Global CSR research & analysis and content creation of sustainability activities & annual and sustainability reports, the intern reflected how she had gained new learning curves and found a motivation to strive in this field. “This internship has exposed me to another dimension of sustainability, through the learning and implementing of ‘Creating Shared Value,’” Reeshika said in hindsight.
Having made new friends and learned new skills, the CCSD student also appreciated the internship opportunity provided by AIT as it helped foster her professional growth. “This internship opportunity is rightly aligned with my career aspirations and professional development,” Reeshika added, “as it has provided me with hands-on exposure and knowledge on the CSR and sustainability work of a large organization.”
The AIT student’s good work was acknowledged by her supervisor, Sriphicha Chaisirivichien, Indorama Ventures Corporate Social Responsibility Manager. Noting that, “Reeshika has demonstrated good working, research, data-consolidation, and information summary, where she also learned aspects of Indorama Ventures’ CSR works, communications, and CSR project’s implementation.”
Reeshika credited her experience at Indorama Ventures to making her aware of how a corporation can contribute to averting the impacts of climate change. She also acknowledged AIT to her newfound awareness, “What AIT is doing and teaching are parallel to the industries and relevant to solving the world’s global challenges.”
Reeshika wishes to also take an opportunity to express her gratitude to Indorama, the CSR team, and AIT for providing her with the opportunity. With the knowledge and experience gained, she aspires to help businesses as they take strides toward their sustainability transition journeys.
More information on Indorama Ventures: https://www.indoramaventures.com/en/home
Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CCSD) Program at AIT is designed to produce work-ready professionals capable of assessing and finding options, and delivering them to the low carbon and climate-resilient development. The research focuses on low carbon and climate-resilient cities, greenhouse gas accounting, technology needs, climate policy assessment, climate financing, disaster and risk management, impact and adaptation to climate change in water, land, agriculture, and their nexus. Explore CCSD Program: https://eecc.ait.ac.th/climate-change-and-sustainable-development/
‘Intern Insights’ is a series of internship stories, told by students participating in AIT Internship Program. It provides a glimpse into student’s experience with a reputable organization, what they have learned and how it has inspired them. Each month, there will be a story of an internship with a different organization participating in the Internship Program – stay tuned!