Nissan’s Honor the King’s Legacy 2019 program inspires sustainable living

BANGKOK, Thailand (20 November 2019) – Nissan today announced the expansion of the Honor the King’s Legacy project, designed to advance society and encourage student teams across Thailand to tackle local waste issues by developing sustainable upcycle solutions.

In its third year, the program is inspired by the legacy of giving by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and all other Thai monarchs. Some 138 teams from 33 universities are competing this year.

Nissan gives students in their third year or above the opportunity to demonstrate their learning, creativity, and planning skills in sustainability and upcycling by demonstrating their abilities in designing, marketing, branding, and communication strategies. The first round involved students submitting a proposal to address a challenge faced by a local community.

Today, at an event at True Digital Park in Bangkok, a panel of Nissan executives along with design and innovation experts, selected 12 semi-finalists based on the upcycle planning, feasibility and long-term sustainability of their proposals.

In the final round, the six finalists will collaborate with three communities in Chantaburi province: Baan Namsai, Baan Namjone, and Baan Takadngao. The finalists will develop a practical and innovative sustainable solution for specific waste problems in these communities, where they will be applying the knowledge gained from the project workshops, experts, real-life experience, and Nissan’s innovative intelligence.

Nissan is offering total prizes worth more than 500,000 baht for the winners and runners-up of the Honor the King’s Legacy 2019 project. The winners will be announced in March 2020.

“The students who join this competition will get far more than just the prizes: they will get real-life skills, training from industry experts and the chance to give from the heart to local communities,” said Ramesh Narasimhan, president of Nissan in Thailand, adding that Nissan is truly thankful and pleased to see this incredible collaboration from all parties.

Following the success of the 2018 program, Nissan opened the project in 2019 to universities nationwide. Seven departments from six universities also made the competition a compulsory course component.

“As a company committed to the market we operate in, we actively contribute to local communities,” Narasimhan said. “We believe in the passion, creativity, and spirit of university students. In this 2019 competition, we can see the fantastic contribution of the students in developing upcycle solutions that help local communities address the issue of waste. The proposals they have submitted are proof that they have heart and innovative ideas for creating a sustainable living and for developing a zero-emission society.”

Peter Galli, vice president for communications at Nissan in Thailand, said that this project gives students the chance to use their skills and passion to help build a sustainable society. “We are so impressed by the huge number of students with diverse skillsets from a range of academic disciplines who are willing to give their free time to participate in this meaningful project. Nissan is doing more than just producing and selling cars; we care about our environment and are providing opportunities. We are proud and honored to work alongside these students to help build stronger communities by following the legacy of all the Thai Kings, past and present.”

Senior Consultant and Program Manager, Food Innopolis, National Science & Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) Dr. Porramate Chumyim congratulated the successful contestants. “The students presented fantastic innovative solutions that responded to community demands and helped solve problems,” he said. “They put the community at the heart of their innovations as well as representing their identity in truly creating a sustainable community. We believe that they will learn how to build social enterprise models for communities, creating sustainable business and social value.”

The successful students will also attend Design Thinking Workshops to foster design ideas and strategies that will not only further their upcycle planning but also help them as they prepare for their future careers. They will benefit from activities and workshops with leading local experts in the fields of marketing, branding, and marketing communication. All of this provides the students with a truly unique opportunity to network and build relationships with communities, experts, and each other, in a way that will help equip them to excel in the Thai workforce.

Nissan introduced the first Honor the King’s Legacy project in 2017 to help ensure that the concepts and philosophy of sufficiency economy established by his Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej during his extensive reign continued to live on. That year, ten individuals who had fundamentally changed both their professional and personal lives based on the Sufficiency Economy teachings of the king profiled. 

In 2018, the project focused on the concept of ‘giving’ – a characteristic shown by all the Thai monarchs – with university students creating saleable products by recycling and upcycling local waste material to generate a revenue stream for local communities.

“In 2018 we saw first-hand the passion, creativity, and spirit of university students, so in this 2019 program we are so excited about the fantastic contributions from the students to develop upcycle solutions that help local communities address the issue of waste,” Narasimhan said. “The proposals they have submitted are proof that they have both open hearts and incredibly innovative ideas for creating sustainable living.”

Nissan Thailand encourages everyone to visit แค่ใจก็เพียงพอ.com, like its “Honor the King’s Legacy” Facebook page, and follow on Instagram.

About Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Nissan was established in Japan since 1933 with the commitment to create Innovation that Excites for customer satisfaction. Nissan wants to improve quality of life for people in society by pursuing a goal of zero emission vehicles and zero fatalities on the road with “Nissan Intelligent Mobility”. The company plans to introduce autonomous drive vehicles across regions for safety and more enjoyable driving experience. Nissan started business in Thailand since 1952. Currently, the Nissan Group of Companies in Thailand has subsidiaries five companies, including two of the production bases, over than 170 showrooms and service centers nationwide network. Vehicle range cover all segments includes 10 models spanning the entry level Eco-Car, SUV, Premium Sedans and Pickup Trucks.

About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2018, the company sold 5.52 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.6 trillion yen. Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors in 2016. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance sold 10.76 million vehicles combined in calendar year 2018.

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