Promoting communications on plastic waste reduction at TH true mart

According to the recent survey in March 2021 conducted by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and other partners on the current status of single-use nylon bags at 48 supermarkets in Ha Noi, the number of single-use nylon bags used is 104,000/day, an equivalence of 38 million nylon bags/year and 46/48 supermarkets provide free nylon bags. On average, each supermarket consumes approximately 1,454 nylon bags/day, ranging from 70 to 2800 bags.

Recently, on 22/7/2021, the Prime Minister enacted Decision No. 1316/QD-TTg: Approval of the scheme for strengthening management of plastic waste in Viet Nam. By 2025, the scheme strives to use 100% environmentally friendly nylon bags and packages instead of non-biodegradable nylon bags for daily-use purposes at commercial centers and supermarkets; ensure to collect, reuse, recycle and dispose 85% of generated plastic waste.

With an aim of promoting communications, reducing the use of single-use plastic products in supermarket chains and retailers and bolstering the goal of Decision No. 1316, on 27/8/2021, Vietnam Business for Environment (VB4E) in collaboration with ISPONRE co-organised the workshop “Promoting communications on plastic waste reduction at supermarket chains and retailers”. The first one was conducted with TH true mart under TH Group.

TH true mart is one of 14 businesses that signed agreements to join the Plastic Alliance (a coalition of supermarkets and retailers committed to decreasing single-use plastic products) initiated by ISPONRE and Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade. This activity is a part of the project “Rethinking Plastics – Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter” funded by the European Union and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Expertise France is the implementing agency of this project in Viet Nam.

The main objective of the workshop was to raise the awareness of TH True Mart’s staff on plastic pollution and its interlinkage with human health; provide information on the status of single-use nylon bags in supermarkets and brainstorm ideas for the communications plan of TH true mart.

The workshop welcomed 97 representatives from IUCN, ISPONRE, VB4E, Vietnamese Stature Foundation (VSF); retail chain TH True Mart’s staff, TH Group’s executives, Hanoi University of Public Health, Ha Noi University of Civil Engineering,…

In addition to information about plastic pollution – health interaction and the status of nylon bag use in supermarkets, the IUCN representative also shared international experiences and some good business practices that can be applied to reduce plastic use. The ISPONRE representative presented the communications strategy of the project “Rethinking Plastics”. Accordingly, the staff of TH True Mart suggested ideas to implement communication activities at their company, simultaneously contributing to the overall “Rethinking Plastics” communications strategy.

The TH true mart’s representative presented measures to reduce plastic waste at TH true mart and company’s roadmap on environmental protection and plastic waste reduction integration with the TH Group’s Sustainable Development Strategy. 

The workshop has shown the need for raising awareness on plastic pollution for staff of supermarkets to better communicate with customers when carrying out plastic waste reduction campaigns. Customers, accordingly, can further understand about plastic pollution and cooperate with supermarkets during implementation. Additionally, business awards or benchmarking programmes for businesses pioneering in plastic waste reduction should be implemented by governmental agencies such as the Department of Industry and Trade and ISPONRE,…

In the coming time, VB4E will continue to partner with ISPONRE to expand communications activities to other supermarkets and retailers that have joined the Plastic Alliance and made the pledge. 

For the workshop report, please see: LINK

[1] https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Tai-nguyen-Moi-truong/Quyet-dinh-1316-QD-TTg-2021-phe-duyet-De-an-tang-cuong-cong-tac-quan-ly-chat-thai-nhua-482053.aspx