The Central Retail Group has coordinated with the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and the Environment and the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade to launch "No Plastic Bag Day" to encourage consumers to protect the environment. 

In Hue City, the big retailer also coordinated with “Hue – City to Reduce Plastics in Central Vietnam” project to launch No Plastic Bag Month at GO! Hue supermarket.

At GO! and BigC supermarket chains run by Central Retail Group, plastic straws are no longer used, and biodegradable bags made from cornstarch and potatoes are used instead.

The supermarkets now provide vegetables covered with banana leaves, encouraging clients to join hands with the retailer to protect the environment.

The retailer has worked with 30 fresh-food suppliers to replace plastic packaging with biodegradable bags. With support from producers, organic products available at GO! such as organic rice and coffee are now wrapped in paper instead of plastic.

In early June, Central Retail Vietnam and Sparklo Clean Tech signed an agreement on installing Sparklomats machines that collect waste for recycling at the GO! network nationwide.

Sparklomats machines at GO! collect empty cans and plastic bottles, which undergo a classification, cleaning and grinding process to become new products. The process saves 55 percent of CO2 emissions, 50 percent of energy, and 20 percent of oil.

Clients can get bonus marks for each bottle. The bonus marks will be converted into money for clients to shop at the supermarket chain and receive preferences from brands.

WinCommerce has been deploying green solutions at its Winmart and Winmart+ networks. The retailer uses 100 percent biodegradable bags, and reduces or replaces plastic disposable materials with environmentally friendly products.

Co-op Mart, MM Mega Market and others have also replaced plastic bags.

Co-op Mart encourages clients to use reusable and environmentally-friendly bags when shopping. The retailer has replaced plastic straws and spoons on shelves with products made of bagasse, paper, rice and environmentally friendly materials.

The network has also asked suppliers and partners to shift to green production.

Nguyen Anh Duc, chair of the Vietnam Retailers Association, proposed green standards  for manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, and new state policies to encourage and force manufacturers to gradually shift to green and clean production.

Tam An