AEON VIETNAM COOPERATED WITH HANOI DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE PROMOTE “THE DISPOSABLE PLASTIC WASTE REDUCTION PROJECT” IN HANOI”

19.12.2019

On December 19, 2019, the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with AEON Vietnam Co., Ltd. ("AEON Vietnam") heldthe Launching Ceremony of "the Disposable Plastic Waste Reduction Project in Hanoi and the North" for AEON Vietnam General Merchandise Store system at AEON Ha Dong General Merchandise Store ("GMS") has just come into operation on November 26, 2019.

This is the continuation event in the series of activities of the project with the message "Choose your own bag - Choose a healthy life", deployed synchronously among more than 3,000 AEON employees then spread to customers, to encourage the habit of using a personal bag/cup when shopping, aiming to enhance the health and improve the living environment.

The ceremony was honored to welcome the presence of Mr. Nguyen Doan Toan - Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee; Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Lan - Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade; representatives of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Hanoi Emulation and Commendation Commission; Department of Trade Management, Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade; Ha Dong District People's Committee; Duong Noi ward People's Committee with a large number of customers and local people.

At the launching ceremony of the Disposable Plastic Waste Reduction Project in Hanoi city and the northern region of AEON Vietnam, Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Lan - Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade said: "On behalf of Director of Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, I highly appreciate the practical activities of AEON Vietnam Co., Ltd. These are the starting steps of AEON Vietnam and I believe that with the success of AEON in Japan, AEON Vietnam will continue to take long-term, sustainable steps contributing to the achievement of the goals of reducing disposable plastic waste, helping to conserve and protect the environment of Vietnam in general and Hanoi in particular."

At the ceremony, Mr. Sasamori Hiroaki - Deputy General Director of AEON Vietnam Co., Ltd. said: "Continuing AEON Vietnam's efforts in implementing the Disposable Plastic Waste Reduction Project in the South, AEON Vietnam has cooperated with the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade to hold the Launching Ceremony of the project in the area of Hanoi and the North to promote the implementation of upcoming activities such as AEON ECO new environmental bags, donating 20,000 new environmental bags to customers, ... Thereby, AEON Vietnam will make endless efforts towards the target of 30% reduction in the amount of biodegradable bags in the AEON General Merchandise store system nationwide until the end of 2020. In addition, we also have a roadmap for charging biodegradable plastic bags in 2020 and the following years."

With the message "Choose your own bag - Choose a healthy life", AEON Vietnam wishes to join hands with customers and accompany local people to promote solutions to improve the quality of living environment and the health of the community; By taking steps to limit disposable plastic waste, it will be focused on minimizing the use of plastic bags at the first stage

Accordingly, AEON Vietnam officially launched the project at the end of September 2019 at AEON Shopping Mall - Tan Phu Celadon, with subsequent activities such as: New environmental bag design contest of AEON Vietnam; The promotion of 2,000 VND to customers who use personal cups to buy tea and coffee instead of paper cups at AEON Café; Change the bagasse bowl at the drink counter in the Delica buffet on the ground floor; There are also messages to encourage customers to bring environmental bags when shopping in the parking area before entering the center and thanks are sent to customers who have used environmental bags in the area of cashier counters after finishing the shopping journey, etc.

With the strategy of being a pioneer in realizing the goal of not using plastic bags and increasing the use of environmentally friendly products by AEON staff, the project has been deployed synchronously from 3,000 AEON staff nationwide through direct launch and environmental bag giveaway to all AEON staff working at the company's main office and in the whole system of General Merchandise Stores; at the same time, there are also messages that are vividly and easily demonstrated in places that people often pass by such as the internal elevator area, etc.

Following the project's roadmap, the Launching Ceremony in the North was held on December 19, 2019 at AEON Ha Dong General Merchandise Store, marking the next step in the long-term plan to reduce disposable plastic waste of AEON Vietnam.

AEON Vietnam will make endless efforts to aim to the goal of cutting the amount of biodegradable plastic bags by 30% by the end of 2020 and encouraging customers to use their own bags when shopping.

Through activities to encourage customers to use environmental bags and personal cups and bottles that have been implemented in the last 2 months and programs will be implemented in 2020, AEON Vietnam will make endless efforts to aim to the goal of reducing the amount of biodegradable plastic bags by 30% in the AEON Vietnam General Merchandise store system. In addition, AEON Vietnam has a roadmap towards charging biodegradable plastic bags in AEON General Merchandise store system nationwide in 2020 and the following years.

AEON Ha Dong - The newly opened 5th General Merchandise Store of AEON Vietnam will be the starting point for the upcoming activities of the Project.

Officially put into operation at the end of November and opened on December 5, with the idea of bringing a relaxed and secure and reliable life according to Japanese standards, AEON - Ha Dong was chosen as the starting point for the chain of activities in the next stage of AEON Vietnam's Disposable Plastic Waste Reduction Project, which will then be deployed in the rest of AEON Vietnam General Merchandise Stores nationwide.

Specifically, at the launch ceremony on December 19, AEON Vietnam officially announced and introduced a new environmental bag "AEON ECO" of AEON Vietnam, with its eye-catching modern design, the idea and development are inspired from the work won the first prize in the contest "Multi-function design, cohesive community" that AEON Vietnam co-organized with Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture in late September, together many additional functions such as: multi-compartment bag to separate packaged and fresh products; side compartment for bottles, fresh flowers with long branches; more flexible with 02 length levels of strap to easier transport such as: long strap gives users the convenience and comfort when carrying shopping bags for a long time; Short straps for carrying and hanging on motorbikes are suitable for the majority of Vietnamese customers; Especially, the bag can also be folded down to the size of an adult's hand so that consumers can conveniently store it in their bag and carry it every day, etc.

AEON Ha Dong is also the first General Merchandise Store in AEON Vietnam's system to use 100% paper straws at the Delica buffet on the 1st floor, this step is evaluated as one of the great efforts on AEON Vietnam's journey to gradually replace disposable plastic items with more environmentally friendly materials.

In particular, AEON Vietnam will organize "The Journey of Mascot AEON ECO bag" around 05 general merchandise stores nationwide from December 21, 2019 to January 19, 2019; in which, the first destinations of this journey will be AEON Ha Dong and AEON Tan Phu Celadon. At this time, along with the customer interaction, Mascot AEON ECO bag will also give free 20,000 new AEON ECO environmental bags to customers who come to shop at AEON Vietnam General Merchandise Stores. In addition, there are interactive games such as sorting and classifying goods including 3 common product categories in the customer's shopping carts such as: packaged dry food, cosmetics and fresh food; There will also be an exhibition corner and the story of "disposable plastic waste" about microplastics penetrating the food chain affecting human health will be "told" regularly by AEON Vietnam at event.

In addition to the long-term project to minimize disposable plastic waste, AEON Vietnam has been continuously implementing a variety of activities to join hands with customers and local communities to improve the quality of the living environment such as: Tree planting ceremony "AEON Hometown Forests" taking place on November 2, 2019 at AEON Ha Dong with tree planting activities in many provinces across Vietnam with the total number of trees up to more than 100,000 as of December 2019, the program of donating solar battery systems to primary schools, AEON's Environmental Sanitation Day taking place every month, garbage sorting activities at sources at AEON Vietnam Malls since 2014, accompanying the action programs for the environment of local governments, etc.

In every place where AEON Vietnam located, the company's eternal mission is to bring peace of mind and trust, and contribute to the development of the local community through the activities of the disposable plastic waste reduction project, AEON Vietnam has shown its efforts in joining hands with customers and the community in order to promote solutions to improve the quality of living environment and health of the community; and build a promising future.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• AEON Vietnam Co., Ltd.
• Corporate Communications & Social Responsibility Department
• Address: No. 30 Bo Bao Tan Thang, Son Ky Ward, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City
• Email: phongtruyenthong@aeon.com.vn
• Tel: (033) 217 9797