Coaching of Green Marketing in Markets/Shopping Districts
Lu, Ming Jin（China Productivity Center Unique Industry Development Department）
Coaching of green marketing in markets/shopping districts is a benchmark for green marketing promotion and has always been a core function of the CPC service teams. Some exemplary coaching projects have been completed in the past few years, such as those at Taishan Public Market of New Taipei City and the shopping district on Dalong Road of Taichung City. Participating shops are selected through a well-planned mechanism, but the results may vary with different action plans performed depending on the different resources and conditions involved. These include the differences in the operation modes based on different conditions, which should have been carefully formulated before the coaching started so as to develop suitable projects and achieve the best results.
Scope of Green Coaching
The purpose of developing the green markets/shopping districts is to promote green consumption through marketing strategies so as to boost all business activities in the future. "Business" is an operation process as shown in the figure below. Therefore, the promotion of green marketing needs to include the whole cycle of commercial activities "design→ procurement → production/manufacturing → packaging → marketing→ transportation→ sales→ consumption→ use→ discarding" for the enhanced effect.
Therefore, the coaching of green markets/shopping districts is now focused on the stages highlighted in dark color in the above figure, that is, the stages of "procurement + marketing + sales + consumption + use". The key tasks are illustrated as follows:
- Procurement→ Green commodity introduction and management
- Marketing→ Green marketing strategy counseling
- Sales→ Green environment and sanitation management of the store
- Consumption→ Promotion of green consumption concept
- Use→ Promotion of resource reuse and recycling
Planning and Practice of Green Marketing Coaching:
- Green commodity introduction and management
1. Provision of information on green and organic commodities
－ Provision of information on products with green marks
－ Provision of information on agricultural products with organic certification
－ Provision of information on food products with traceability and safety certification
－ Provision of information on products meeting "low pollution, recyclable, and resource-saving" requirements
2. Procurement of green and organic commodities
－ Procurement of products with green marks
－ Procurement of products with organic certification
－ Procurement of food products with traceability and safety certification
－ Procurement of commodities that comply with the Commodity Labeling Act of Ministry of Health and Welfare
－ No procurement of products that have been bleached or containing anti-nutrients, pigments, and other additives
－ Procurement of commodities with origins clearly marked
－ Use of non-polluting, non-toxic or natural raw materials
－ Procurement of commodities that are easy to dispose of after use
－ Procurement of products that meet the requirements of "low pollution, recyclable, and resource saving"
3. Management of green and organic commodities
－ Green and organic commodity order management
－ Green and organic commodity inventory management
－ Green and organic product quality maintenance and management
- Green marketing strategy counseling
1. Green product strategies
－ Procurement and sale of commodities that conform to the green consumption concept
－ Regularly check the expiry date of food items displayed on the shelves
－ Proper display of commodities
－ Moderate commodity packaging, with recyclable materials or recycled paper
－ Others
2. Green pricing strategies
－ Discount strategy (e.g. discount for self-prepared bags, cups, tableware, etc.)
－ High price strategy (e.g. higher price for organic and non-toxic products)
3. Green channel strategies
－ Channels of maintenance, replenishment, and waste recycling of commodities sold
－ Reduction of the number of deliveries and shipping distance of raw materials and commodities
－ Network for commodity promotion and sales to reduce use of paper
4. Green Promotion Strategies
－ Promotion activities for green products
－ Green public welfare activities
－ Article publications for promoting green consumption
－ Promotion of organization’s green practices to consumers
－ Promotion through electronic media
－ Provision of tote bags and other free reusable items
- Green environment and sanitation management
1. Origin of the commodities
－ Commodity labeling in full compliance with the product labeling laws and regulations of the Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Administration
－ Clear labeling on the commodities
－ Investigation on suspicious adulterated food products
2. Store sanitation
－ Responsible areas designated to the cleaning personnel with checklists prepared for patrolling inspection
－ Each stall operator is required to thoroughly clean up the surrounding environment at the end of each day of business
－ A cleaning day is set every month to clean the gutters and the whole environment
－ Total disinfection on non-business days
－ The use of detergents, pesticides and other chemicals is minimized and substituted with natural bacteria liquid
－ Campaigns on prohibition of selling live poultry and on-site slaughtering in order to maintain the sanitation (for the part of green market)
3. Landscape greening
－ Green potted plants placed in public area
－ Plants grown extensively and flowerbeds built
- Promotion of green consumption concept
1. Green management philosophy of the enterprises
－ Green (environmental protection) declaration formulated by the enterprise
－ Green project task force organized with clear division of labor
－ Green (environmental protection) declarations, reminders, and slogans displayed at conspicuous places
－ Internal workshops on green concept promotion
2. Promotion of green commodity consumption
－ Green consumption publicity events
－ Green consumption advertisements
－ Green consumption publications
－ Environmental protection concept and green messages conveyed to consumers in various events
- Promotion of resource reuse and recycling
1. Garbage reduction and classification
－ Strictly adhere to the garbage classification regulations of the Environmental Protection Administration.
－ Install the trash bins properly.
－ Minimize the use of disposable tableware and plastic bags.
2. Second-hand ideas
－ Unwanted second-hand items can be donated or sold in flea markets.
－ Repairment of broken items instead of replacement
－ Regular maintenance of facilities enhanced
3. Resource recovery and reuse
－ Used plastic bottles and waste cloth made into flower pots
－ Regular recycling of carton packaging, and reuse of Styrofoam items
－ Used glass bottles and jars re-used as flower and water vessels.
－ Kitchen wastes made into compost
－ Rainwater recycled for flower watering
Finally, for the promotion of green markets or green shopping districts, the most important thing is to behold the true "green" spirit. All methods of green marketing deserve continuous effort and promotion to achieve a solid green business environment and leave a high-quality green consumer life to the next generation.