We are strongly requesting all candidates to consider the Environment in everything you do this 2010 National Elections!
Save a Cup, Save the World!
Starbucks Philippines posted a whopping gross sales of P2.7 billion for 2008. Given a Venti-sized coffee costs around P150, it can be induced that around 18.5 million cups of both hot and cold drinks were sold by the Green Mermaid for last year. If 100% of those drinks were served in disposable wares, we can say that more than 50,000 cups are being thrown on a daily basis from Starbucks alone!
Can you imagine how much garbage coffee-lovers generate on a daily basis?
The good news is Starbucks does not serve all drinks in paper and plastic cups these days. To quote from the Official Starbucks website: “The Starbucks cup is a widely recognized symbol of our company. The environmental impact of our disposable paper and plastic cups is a big area of concern to our customers and we are committed to significantly reducing this impact by 2015.”
In the Philippines, Starbucks not only uses recycled papers in their cups, they also actively encourage their loyal clients to switch to reusable mugs. In fact, they have allocated an attractive display within their store to entice customers to “Go Green” not only out of novelty but out of sheer corporate and social responsibility.
The Green Smiley is all smiles because of the Pro-Environment efforts by Starbucks through its local operator, Rustan Coffee Corporation. In fact, The Green Smiley’s soon-to-be-ubiquitous “smile of approval” can be seen in Community Billboards inside Starbucks branches all over the Philippines.
The Green Smiley is the flagship environmental initiative of Green Team Pilipinas which is a non-government organization based in Ortigas Center, Philippines. The Mission is to promote Eco-friendly business policies through Big Corporations and the Philippine Government which will reward companies that support such policies and correct those who don’t.
So next time you have a good cup of coffee, you may want to bring your personal reusable mug. Not only will it save you P5, you will also save one paper cup from being used that would ultimately add up to the garbage we generate on a daily basis. One less cup from every coffee lover daily can make a noticeable change. To solve a problem such as garbage, trace back the roots.
Reduce packaging, reduce waste!
We now have 20,000 Green Smiley Stickers. Just PM or comment if you’d like to help out in promoting Eco-friendly business policies through Big Corporations through our continuous sticker campaign.
Reduce packaging, reduce waste!
Consumer Choices Can Reduce Packaging Waste
Kenneth R. Berger2
Did you know that up to one out of every $11 you spend at the store pays for packaging? Also, when all packaging is accounted for, it adds up to about one-third of all the trash that’s thrown away in the United States.
Industry and business are responsible for most of this waste, but consumer product packaging accounts for about 15 percent of what’s discarded. When you purchase a frozen dinner, you are paying for not only the meal but for the outer paperboard box, the plastic or foil tray that holds the meal, and the covering over the food.
You pay again for packaging, directly or indirectly, when your garbage is picked up and disposed of in a landfill or incinerator. Some communities are moving toward “pay-as-you-throw” fees for every bag put out at the curb, so it makes sense to reduce household waste. Composting, recycling, and reusing items all help. And by shopping carefully you can reduce excess packaging that you would throw away.
And now, for the good news! It seems like one of the biggest retail chains in the country is very interested to utilize The Green Smiley.
I know, I know, this might just be a simple marketing process to “green” PR articles or merchandising efforts of their stores. But the thing is, the person I contacted is in a post that is more in-line with The Buying Process. In fact, this person is on top of that very important function.
Moreover, will not be a shallow cutesy campaign such as what we have seen and experienced before. Rest assured The Green Smiley will force the need to make green reforms in our very consumption-driven lifestyle.
I have once worked for a local FMCG company. Trust me when I say, if this Powerful Retail Company will enforce The Green Smiley Index, we are all going to experience positive change for the Environment.
This is the first reply I received for The Green Proposal. This is coming from the Corporate Communications of one of the Major Call Centers in the country. Although the response is supportive, I am hoping they can actively support our cause next year. Financial assistance is of course badly need. I understand though that it’s nearing end of the fiscal year and budget as well as time is kinda tight.
Here’s me praying for the other Major Call Centers to still have some cash left even after assisting their employees who were Ondoy Victims. See? We were affected by Ondoy one way or another. The Green Smiley has to officially launch in order to make a difference.
Out of sheer confidence that this project will not just be purely talk, I braved potential embarrassment (or simply the thought of just wasting my time) and sent The Green Proposal to my former employers, former colleagues, and business contacts.
The style of business letter writing is as taught by Ms. Ardy Batoy while studying at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde for Businco. I really believe this format works because time and time again it has proven its worth before. Notice how direct the letter is on what we wanted? This is because as a Marketing Professional myself, it is honestly a painstaking process having to read all the incoming proposals from all the companies, schools, charities, and the likes.
It is better to be direct to the point at the first paragraph, explain who you are in the second, and then expound the first paragraph on the third and so on. It also pays to write the recipient’s name and position in bold letters. It’s a way of telling this proposal is really for you!
It all started in 2502-D West Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center in Pasig City where we, a group of socially, environmentally, and perhaps politically concerned individuals, congregated weekly to make a difference. For all those who actually know me and are aware of the fact that I am the kind of person who has no “activist bone” in my body, don’t ask me how I began to actually “care”. I don’t even know the reason myself.
Anyway, last October 20, the Green Team had its weekly meeting and brainstorming. One of the biggest concern, of course, is how to help the People in Power address our devastating Environmetal Problem. A lot of ideas were thrown in the ring. However, with my background in marketing, I only had 2 things to share. First, we needed SMART objectives. I will discuss this later in a separate post.
Second, we have to speak to the market. We do not have the luxury of growing organically. We have to do this the pop culture way. This includes coming up with a symbol of our endeavor that is, to quote Batman aka Bruce Wayne aka Christian Bale, “as a symbol, I can be incorruptible”.
At first, I was thinking of the Incredible Hulk or even Dexter of Cartoon Network. But, thanks to Lei Angeles, the Smiley as a symbol was mentioned. Well, what do you know? It’s perfect. Hopefully, a year from now, we can all look back and say the eternal cliché which is, the rest is history.
This is me praying for success!
