Living Green with TH

With the operating philosophy “Do love Mother Nature, you will gain all” and the vision of becoming an environment-friendly and sustainable business, TH Group, the owner of TH true MILK brand, not only takes the lead in producing organic fresh milk, organic and high-tech agricultural products, but also becomes a leader in finding and applying “green” material solutions and using renewable bio-materials in the Vietnamese market.

Practical work

To be a “kind housewife”, bring the cleanest products to the Vietnamese kitchen, enhance the physical and mental health and physique of Vietnamese people, since its inception, TH has launched a line of premium fresh and organic milk to revamp the then turbulent Vietnamese dairy market where hundreds of dairy brands were present (mainly reconstituted milk, not fresh milk). TH's way of making milk was also very different. It did not import powdered milk for reconstitution, but grew grass to farm milk cows and applied high technology to production. This was how fresh, clean milk was brought into the Vietnamese market. It has gone on this way for decades to change the consumption habits of Vietnamese people toward a healthier, stronger and more sustainable life.

TH's path to sustainable development has been thorny but glorious, starting from its practical work. In May 2018, TH Group made a mark in the FMCG industry with a series of initiatives/solutions using environmentally friendly materials. Notably, it ended the use of plastic bags at more than 300 TH true mart stores and switched to biodegradable bags.

In October 2018, the plastic spoons for TH true YOGURT was replaced with an environmentally friendly bioplastic spoon.

In June 2019, TH was a pioneer in the Vietnamese dairy industry to replace plastic milk straws with bio-straws. This was one of the solutions that TH Group implemented on the roadmap to reduce disposable plastic waste.  The first bio-straw was applied for the first time to UHT TOPKID formula milk made from organic fresh milk.

Given the fact that 8.3 billion disposable plastic straws are discharged into the environment a year, causing environmental pollution worldwide (2018 data from the American Marine Research Association), TH Group’s solution of using bio-plastic straws brings in many benefits.

While conventional plastic straws take hundreds of years to decompose, TH's eco-friendly straws, made from plants, take only about six months under industrial composting conditions to decompose into water, CO2 gas and humus, which are not harmful to crops.

TH's eco-friendly milk straws are completely imported and they fully meet Vietnamese regulations on safety standards for food contact materials issued by the Ministry of Health (QCVN 12 -1: 2011/BYT). They are absolutely safe for consumers.

Since October 2020, TH's canvas bags have been officially sold at TH true marts nationwide, extending its list of green consumer solutions. Milk cartons for canvas bag programs were launched on a large scale, enabling TH to collect milk cartons for recycling and encourage customers to use canvas bags, to reduce plastic bags and disposable plastic items as well.

In addition, using green energy is also a priority of TH. Currently, solar panels installed on roofs of TH facilities and farms feed into the national grid. This clean energy source helps reduce emissions by the equivalent of thousands of tons of CO2 a year.

Initiatives on recycling, biodiversity conservation, environmental perception and sustainable development are also encouraged among TH employees.

The Sustainable Development Policy that TH is pursuing is launched in all areas where TH is involved, including six pillars: Nutrition - health, Environment, Education, TH People, Community, and Animal Welfare. Environment is a pillar that TH Group is particularly keen on, enlightened by the operating philosophy “Do love Mother Nature” - a philosophy that is present in every activity of TH Group.

The strategy for green Vietnam

Practical consumption actions and solutions that TH has adopted have helped change consumer behaviors. But, to take basic and methodical steps for a “green” Vietnam, it is necessary to have a common strategy across the business community, said Madam Thai Huong, Chairwoman of TH Group’s Strategy Council.

In June 2019, TH joined eight multinational corporations and leading Vietnamese firms to establish the Packaging Recycling Organization (PRO Vietnam) for a green, clean, and beautiful Vietnam by creating a circular economy, collecting 100% of product packages sold to the market for recycling. PRO Vietnam is a voluntary, not-for-profit organization designed to foster package collection and recycling of participating brands.

With PRO Vietnam, TH Group set a target that any TH true MILK cartons will not become waste by 2030. Packages of TH and other companies in PRO Vietnam will be completely collected and recycled into other useful materials and products. A “circular economy” will be built to reduce plastic waste, package waste, and solid waste in general, to protect the environment and build a greener Vietnam.

A year of establishment, PRO Vietnam members have to date collected 7,000 tons of paper boxes and reduced more than 200 tons of plastic and plastic waste in operations.

PRO Vietnam has also contacted more than 20 provinces, persuaded 2,000 schools, more than 10 million consumers and more than 1,000 households, and set up 27 collection points in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the past year.

On June 17, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in collaboration with the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and TH Group started up Vietnam Business for Environment (VB4E).

The VB4E Alliance focuses on three main activities: building an online idea bank, supporting policy advocacy and fostering capacity building. Most notably, an online initiative bank is where nongovernmental organizations, businesses and stakeholders can collaborate on building and implementing environmental protection projects and initiatives.

Cooperation projects span many fields such as biodiversity conservation, plastic waste management, sustainable tourism development, marine and coastal conservation, forest landscape restoration, water and wetland conservation, renewable energy and climate change.

By joining VB4E, businesses can strengthen their environmental protection efforts with field projects, share and replicate sustainable business practices, take part in policy advocacy and enhance their prestige.

Previously, a memorandum of understanding on establishment of VB4E was signed by three parties (IUCN, MONRE and TH Group) in October 2019. Jointly initiated and founded by experienced and reputable social organizations, which already carried out many natural conservation and environmental protection projects in the world and the region, VB4E is expected to become an inspirational initiative and, at the same time, become a platform for the Vietnamese business community to join together for the environment and for sustainable development.

Becoming one of three founding members of VB4E, TH Group once again showed its inspirational leadership on the journey to cherish Mother Nature, and foster new thinking and action to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development in the dairy industry in particular and the business community in general.

By becoming one of the innovative founders of these organizations, TH Group once again expressed its desire to build a green, clean ecosystem from product quality to living environment.

TH Group's actions not only support environmental protection but also create a positive impact on perceptions and actions of the business community and the masses, and encourage customers to change behaviors and move towards sustainable development.

By Hien Le, Vietnam Business Forum