SCHOOL OF WESTERNSYDNEY UNIVERSITY

GROUP ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

STUDENT DETAILS

Student name: Nguyen Ngoc Mai Anh Student ID number: 20320757

Student name: Tran Thi Ngoc Student ID number: 20285962

Student name: Nguyen Thuy Ngoc Han Student ID number: 20286024

UNIT AND TUTORIAL DETAILS

Unit name: Design Thinking for Creativity Unit number: 200918

Tutorial/Lecture: Doan Duc Minh Class day and time: Wednesday Afternoon
Lecturer or Tutor name: Doan Duc Minh

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Title: Group Report

Length: 2010 words Due date: 18/04/2021 Date submitted: 18/04/2021
Home campus (where you are enrolled): UEH-HCMC

DECLARATION

I hold a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or damaged.

I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been copied from any other student’s work or from
any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment.
I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been submitted by me in another (previous or
current) assessment, except where appropriately referenced, and with prior permission from the Lecturer /
Tutor / Unit Coordinator for this unit.
No part of the assignment/product has been written/produced for me by any other person except where
collaboration has been authorised by the Lecturer / Tutor /Unit Coordinator concerned.
I am aware that this work will be reproduced and submitted to plagiarism detection software programs for the
purpose of detecting possible plagiarism (which may retain a copy on its database for future plagiarism
checking).

Student’s signature: Nguyen Ngoc Mai Anh

Student’s signature: Tran Thi Ngoc
Student’s signature: Nguyen Thuy Ngoc Han

Note: An examiner or lecturer / tutor has the right to not mark this assignment if the above declaration has not been
signed.
In the rapidly changing and extremely competitive economy, sustainability becomes one of the

most essential core values many enterprises are trying to build. This report aims to propose a

sustainability-led innovation, namely recycled bottles made from broken glass. After introducing

what it is and how it works, there would be a deep analysis of the points related to sustainability

and strategies to solve the potential factors that can negatively impact this innovation.

This innovation was formed based on the two most urgent global and local problems: CO2

emissions (environmental issues) and making local brands more eco-friendly (environmental

responsibilities). With that being said, we have come out with a project named SA2BECO

aiming to manufacture glass bottles that are from broken and incompletely melted pieces of

glasses.

Starting with the mission to solve the first problem, we aim to reduce carbon emissions during

the glass manufacturing extracted mainly from high-temperature heat (between 1300 and

1500°C) caused by the fuel burnt for melting refers to more than three-quarters of the total CO2

emissions and the decomposition of carbonates in the mixture approximately a quarter of total

CO2 emissions (Glass Alliance Europe, 2019). Not to mention, the fuel that is used to heat the

furnace is natural gas/fuel oil (Adeyemo, 2015). Moreover, not only glass production but the

glass recycling process also needs to be melted, as “even if glass manufacturing depends mainly

on the finished product, processes have a common origin: the melting of required resources”

(Testa, Malandrino, Sessa, Supino, & Sica, 2017). Due to this reason, an incremental idea was

generated, inspired by a limited edition by The Absolut Company called Absolut Comeback. The

bottle shape was made from broken pieces of glass that attached forming a bottle shape. In the

video of Absolut Comeback: Behind the Scenes published in 2019 by the Youtube account of
Absolut, they have stated that every single chart of the Absolut Comeback design came from a

mould.

This had triggered us to think about establishing a product line/manufacture of vitally focusing

on producing bottles that are made from pieces of glass without making it as just a design, not a

limited edition that is launched for a short period of time. Therefore, to reduce carbon dioxide

emissions and innovate a new type of glass recycling manufacture, we found an idea to recycle

glass bottles without melting 100% of the glass. Looking deeper at the automatic production of

glass bottles from factories contains five essential stages (Adeyemo, 2015):

First, a piece of molten glass (gob) at the precise weight and temperature is obtained. Second, by

creating pressure from pressing the air or a mental plunger, the first mould based on the bottle

shape is formed. Third, the mould is transferred into the finished mould. Fourth, compressed air

is blown into the finished mould to complete the shaping process. Lastly, the finished product is

removed for the after-forming processes. We can observe that a mould plays an important role in

3
the production process as after the melting process glass will have a structure similar to a liquid

that can be shaped accordingly to the mould (Testa, Malandrino, Sessa, Supino, & Sica, 2017).

This is the stage of the process where changes can be made. Instead of being melted completely

into liquid, chunks of broken glasses are possible to include in the, for example, halfway melted

mixture, then blown and shaped into the mould. As regardless of being 100% liquid-like or less

than that, the mixture will still be moulded. Next, the aim for local enterprises to be more eco-

friendly will be suggested for Sabeco (Saigon Beer Company). Being well-known for their

Saigon beer product line, they have gained multiple achievements and customer trust for the

brand. However, when viewing through the 2019 Annual Report published on 29th April 2020 at

their website, the keyword “recycle” has not been found. Looking at the Sustainable

Development Report section, they focus on Economics (e.g. business efficiency), Social (e.g.

human capital, community, and society), and Environment. At the Environment part, they claim

to have a Certificate of “Environmentally Friendly Products” granted by the Vietnam

Environmental Industry Association and commit to investing in business development along

with sustainable development on consumption, conservation, country, and culture. So far they

have participated in reducing waste at raw materials for beer production and packaging such as

cans, labels, cartons, etc. but the question that is raised at this moment is “What about recycling

glass bottles?”.
We want to add more “eco” to Sabeco, and hence, the project name has been created as

SA2BECO. Explanation: Sabeco + eco = Sab2eco => SA2BECO means Saigon (is going) 2 B

Eco. By applying our innovative glass bottle recycling manufacture, we hope to bring to Vietnam

and the world a more sustainable look for Sabeco company.

5
The Earth life-support system has been struggling with a serious predicament of sustainability in

which could probably riddle out by innovation. Moreover, businesses are gradually considering

environmental sustainability as a necessity in their innovation as the significant increase of

consumers and insistence of regulation in supporting “green” products and practices.

Sustainability-led innovation (SLI) is more than a cost of legal and social commitment, yet it is

the innovation that consolidates sustainability as the essence to extend the opportunities to build

up competitive advantage, produce business value and establish stronger customer relationships.

In essence, this innovation could be described as the effective innovation that led by taking

advantage of environmental sustainability to operate business results.

As the initiatives to develop recycled glass bottles, three main steps have been classified to

clearly define its impact on the environment and how much this product has contributed to the

pollutant reduction. Research and development have been the initial step that is essential to
determine the fuel used and create a new sustainable design for the product. According to

khoahoctv (n.d), the process of making glass obviously consumes a huge number of raw

materials needed including 590kg of sand, 186kg of sodium carbonate powder, and 173 kg of

limestone, and by recycling glass, mankind will save an enormous amount of those materials.

Therefore, it is necessary to actively concentrate on the environmental energy area of R&D

where the recycled glass could be examined, analyzed in the attempt to reduce annual energy,

resource consumption as well as the average weight of the product. Moreover, the modification

in design and packaging, for instance replacing plastic with paper packaging, may also bring the

message which stimulates the customers’ awareness of protecting the environment. The

procurement process is also important in which glass is being collected to recycle in this stage.

Moreover, as we understand that glass has infinite recycling life (khoahoctv, n.d), we are willing

to find the solution to send no waste to the landfill by creating a closed process in which the

recycled glass of SA2BECO will be collected and eventually ended up recycled again. Besides,

we also create jobs procurement workers, glass brokers, collectors or classifiers. The next step is

the operation in which we measure some minimization in production inputs, emissions, and

logistics. The big difference between SA2BECO’s recycled glass process compared to other

manufactures’ is the agile process and halfway raw materials. According to Gaskells water waste

(n.d), glass recycling commonly has seven steps including collecting, pre-treatment process,

sorting, washing, crushing, melting, and then module. Whereas, our process involves collecting,

sorting, crushing, purifying, and forming to complete the bottle and the mix, melt, and module

steps have been cut out. As a result, the left-out steps have brought significant impact as 40% of

CO2 emission to the environment. And in this step, we aim to achieve an absolute reduction in

the total volume of water and other materials needed for producing new glasses as well as waste

7
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In logistics, the reduction in CO2 emissions and waste

from packaging is also necessary. The final step is taking back and recycling where our products

that are being produced at SABECO will return and start their new cycle life. In the effort to

improve the quality of the recycled product as well as the emissions from manufacturing

machinery, we would work with recycling factories to diligently develop recycling systems and

continue to design products that are unchallenging to recycle.

In order to grow further to sustainability, we do have some improvement to our production.

Firstly, more light-weighted glass as it not only leads to lightweight packaging which contributes

to energy-saving the manufacturing process and delivering but also takes the edge off the overall

costs (Mak, 2014). We can exploit the beer malt mass from the brewing industry to produce

packaging made from this material. Also taking advantage of beer malts as transport packaging

is a practical and effective option in weight depletion. Due to the biodegradable nature of beer

mass, it could probably protect the environment. Hence, we also put more effort into bringing

our logistic activities “green” by working with design and other departments to come up with

lightweight products, packaging materials, and smaller boxes (Gosling, Jia, and Bessant, 2012).

Moreover, replacing equipment or technology with privileged features which have a low rate in

energy consumption and emissions, greater heat recovery, and heat-to-electricity conversion.
During production operations, the shortage of inputs is the potential problem that might interrupt

the entire process. In terms of this issue, the network of inputs is defined and broken into three

groups including (1) Waste pickers, (2) Partner, and (3) Procurement companies. About the first

suppliers, in fact, they currently just collect unused paper, plastic bottles, and cans of beer, and

ignore the broken glass. It’s easy to understand since in the unpopular scenario of glass

recycling, there are few glass waste buyers. Those informal workers are reported to play an

indispensable position in the waste management system due to their useful accurate scrap

classification (Report Linker, 2020). We intend to establish many procurement locations in

cities, and they definitely pick glass bottles to sell which increases their present low income,

which is also our sustainable effort to help this vulnerable group. Secondly, our partner, Sabeco

Company, is promoted to retrieve the glass bottles they consume for recycling which builds our

cyclic process. This policy messages the value of sustainability for Sabeco and our company as

well. Third, we buy huge quantities of inputs from waste collection companies like Citenco,

Vietnamese Green Environment, Tasco, etc. which have big economies of scale. However, the

9
foundational reasons for this disruptor would be the efforts to raise the awareness of Vietnamese

people regarding glass recycling which is not enough. According to an article on VNExpress,

broken glass is a dilemma in Vietnam because people do not know where to throw this kind of

waste and this confusion has brought about bad consequences (Appendix 1). Hence, it's urgent to

acknowledge people that glass absolutely can be recycled and motivate them to contribute to

putting glass waste in the right place and right type. Regarding awareness strategies, it is

undoubted that the next generation should be prioritized, so that we target the field of schools

where students are most crowded. Specifically, we partnered with the Principal's Office to

organize The Small Plan campaign for students, which is popular and highly effective in

Vietnamese education. The previous projects with the aim of encouraging students to participate

in activities like scrap paper and plastic collection all ended in success, which inspires us to

believe in the same outcome with glass waste collection. Such campaigns would kill two birds

with one stone, not only raise both glass recycling awareness in students and their parents but

also practically reduce CO2 emission and damages to the environment (see more in Appendix 2).

To sum up, glass waste in the landfill is a big issue in Vietnam environment. We bring a solution

for it and help Sabeco become sustainable in customers’ minds. With some strategies to raise

awareness of glass recycling, we believe that if everyone joins a hand, the glass recycling

industry becomes a lot less arduous, people face less danger and the greenhouse effect is less

severe.
Reference

Absolut (Director). (2019). Absolut comeback: Behind the scenes [Video file]. Retrieved April

18, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys0HLt9LZok

Adeyemo, V. (2015). (PDF) the manufacturing of glass bottles and tumblers from silica sand.

Retrieved April 18, 2021, from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274248967_The_Manufacturing_of_Glass_Bott

les_and_tumblers_from_Silica_Sand

Anh, B. (2019). The Small Plan Campaign has good models and creative ways. Ho Chi Minh

Communist Youth Union. Retrieved 15 April, 2021 from http://doanthanhnien.vn/tin-

tuc/doi-tntp-ho-chi-minh/phong-trao-ke-hoach-nho-da-co-nhung-mo-hinh-hay-cach-lam-

sang-tao

Gaskells waste matters. (n.d). The glass recycling process? How is glass recycled? Retrieved 15

April, 2021 from https://gaskellswaste.co.uk/recycling/glass-reprocessor/#:~:text=The

%20glass%20goes%20through%20a,such%20as%20bottles%20and%20jars.

Glass Alliance Europe. (2019). The European glass sector contribution to a climate neutral

economy. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from

https://www.glassallianceeurope.eu/images/para/gae-position-paper-on-decarbonisation-

june-2019_file.pdf.

Gosling, J., Jia, F., & Bessant, J. (2012). Building capabilities in sustainability-led innovation:

Some examples from China. Retrieved April 15, 2021 from http://www.innovation-

portal.info/wp-content/uploads/ISPIM-wwf-2012-april30.pdf

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Hoang, H. (2019). Confusion with glass waste. VNExpress. Retrieved 15 April, 2021 from

https://vnexpress.net/boi-roi-voi-rac-thuy-tinh-3951083.html

Khoahoctv. (n.d). Thuy tinh co tai che duoc khong? Tai che thuy tinh nhu the nao? Khoahoctv.

Retrieved 15 April, 2021 from https://khoahoc.tv/thuy-tinh-co-tai-che-duoc-khong-tai-

che-thuy-tinh-nhu-the-nao-98475?fbclid=IwAR34h5Y6VoVIPlF2nmg8L3UZNdUR-

vA1Eh9Ohc9zxRA-Vkm7pzA6ZibWfA4

Ly Tu Trong Union School. (2020). Small Plans and guidance for the implementation in Ho Chi

Minh City in the period of 2019 - 2022. Retrieved 15 April, 2021 from

https://truongdoanlytutrong.vn/thu-vien/phong-trao-ke-hoach-nho-va-huong-dan-thuc-

hien-cong-trinh-mang-non-tren-dia-ban-thanh-pho-ho-chi-minh-giai-doan-2019-

2022.html

Mak, V. (2014). Lightweight packaging offers many benefits. Chinadaily. Retrieved 15 April,

2021 from https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2014-

08/01/content_18227349.htm#:~:text=Adopting%20lightweight%20packaging%20not

%20only,appealing%20to%20the%20manufacturing%20industry.&text=The

%20biodegradable%20nature%20of%20paper%20also%20helps%20protect%20the

%20environment.

Report Linker. (2020). Vietnam waste management market (2020- 2025). Globe Newswire.

Retrieved 16 April, 2021 from https://www.globenewswire.com/news-

release/2020/08/31/2085987/0/en/Vietnam-Waste-Management-Market-2020-2025.html
Sabeco. (2020). 2019 Annual Report (Rep.). Retrieved April 18, 2021, from

https://www.sabeco.com.vn/Data/Sites/1/media/co%20dong/bao%20cao%20thuong

%20nien/04-05-2020/Sabeco_BCTN_2019_ENG.pdf

Testa, M., Malandrino, O., Sessa, M. R., Supino, S., & Sica, D. (2017, October 1). Long-Term

Sustainability from the Perspective of Cullet Recycling in the Container Glass Industry:

Evidence from Italy. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from

www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability. doi: doi:10.3390/su9101752

APPENDIX

Appendix 1

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In reality, to deal with discarded glass, the majority nonchalantly tosses them into the bins mixed

with organic rubbish, while some bury them in the ground which was a pretty good solution in

the last decade. Nowadays, experts point out that such method was not effective at all,

conversely, it originated some dangers when the rain eroded the ground and exposed glass

fragments, then someone unluckily stepped on or crossed their legs.

Appendix 2

The Little Plan is the movement of Vietnamese children, born in 1958, aiming to implement

Uncle Ho's teaching "When you are young, do small work, depending on your strength". Over

the past 60 years, the "Small Plan" campaign has continued to be widely deployed in the Union

teams across the country in many forms such as: organizing breeding, growing vegetables,

saving pocket money, collecting scrap paper, collecting beer cans, etc. for the purpose of

educating students the spirit of mutual love, saving habit, helping and sharing disadvantaged

friends. In the period of 2013 - 2018, children nationwide collected 7,247,096 tons of scrap paper

worth tens of billion VND to build the fund to help poor students overcome difficulties (Anh,

2019). An example of Small Plan campaign by Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union and pictures of

real activities by children are shown below (Ly Tu Trong Union School, 2020)
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