The Campaign

The objective was to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions in China that are discharged by company-own cars. The “Green Class Bus” is an event where we get CEOs and heads of corporations to participate in a Bus Pool. How did we get them onboard? To convince them to give up their comfortable car rides to work, we gave them an opportunity to network with other heads of corporations, meet new prospects, get PR, do their part for the environment and get to work on time. The event was documented and posted on the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China’s website together with press releases. The general manager, who attended the event herself, is aggressively promoting this to the members. The Chairman of the Belgium Chamber of Commerce, who attended the event, is also promoting this to the members. There’s now a waiting list for the next “Green Class Bus” event. The China Environmental Protection Foundation is currently planning to hold this event in 12 other major cities in China.

The Brief

The objective was to use the “Green Class Bus” event to generate awareness and at the same time, promote the culture of a CEO Bus Pool, because in the long run, it will help reduce CO2 emissions. Since it’s impossible to talk to everyone in a country like China, we targeted CEOs and company heads to participate in this event, because in a hierarchical culture, CEOs and heads of corporations have the power to influence their thousands of employees and many more the industry.

Results

This pilot project was well received by the attendees, which included the Chairman of the Belgium Chamber of Commerce and the General Manager of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China. They are requesting for more CEO Bus Pool events and they’re promoting it other members in their society. There’s now a waiting list for the next Green Class Bus event. The China Environmental Protection Foundation is currently planning to make this a regular event in 12 other major cities in China.

Execution

Months before the event, an e-invitation in a form of an animated video was sent to a “wish list” of guests. The client had the support of the Belgium Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce to help promote this event. We had to set 3 contingency dates just to make sure we can get the CEOs to be available on the same date. Upon their RSVP, bus routes were drawn and itineraries were planned. This was a one-morning event from 7.30am in the morning (first CEO pickup) to about 10am (last CEO drop off). Due to the unpredictable traffic conditions between the CEOs’ homes and their offices, some of the CEO’s ETA were delayed by about 15 minutes.

The Situation

China is responsible for 22.3% of the world’s total CO2 emission. In major cities, company-owned cars are one of the main contributors. The Problem: More and more multinational companies are coming into China and this is accelerating the pollution. More companies, more company cars, more CO2 emission. The Opportunity: The public associates the current pollution problem with Multinational companies that have factories, construction sites and property developments projects. Corporations like these need positive PR.

The Strategy

Knowing how busy CEOs are and how reluctant they are to give up their cushy company car ride to work, we had to find a way to convince them to participate. We made the “Green Class Bus” an event that will give them PR, networking opportunities so they can interact with other heads of corporations and new prospects. We also gave them a platform to share about their company’s green initiatives to China Environmental Protection Foundation. We also invited influential people like the Chairman of the Belgium Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China to participate in this event so they’d promote it to their members. We also planned for this pilot project to be an easily adoptable model so that the client and interested organizations can adopt and implement in other cities in China.