• Energy Research

The food market in Bangkok has developed from a purely traditional one to a combination between traditional and modern sectors. In 1970s and earlier, fresh markets accounted for a hundred percent of food shopping in Bangkok. From that time on, the modern food retails in Bangkok has rapidly spread since the late 1990s. Many chain stores of the transnational supermarkets such as Carrefour, Tesco Lotus, and Casino are discovered everywhere in Bangkok. These multinational supermarkets have global sustainable development policy which the local chain must select some elements that compatible to the local context to implement in the country. In Thailand, most of foods are produced in the rural area, processed by the food factories, supplied by food suppliers, and sold by the providers. At the end of this long food supply chain, there is a consumer in the urban area of the country who never knows sources of food and how were foods produced. Moreover, food scandals such as pesticide-use, bird flu, and swine flu makes consumers in Bangkok start questioning about safety of food sold in the stores whether they can be trusted. Besides, the urban lives and increase tension and physical health problems, which make Bangkok people pay attention to health issues. The consumers in Bangkok are modernized, urbanized, richer, and more concerned about food safety. The small part of consumers in Bangkok more frequently shop in the specialized shop for sustainable foods such as organic food, chemical free food, and fair-trade food that safe for their health and the environment. This research focuses on both providers and consumers to study emerging sustainable food market since any increase in the level of sustainable food consumption requires both providers and consumers to change their strategies and behaviour in a more sustainable direction. Providers possess the power to influence the level of consumption of sustainable food products by offering green foods to consumers. They play a powerful role in creating and expanding green market, because they can also influence and lead other actors, such as farmers and producers, in the supply chain. In Bangkok, there are two main channels that distribute sustainable foods: 1) specialized shops and 2) supermarkets.The specialized shops constitute the niche market while the supermarkets form the mainstream market. The specialized shops and the supermarkets differ in their views on sustainable food, their existing market shares, management systems and the connections they have with their suppliers and customers. Consequently, they develop their strategy to introduce and promote sustainable food in Bangkok in different ways. The specialized shops form the “Green Market Network” to work together and empower individual shop owners. The major tasks of the network are to procure sufficient and reliable sources of sustainable food for the individual shops, to improve their businesses by learning from each other’s experiences and to expand the market for their products. Their main task is to locate reliable suppliers to supply real sustainable food to the shops in the network. The specialized shops are not so focused on certification but, instead rely on trust: going to the farms and seeing the way of production with their own eyes. Then, they are confident about the products they sell and can pass this trust onto their customers. This trust in sustainable food is primarily generated by personal interactions. The specialized shops communicate with consumers in an informal and friendly way, talking directly to the consumers in the shop and organizing activities with the consumers. The specialized shops regard themselves and their organization as well-defined and well-established. They believe that they do what they have to do energetically and do not compare themselves to the mainstream retailers. They do not feel that they are behind the supermarkets which are offering modern, imported, certified, sustainable, food. They are self-confident about their own way of realizing (green) growth. Instead of growing in terms of quantity, the specialized shops would rather follow the ‘small, specialized and beautiful’ concept and develop their network. This analysis of the present position and strategies of the specialized shops suggests that they will continue to play a role in providing sustainable food but are likely to remain niche market actors for the foreseeable future. Unlike the specialized shops, the supermarkets see themselves as actors operating in a global business system characterized by increased competition for green business. The sustainability policy generally comes from management at the head office and is passed down to the action level in the chain stores. For a multinational supermarket, like Carrefour, the sustainability policy is established at the head office in the mother country and developed for its outlets all around the world. Due to their formal management strategies, the supermarkets are more removed from their consumers and communicate with them in more indirect ways. The supermarkets tend to use standard certification and labels as important information strategies to inform their consumers and give them confidence about green offers. Although national regulations for sustainable food in Thailand are not well developed, the supermarkets do not wait for help from the government. They develop their own quality signs or a symbol of reliance to inform their customers and to give consumers trust in sustainable food. The supermarkets are aware of the global tendencies towards more green preferences and how these are influencing consumers in Bangkok. They realize that, in the near future, consumers will probably buy more sustainable food from their supermarkets. In an effort to guarantee market shares, we can expect supermarkets in Bangkok to contribute to the on-going growth of sustainable food provision. This is especially true of the multinational and upscale supermarkets. Following on from the focus group discussion result, it was assumed that there were three types of consumers in Bangkok: i) specialized shop customers who always bought food in green stores, ii) high-end supermarket customers who always bought their food in upscale supermarkets, and iii) discount store customers who always bought their food in discount stores. The survey found many shared characteristics between the three groups. First, they were modern consumers who shopped at modern retailers such as specialized shops and supermarkets. Secondly, the education level and income of these three types of consumers were quite similar: all of them can be categorized as middle class. Thirdly, their eating habits were similar in terms of eating traditional Thai food both at home and outside. As stated before, this study assumed that there were three groups of consumers. It is obvious that the customers of specialized shops differed from the other two groups in terms of their awareness, knowledge, and their perspectives on providers’ strategies. They were more concerned about the safety of food and looked for information in the shop as well as at the products for certification standards and information on the package. Their knowledge about sustainable food was distinctly higher than that of the other two groups. Moreover, they realized the health benefits of sustainable food and understood the reason for paying extra for safer food. This study did not find any clear distinctions between the customers of high-end supermarkets and those of discount stores. They were rather similar in terms of their consumption of sustainable food and both had limited knowledge about sustainable food. They can both therefore be categorized as conventional consumers. This survey leads us to the conclusion that, in terms of sustainable food consumption, there are two groups of consumers in Bangkok: green consumers and conventional ones. The results from this research indicate that the specialized shops in Bangkok already perform well in presenting a green profile and selling green products to a specific group of consumers. However, if the overall consumption of sustainable food in Bangkok is to increase, conventional consumers need to engage in shopping for sustainable food. The supermarkets can play an important role in offering green food products to these consumers. At the moment, the assortment and proportion of sustainable food available in the supermarkets is still limited. In addition, the available sustainable food assortments do not match the eating habits of most consumers. All the groups of consumers in the survey usually eat Thai food, which normally consists of rice and side dishes. However, many sustainable food items currently available in the supermarket cannot be considered as basic Thai foods. These western sustainable foods do not fit the eating habits of most consumers in Bangkok and this does not give most consumers in Bangkok much opportunity to go green. The final conclusion of this thesis suggested ways in which supermarkets can improve their green provisioning and make this more visible to consumers. Firstly, supermarkets can present themselves as a ‘green’ company by engaging in sustainable practices such as using energy saving light bulbs, recycling waste and offering a wider variety of sustainable food products in their outlets. These sustainable performances should be clearly displayed to the consumers to create the image of a green company. This green image can in turn be used by the supermarkets as a selling point, because consumers will be aware that they are buying food from a green company. Secondly, sustainable food products must be placed in a prominent position. However, a separate product shelf does not work very well by itself. Information, provided through some form of information bar, should be available directly beside the shelf. If a supermarket offers certified sustainable food, the meaning of each certification must be shown to help consumers distinguish the level of sustainability and make the choice that fits their preferences. Thirdly, since consumers in Bangkok consider sustainability to mean the same as health and safety, the information given to them must be focused on the health benefits of sustainable food. For example, it should communicate a story about the production process behind sustainable food, which does not allow the use of pesticides and chemical substances and is therefore safe for human health. Lastly, most consumers in Bangkok normally eat Thai food. Therefore, the supermarkets should offer more sustainable Thai food assortments, such as rice, various vegetables, meat and sauces, that fit Thai eating habits. Since many consumers in Bangkok do not cook, the supermarkets could also offer pre-prepared, ready-to-eat sustainable food. If sustainable food is offered in ways that fit Thai consumers’ lifestyle and habits they will buy more sustainable food and the level of sustainable food consumption will increase.

Les approches politiques conventionnelles mettent l'accent sur les solutions techniques et le changement de comportement individuel, mais les approches politiques fondées sur la pratique offrent une alternative. Ce document examine l'opérationnalisation d'un processus d'élaboration de politiques futures axé sur la pratique. Le processus s'appuie sur la théorie de la pratique pour générer des voies futures durables alternatives et des idées d'intervention politique, et ce faisant, étend le vocabulaire pour les travaux futurs axés sur les politiques. Nous nous concentrons sur trois pratiques ayant des implications pour la durabilité urbaine : l'achat de nourriture, les repas au restaurant et la cuisine maison à Bangkok, en Thaïlande. Un processus en plusieurs phases d'ateliers interconnectés comprenant la vision, l'évaluation de scénarios et les voies de transition a été mis en place avec les acteurs du système alimentaire et les décideurs politiques. Des éléments de jeu de rôle et de narration ont été incorporés pour susciter des connaissances transformatrices et systémiques sur la façon dont les pratiques sont ou pourraient être intégrées dans la vie quotidienne et ont généré des idées politiques pour permettre à de telles pratiques d'émerger à l'avenir. Différentes pratiques ont montré différents degrés d'adaptabilité au processus, en fonction du sens de l'agence des participants et des souvenirs de pratique individuels et communautaires. Cet article contribue à notre compréhension de la façon dont les pratiques futures sont co-construites et comment les politiques pourraient guider les trajectoires des pratiques à l'avenir. L'élaboration de politiques futures axées sur la pratique ouvre la voie à des idées de politiques intégrées, reflétant la reconnaissance croissante des structures de gouvernance intégrées. Los enfoques de políticas convencionales enfatizan las soluciones técnicas y el cambio de comportamiento individual, pero los enfoques de políticas basados en la práctica ofrecen una alternativa. Este documento examina la operacionalización de un proceso de desarrollo de políticas de futuros orientado a la práctica. El proceso se basa en la teoría de la práctica para generar vías futuras sostenibles alternativas e ideas de intervención de políticas, y al hacerlo, amplía el vocabulario para el trabajo de futuros centrado en las políticas. Nos centramos en tres prácticas con implicaciones para la sostenibilidad urbana: comprar alimentos, comer fuera y cocinar en casa en Bangkok, Tailandia. Se promulgó un proceso de múltiples fases de talleres interconectados que incluyen la visión, la evaluación de escenarios y las vías de transición con los actores del sistema alimentario y los responsables de la formulación de políticas. Se incorporaron elementos narrativos y de juego de roles para obtener conocimientos transformadores y sistémicos sobre cómo las prácticas están o podrían estar integradas en la vida cotidiana y se generaron ideas de políticas para permitir que dichas prácticas surjan en el futuro. Las diferentes prácticas mostraron diferentes grados de susceptibilidad al proceso, según el sentido de agencia de los participantes y los recuerdos de las prácticas individuales y comunitarias. Este documento contribuye a nuestra comprensión de cómo se co-construyen las prácticas futuras y cómo las políticas podrían guiar las trayectorias de las prácticas en el futuro. El desarrollo de políticas de futuros orientadas a la práctica abre caminos para ideas de políticas integradas, reflejando el creciente reconocimiento de las estructuras de gobernanza integradas. Conventional policy approaches emphasize technical solutions and individual behavioral change, but practice-based policy approaches offer an alternative. This paper examines the operationalization of a practice-oriented futures policy development process. The process builds on practice theory to generate alternative sustainable future pathways and policy intervention ideas, and in doing so, extends the vocabulary for policy-focused futures work. We focus on three practices with implications for urban sustainability - food purchasing, eating out, and home cooking in Bangkok, Thailand. A multi-phase process of interlinked workshops including visioning, scenario evaluation, and transition pathways was enacted with food system actors and policy makers. Role-play and narrative elements were incorporated to elicit transformative and systems knowledge on how practices are or might be embedded in everyday life and generated policy ideas to enable such practices to emerge in the future. Different practices showed varying degrees of amenability to the process, based on participants' sense of agency and individual and community-based practice memories. This paper contributes to our understanding of how future practices are co-constructed and how policies might guide practice trajectories in the future. Practice-oriented futures policy development opens pathways for integrated policy ideas, mirroring the growing recognition for integrated governance structures. تؤكد مناهج السياسة التقليدية على الحلول التقنية والتغيير السلوكي الفردي، لكن مناهج السياسة القائمة على الممارسة تقدم بديلاً. تبحث هذه الورقة في تفعيل عملية تطوير سياسة العقود الآجلة الموجهة نحو الممارسة. تعتمد العملية على نظرية الممارسة لتوليد مسارات مستقبلية مستدامة بديلة وأفكار للتدخل السياسي، وبذلك، توسع المفردات للعمل المستقبلي الذي يركز على السياسات. نركز على ثلاث ممارسات لها آثار على الاستدامة الحضرية - شراء الطعام وتناول الطعام في الخارج والطهي المنزلي في بانكوك، تايلاند. تم سن عملية متعددة المراحل من ورش العمل المترابطة بما في ذلك الرؤية وتقييم السيناريو ومسارات الانتقال مع الجهات الفاعلة في النظام الغذائي وواضعي السياسات. تم دمج عناصر لعب الأدوار والعناصر السردية لاستنباط المعرفة التحويلية والنظم حول كيفية أو قد تكون الممارسات جزءًا لا يتجزأ من الحياة اليومية وتوليد أفكار سياسية لتمكين مثل هذه الممارسات من الظهور في المستقبل. أظهرت الممارسات المختلفة درجات متفاوتة من قابلية العملية، بناءً على إحساس المشاركين بالقوة وذكريات الممارسة الفردية والمجتمعية. تساهم هذه الورقة في فهمنا لكيفية البناء المشترك للممارسات المستقبلية وكيف يمكن للسياسات أن توجه مسارات الممارسة في المستقبل. يفتح تطوير السياسات المستقبلية الموجهة نحو الممارسة مسارات لأفكار السياسة المتكاملة، مما يعكس الاعتراف المتزايد بهياكل الحوكمة المتكاملة.

What is the future of the ten ASEAN capitals? This article speculates upon how to answer this question by drawing on evidence of the advancing global weirding of the world’s ecology (especially as influenced by climate change) to outline ten diverse, graphically illustrated, scenarios for the ten capital cities of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations). The varying, and often unique, socio-political background of each of these under-theorised urban settings, from Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei to Vientiane in Laos, is subjected to imagined eco-catastrophic futures based upon the weird science now effusing from ecology, climatology and sustainability studies. This condition of global weirding is set to radically change the urban environments of these ten capitals. This stands in stark contrast to the strong desire by most of ASEAN governments to keep the socio-political structures of their nations from changing at all, which in turn, only exacerbates global weirding and its impacts. Each ASEAN urban future scenario presented here ends up being quite peculiar, horrific, radical, and awful. In that sense, they act as a warning for residents/leaders/theorists of these cities regarding their impending future if no proper form of socio-political or economic changes are entertained.