Amway raises the bar for excellence

Amway Vietnam has just received certificates for international standards on environment management, occupational health and safety. What does this mean for the business operations of Amway in Vietnam?

We are very honoured that our manufacturing plant in Dong Nai is certified to the ISO 14001:2004 standard for environment management, and OHSAS 18001:2007 for occupational health and safety.  Moreover, we are also re-certified to the ISO 9001:2008 for quality management system.

This makes Amway Vietnam the first direct selling  company in Vietnam certified for international standards in these areas. These standards demonstrate our long-term commitment to protecting the environment, providing safe and healthy work environment for our employees, and offering high quality products and services to consumers. These certifications are a good evidence of our compliance to local laws and regulations, enhance our reputation and competitiveness in the market place.

As a leader in direct selling, we recognise our responsibility and roles in fostering sound environmental stewardship. To sustainably grow as a responsible corporate citizen, we will continue to fulfill the Amway vision of helping people live better lives by caring for our community, our consumers and our employees, by elevating our environmental consciousness and innovating our processes and products.

How will these international standards add value to Amway’s products?

I believe a healthy, safe and pleasant working environment will encourage staff to make more qualified products and provide better services, resulting in better satisfying consumers’ growing demands and a sustainable business. Product quality, consumers’ health and safety are of paramount importance to us. 

These internationally-recognised certifications have proved our commitment to improve the way we work, the products we make and the people we serve. Amway was early innovator in using biodegradable surfactants in our home care products.  We have also been a pioneer in concentrated formulas, which reduce the amount of packaging for disposal.

Environmental protection is a hot topic in Vietnam nowadays as state authorities detected many foreign-invested enterprises polluting the environment. At Amway Vietnam’s factory in Dong Nai, how do you protect the environment?

The environment has been one of our key priorities.  Amway products are carefully evaluated to meet our high standard of safety, international standards and local regulations. We look to reduce our footprint by reducing the environmental impact of our operations such as conserving resources through reuse and recycling, prevention of pollution, eliminating hazards and responsible use of energy.

Over the last three years, we have been investing about $3 million to upgrade our manufacturing facilities, such as upgrading the waste water system, introducing more environment-friendly products with natural derived biodegradable ingredients, renovating the overall work environment.

It seems that Amway is growing very fast in Vietnam as we’ve seen many households using Amway products.  Could you share the business results of Amway Vietnam’s market over the past 10 months?

More than ever, people are discovering direct selling.  I believe hard-working Vietnamese people are attracted to the Amway business opportunity, our products and brands. They are eager to set goals and to pursue a better quality of life through the partnership with Amway. We are on track to meet our target and expect to achieve more than $60 million for the year 2012.

Do you see any changes in local consumers’ awareness of direct selling market in Vietnam this year?

Direct selling, as any other industries, has its share of challenges. Our long-term strategy is to lead by example and to act in ethical ways. As we continue to grow, the direct selling industry in Vietnam takes a higher profile too. Amway always supports ethical direct selling and is committed to working with the government, the industry organizations to promote direct selling and ensure ethical conduct. I believe nowadays, more and more consumers are able to differentiate between legitimate direct selling and illegitimate schemes.

Currently Amway has only two factories in Asia, one of them is located in Vietnam. With the group’s increasing sales, will Amway expand production in Vietnam?

Vietnam is a potential market for Amway, and we look to expanding our business in the long-term. We plan to expand our production in order to better support our distributors and serve our consumers.