INSEE Vietnam minimises risks and protects workers to maintain business operations

Don't fix what's not broken: INSEE's long-term strategies remain largely unchanged by the pandemic

As the current outbreak escalates in Vietnam, manufacturers have to implement stay-at-work orders and set up temporary accommodations for their workers to avoid the spread of the virus and maintain production. What solutions has the company employed to minimise risk and protect workers while maintaining business operations and supply chains?

Colin Terry: At INSEE, the health and safety of our employees are our number one priority at all times. For our office-based employees, our technology infrastructure has enabled us to implement 100 per cent working from home and continue to maintain our operations.

At our production plants and dispatch sites, we have scaled operations to meet the demand from our customers and have implemented strict COVID-19 protocols to ensure the health and safety of all of our permanent and contractor employees, including completely segregated shifts, suitable accommodation and meals for workers remaining on site, and regular COVID-19 tests in line with government and provincial requirements.

We are constantly communicating with our teams, including well-being and de-stress activities to support morale during this challenging time. We are also working closely in partnership with our suppliers to maintain our key material and labour supplies during this period.

While short-term operational procedures focused on social distancing are important, what long-term strategies will manufacturers need to embrace to maintain resilience and boost production after the pandemic?

Colin Terry: For INSEE, our long-term strategies remain largely unchanged as we foresee the market activity progressively returning to pre-COVID-19 levels as the vaccine programme is rolled out. We continue to ensure as far as possible that we have diversified sources of key material and equipment supplies, as well as flexibility in our operating model so as to be ready to support our customers as opportunities and volumes scale up again.

INSEE Vietnam is the first cement company in Southeast Asia to achieve the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) document and be approved for registration in The International EPD System. What does the EPD document mean to INSEE Vietnam?

Bruno Fux: For INSEE, it is important to always be on top of new developments and trends. In fact, we want to be part of shaping the future of sustainable construction. After being the first company with green labels from the Singapore Green Building Council, it was a logical step to now apply and register for EPD.

We are committed to communicate in a transparent and comparable manner with our customers and stakeholders. I do hope that other companies will follow soon so that the complete value chain can be optimised towards a green future. We are proud to lead the way.

What are the group's sustainable development goals and how will they be applied throughout your production and supply chains?

Bruno Fux: Sustainability is of utmost importance to INSEE. It has been and will always be part of our DNA. Before we define our sustainability goals, we do a materiality assessment to identify the key areas we would like to focus on. In general, we want to reduce our environmental footprint while providing much-needed and sustainable construction materials to build our society.

Sustainability is not of a concern for a company, it is of concern for individual people. Therefore, we will rally all employees behind these targets to make sure that we can achieve them all together: annual targets are set and progress is measured against them. It will certainly need everyone to contribute even with small steps so that the big overall goal will be achieved.

What makes you proud to work at your company?

Colin Terry: I am proud to work for INSEE as we strive every day to live up to our brand philosophy of “Build for Life”. As a pioneer in building materials production and waste management in the South of Vietnam, INSEE has always set the goal of the development of society as a guiding factor in the direction of the business.

We protect the planet by focusing on minimising negative impacts on the environment and, where possible, increasing positive activities in the community. Furthermore, INSEE always tries to pursue business development activities and the implementation of projects that contribute to sustainability.