Nestlé Vietnam and VEA cooperate on sustainable management of packaging

Delegates attending the signing ceremony of teh cooperation agreement between the Vietnam Environment Agency and Nestlé Vietnam

Climate change and environmental pollution from plastic waste are becoming one of the most pressing issues that countries around the world have to face.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste is released into the environment in Vietnam every year, including 280-730,000 tonnes of waste going into the sea. Due to its long coastline, marine plastic pollution in Vietnam is especially serious today.

Deputy director Nguyen Hung Thinh of the Vietnam Environment Agency (VEA) said that environmental protection is not only the responsibility of enterprises but also helps businesses improve competitiveness, penetrate international markets and ensure sustainable development.

The VEA highly appreciates Nestlé Vietnam's awareness and proactive actions in accompanying and sharing the responsibility to solve waste problems and manage sustainable packaging and environmental protection.

“I believe that Nestlé Vietnam's pioneering spirit in these activities will spread, creating a movement to connect more businesses and the business community to act responsibly towards the environment and develop sustainably together," Thinh said.

Binu Jacob, CEO of Nestlé Vietnam shared, during 26 years of establishment and development, Nestlé has always committed to long-term investment towards sustainable development in Vietnam. "We have always been determined to play a leading role in solving the challenges of plastic waste. We believe that with the companionship and cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, partners and consumers, we will act together for a greener, cleaner, and more beautiful Vietnam."

The cooperation with the VEA is one of Nestlé's efforts in Vietnam in contributing to the reduction of plastic waste, promoting and realising Nestlé Group's commitment that by 2025, 100 per cent Nestlé packaging will be recyclable or reusable. This commitment goes hand in hand with Nestlé's vision that no packaging, including plastic packaging, should be landfilled or become waste."

Nestlé Vietnam and La Vie Vietnam also announced a commitment to achieve zero plastic waste across their operations by 2025

At the signing event, Nestlé in Vietnam officially announced its commitment to neutralise plastics until 2025. According to Binu Jacob, even if the COVID-19 pandemic poses many more challenges, Nestlé's commitment to promoting sustainable packaging remains unchanged. On a global and local scale, Nestlé continues to play a leading role in working with various stakeholders to address the plastic waste challenge and create positive environmental impacts.

“Nestlé’s commitment to neutralise plastics in Vietnam aims to accelerate the transition towards a zero-waste future. This is also an important beginning of the journey to realise Nestlé's vision of sustainable packaging development. We have already started several initiatives in 2021 and will develop and scale these projects in the coming years," Binu Jacob said.

Nestlé Vietnam is the first consumer goods company to replace plastic straws with paper straws certified for sustainable forest management by FSC.

By the end of the second quarter of 2021, the company has applied and replaced plastic straws with paper straws on all Nestlé instant drink products. This packaging project has helped Nestlé reduce an average of 700 tonnes of plastic used in production each year.