Nestlé Vietnam in top 10 sustainable companies for second year running

VCCI chairman Vu Tien Loc presenting the merits for Nguyen Ngoc Yen, business director of Nestlé Vietnam in the northern region

On November 23, 2018, Nestlé Vietnam has been honoured in the top ten sustainable companies in the manufacturing sector at the Awarding Ceremony of the Programme on Benchmarking and Announcing Sustainable Companies in Vietnam 2018, held by the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) under the guidance of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). This is the second consecutive year that Nestlé Vietnam has been recognised as the most sustainable company by VCCI.

To remain one of the ten most sustainable companies, Nestlé Vietnam had to keep its lead on the better part of 500 companies taking part in this year’s programme, as well as match the 131 criteria of the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI), which serves as the scorecard of sustainable corporate development.

Vu Tien Loc, chairman of VCCI, said that the recognition of the programme will contribute to improving companies’ reputation among government authorities, investors, clients, as well as improving their business performance.

Nestlé Vietnam's representative presenting 10,000 unbaked bricks made from the waste of Nestlé Tri An factory to Nguyen Hue primary school in Dong Nai province

Nestlé Vietnam was established in 1995 and has been developing, expanding, and diversifying its food and nutrition products, contributing to the good health and happiness of Vietnamese customers. NESCAFÉ, MILO, MAGGI, NAN, NESTEA, and NESVITA are onl some of the outstanding products of Nestlé Vietnam. The total investment of the company in Vietnam has reached over $520 million, creating around 2,300 jobs in its six factories across the country.

Nestlé Vietnam has done its utmost in production and business, contributed to the state budget, and implemented social responsibility programmes, while creating jobs and paying attention to sustainable development and environmental protection.

In 2018, none of the facilities of Nestlé Vietnam discharged waste into the environment due to recycling and reusing waste. Notably, Nestlé Tri An (producing Nestlé instant coffee) applies initiatives such as using coffee shell as fuel, using ash as fertiliser, using waste from the boiler in the production process to make bricks, and processing wastewater for watering, among others. Thereby, the company saves 60 per cent of energy and reuses 30 per cent of total wastewater after processing.

Along with guaranteeing sustainable production, the NESCAFE Plan project since 2011 has contributed to the sustainable development of coffee, increasing farmers’ income by 30 per cent, reducing water usage by 40 per cent, and chemical fertilisers and pesticides by 20 per cent for sustainable agriculture.

NESCAFE Plan has increased participating farmers' income by 30 per cent

Additionally, Nestlé Vietnam has accompanied the government in implementing 641 schemes in the “Master plan to develop the physical strength and height of Vietnamese people in 2011-2030.” Nestlé Vietnam promotes dynamic lifestyle and sports, especially for children, through different activities.

Thereby, in last June, the Vietnam Women’s Union awarded a merit to Nestlé Vietnam for the outstanding achievements in building a new countryside in 2016-2019.

In October, the company was also awarded the merit of excellent achievements in foreign investment over 30 years of FDI mobilisation in Vietnam by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Earlier, Nestlé Vietnam received merit from the Dong Nai People’s Committee for its exemplary tax compliance in 2017.

In September, Nestlé Group was recognised as one of the most proactive participators in the United Nations Global Compact for the world’s largest-scale sustainable development initiative.