SABECO - Success through joyful community

SABECO Success through joyful community

The world has been having a challenging 2020 with the COVID-19 global pandemic, and Vietnam was not spared. Recognising that support is needed from all sectors of the economy and layers of society, SABECO has made it its responsibility to support and work with the Vietnamese government on strengthening measures to curb the spread of the pandemic.

The company has launched the Relay “Rise with Vietnam” to raise contributions to support Vietnamese workers adversely affected by the virus outbreak. This is just one of the activities extending 145 development journeys with the community of a famous beer enterprise in Vietnam and reflects the iconic Vietnamese brewer’s commitment to the communities it is so deeply rooted in.

Bennett Neo, general director of SABECO said, “Given that the country is steadily recovering from COVID-19, we wanted our anniversary to be more meaningful by helping address some of the challenges faced by many Vietnamese, especially the most vulnerable among us. This initiative highlights how we at SABECO have always strived to create corporate social responsibility programmes which are relevant and impactful.”

“This storm will soon pass, and the sun will be out agian. In the mean time, we will focus on weathering through this storm, and be fully prepared to make hay whrn the sun shines again,” he added, explaining that SABECO’s attempts to fulfil all of its commitments stem from a longer and larger vision in Vietnam.

Being the pride of Vietnam

Since Frenchman Victor Larue opened his small brewery in Ho Chi Minh City in 1875 (which would eventually become SABECO), the group has marched from milestone to milestone accompanying the country’s development. The company has put tremendous efforts into upgrading its production as well as improving its operations to solidify its position as the pride of Vietnam.

Neo confirmed that SABECO’s current goal was to “make SABECO really strong in the Vietnamese market, so that SABECO will always be the pride of Vietnam.”

“With a commitment to investing in business development along with sustainable development, “Rise with Vietnam” reaffirms SABECO’s relentless commitment to accompany Vietnam in bringing about positive changes for Vietnamese workers and at the same time supporting the country’s development even more robustly,” he added.

SABECO includes 26 breweries and 10 trading subsidiaries and has a distribution network consisting of 145,000 retailers nationwide and has conquered the hearts and tastebuds of Vietnamese beer lovers with patent products like Bia 333, Bia Saigon Special, Bia Saigon Export, Bia Saigon Lager, and Bia Saigon Gold. It also has been expanding its product portfolio, innovating to suit social changes while preserving traditional values.

For instance, despite the unprecedented disruption of commerce in most industries, SABECO still made continues efforts to launch new products including Bia Lac Viet and Saigon Chill. This is also evidence for the corporation’s endless pursuit of sustainability to bring pride to Vietnam.

Throughout the initiatives to nurture the development of the country and the pride of its citizens, and those to catch up with global developments, the 145-year-old brewer was guided by its 4C Commitments to consumption, conservation, the country, and the culture.

For community and sustainable development

SABECO’s success is the fruit of many factors, the most important of which is its people. With an extensive network of personnel, SABECO has been gradually developing its human capital to establish a solid foundation for comprehensive transformation. Building a “WARM” (willing, able, ready, and motivated) workforce is vital to maintain the corporation’s leading position in Vietnam and to take it to the world. In times of difficulty, the heart and reliability of SABECO’s people – employees, partners, and leaders alike – shows through the company’s multitude of practical activities.

“What we are most concerned about during the epidemic is the health and safety of our employees and our business operations. Stock prices are important, but it would never trump the safety and well-being of our workers,” said Neo in a recent interview.

He added that SABECO’s social responsibility activities are not only an important element in its sustainable development strategy but are a clear expression of its identity as a business.

Maybe the best representation of the SABECO spirit is “Coming Home for Tet”, a heartwarming annual initiative that has been running for three years (2018-2020) to help workers return to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year celebrations. Reacting to the vicissitudes of Central Vietnam, this year the donations raised by “Rise with Vietnam” will be used to extend timely assistance to fellow Vietnamese workers affected by the recent typhoon and flooding. These initiatives depict SABECO’s focus on thriving on joy: the way it helps people to come together in celebration and the way it reaches out to those in need.

At the same time, SABECO is making steps towards reducing the volume of water and excessive energy consumption at its breweries as part of its industry-leading sustainability ambitions. By applying technology and upgrading its existing brewing capacity, it has been reducing energy and water consumption year by year, while becoming one of the pioneers in installing rooftop solar panels at its facilities.

SABECO has also launched a programme to recycle the majority of the residual products from the brewing process, comprising of spent grains, surplus yeast, and materials like glass, cardboard, aluminium, plastic, and paper. Their methodology – the SABECO Waste Hierarchy – gives top priority to preventing the creation of waste in the first place. When waste is created, the system aims to find a means to re-use it, or if that is not possible then to recycle, find alternative methods of recovery (such as energy recovery) and only after all other avenues have been exhausted, to dispose (landfill) of it.

The actions guided by SABECO’s 4C Commitments are expected to bring Vietnam and the world a better today and tomorrow, by helping us all edge closer to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.