Unilever makes long-term commitment to Vietnam market

During the pandemic when hard lockdowns and prolonged curfews were carried out in many cities and provinces across the country, the business community initially encountered many challenges in operations, production, and goods circulation.

However, through business associations, the government’s special taskforce, ministries, and local governmental agencies openly listened to businesses’ feedback on existing problems as well as constructive recommendations, then swiftly implemented a variety of solutions to control and restrict COVID-19, remove barriers for companies and facilitate safe production and business during the epidemic.

“The government's policy on vaccination prioritized for workers in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech parks, supply chains of enterprises, including foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs)," said Tran Thien Long, vice chairman and general secretary of the Association of Industrial Parks Businesses in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vaccination for employees at a factory in Ho Chi Minh City

Moreover, the government, ministries, and local governmental agencies have been actively involved in removing barriers for enterprises, especially FIEs, to recover production and business activities.

Recently, during a visit to Tay Bac Cu Chi Industrial Park, a group of international partners had the opportunity to visit the production facility of Unilever Vietnam and review the company’s solutions to ensure safe production and pandemic prevention.

Unilever Vietnam’s factory visit

After the visit, a representative from the Polish Embassy in Vietnam said he was quite impressed with the level of automation at Unilever Vietnam and the strong drive for globalisation in Vietnam. Meanwhile, a representative of the Consulate of the Republic of Vanuatu in Ho Chi Minh City commended the epidemic prevention protocol at the Unilever factory, saying it was highly professional and worth studying. At the same time, a representative from the Embassy of the Republic of Argentina in Vietnam also highlighted the ample potential for cooperation with Vietnam in many industries.

“Thanks to the government’s radical and drastic solutions to prevent the pandemic, as well as the unified and flexible opening roadmap, Unilever, as one of the long-standing FIEs in Vietnam, has successfully implemented the ‘three on site’ production model, maintaining production and business while ensuring safety for employees and society during lockdown. At the same time, we were facilitated to gradually recover and grow in the new normal. This has proven that Vietnam is a stable and dynamic environment, opening up a range of opportunities for FIEs to invest and do long-term business,” said Pham Manh Tri, Supply Chain vice president at Unilever Vietnam.

Unilever ensures safety in production

In the new normal, Unilever Vietnam is proactively applying safety measures in production. Workers entering the company’s factories are required to have received two COVID-19 shots or to have recovered from the disease within 180 days.

At the factory entrance, employees have their temperature checked. There are also daily and weekly inspections, supervision and reminders of safety measures for employees, partners, and contractors. Besides, the company continuously shares with employees new protective measures and habits to ensure their safety.

At-entrance temperature measurement for employees at Unilever Vietnam’s factory

Moreover, Unilever Vietnam provides employees with full personal protective equipment such as shields, masks, and antibacterial hand sanitiser where they come into contact with surfaces shared by the public. The factories also ensure workers keep a 2-metre distance or have partitions, face shields, and masks when coming within 2 metres of each other. Additionally, they carry out regular COVID-19 testing for target groups, according to regulations.

Besides contributing to the government’s dual goals of pandemic prevention and economic development, Unilever Vietnam is always committed to implementing sustainable development programmes to protect the planet’s health, improve people’s health and wellbeing, and contribute to a fairer and more socially inclusive world.

Thanks to this, Unilever Vietnam has been awarded as one of the most sustainable businesses in Vietnam for six consecutive years and one of the Top 5 businesses implementing gender equality in the workplace at Corporate Sustainability Index 2021. The company has also be honoured in the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam's CSR Recognition Awards.