Unilever Vietnam makes it into Top 10 Sustainable Businesses 2019

Do Thai Vuong, Vice President of Sustainable Business and Communications, Unilever Vietnam, receiving the award for ranking in the top 10 sustainable manufacturers

Unilever Vietnam has received this award for four consecutive years, in recognition of its contributions and efforts to implement its sustainable development plan, which aims to maintain business growth while mitigating environmental impacts.

The evaluation of the Top 100 Sustainable Businesses is based on the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) which is updated annually by the VCCI experts and members, government authorities, local and international organisations, and independent experts. The index spans across sustainability indicators in the areas of economy, environment, and society, and are widely acknowledged as a benchmark for evaluating and ranking Vietnam’s sustainable businesses.

In 2010, Unilever Vietnam released its Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, including the three goals of improving health and living conditions for more than 20 million Vietnamese people, reducing 50 per cent of environmental impacts from manufacturing and using Unilever’s products, and improving the living quality of millions of Vietnamese people.

As of 2019, the sustainable development activities of Unilever Vietnam have significantly improved people’s lives via programmes like “For a healthy Vietnam” (Lifebuoy), “Cleaning bacteria from toilets” (Vim), “P/S - protecting Vietnamese smiles” (P/S).

In order to mitigate its environmental impact, Unilever started to prioritise renewable energy in 2011 by installing biomass boilers fuelled by rice husks. Since 2015, the power system for the whole manufacturing line has achieved international renewable energy certificates (iREC), which means the production process is carbon positive.

Additionally, Unilever, in collaboration with the Vietnam Women’s Union, trained and provided knowledge on hygiene and nutrition for 1.5 million women as of 2018. The company poured VND20 billion ($869,570) into the microfinance fund of the initiative, enabling 46,000 households to approach credit with a total of VND320 billion ($13.9 million) allocated for the household economy, as well as develop "Perfect Villages" at 2,400 villages and wards nationwide under the new rural development programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Do Thai Vuong, Vice President of Sustainable Business and Communications, Unilever Vietnam, said, "We are honoured and proud of being one of the Top 10 Sustainable Businesses in the Manufacturing Category for four consecutive years. This recognises the efforts and commitment of Unilever over the last 24 years in Vietnam for sustainable development and environmental protection. Our company considers sustainable development not only a goal but also a core value in all of our activities and programmes. The Sustainable Living Plan is key for the sustainable development of Unilever and its products, as well as for the socio-economic development of the country."