Heineken Vietnam receives merit award for sustainability practices - brings prosperity to Vietnam
Heineken Vietnam receives merit award for sustainability practices - brings prosperity to Vietnam
Heineken Vietnam was awarded the Saigon Times Corporate Social Responsibility Merit Award, which recognizes companies with strong sustainability practices that create value for Vietnam.
The Merit Award is based on companies that show outstanding sustainability practices, including economic impact, supporting the health of communities, and efforts to protect the environment.
Holly Bostock, Corporate Affairs Director at Heineken Vietnam, describes that the brewer’s approach to business is to “always bring prosperity to Vietnam through our sustainability practices, which are embedded in the business. Our value chain includes everyone from distributors to restaurant owners, and it’s important that everything we do has a positive impact economically, socially, and environmentally.”
Holly Bostock, Corporate Affairs Director at Heineken Vietnam, receives merit award
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Heineken Vietnam’s economic impact is extensive, supporting 212,000 jobs through its entire value chain and contributing nearly 1% of Vietnam’s GDP. Heineken Vietnam was also recently listed among the top 5 tax contributors in Vietnam.
To support the health of communities, earlier this year, Heineken Vietnam donated 12 billion VND and 22,000 masks via Bia Viet and Larue brands to Covid-19 relief funds to serve the most vulnerable locations across Vietnam. Many shops, especially bars and restaurants nationwide, were forced to close due to social distancing regulations, which caused some to close permanently. In response to the market climate, the company launched an internal program, ‘Join Hands to Recover,’ to mobilize their staff, where 440 employees visited over 100 bars and restaurants across Vietnam after social distancing measures were lifted. Tiger beer launched ‘Uncage the Street Vibes’ and gave away 1.5 million Tiger bottles across 47 cities.
More recently, Central Vietnam has been facing some of the most relentless typhoons causing disastrous flooding in the region. Bia Viet, standing for unity and solidarity, committed to 3 billion VND in in-kind and in-cash to communities most affected by the storm in Central Vietnam, particularly Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai.
Heineken Vietnam’s efforts in sustainability are directly linked to prosperity in Vietnam. By supporting local suppliers, 99% of packaging is sourced locally, creating 5.7 billion VND for local suppliers annually. The brewer uses renewable energy at 5 out of 6 of its breweries. When Heineken Vietnam switched to clean biomass energy to brew, the company was able to source approximately 40,000 tons of agricultural waste, which also generated 52.6 billion VND for local farmers in 2019. These practices reinforce that it is not only good for the environment and local suppliers and farmers but also beneficial to the business.
The company is regularly recognized for its practices in applying the circular economy model in its business operations and is often invited to present their best practices in the circular economy at forums, workshops, and webinars throughout the year. In contrast to the linear model of ‘take-make-waste’, circular economy is an approach that aims to have no waste or pollution and keep materials or products in use. Heineken Vietnam has achieved nearly zero waste (99%) in production which means that all waste and by-products in production are either reused or recycled. This means resources are being conserved, less energy used and less pollution emitted to the environment.
Heineken Vietnam has been accredited as one of the most sustainable companies (manufacturing) in Vietnam by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) for the last four years consecutively. Earlier this year, the company announced its 2025 ambition to achieve zero waste to landfill, 100% renewable energy, and be 100% water balanced.
