HEINEKEN Vietnam backs sustainable growth for a better Vietnam

Carrying on the journey "For a Better Vietnam" that it has embarked on for the past 25 years, HEINEKEN Vietnam has been recognised not only by the signature green and its popular brands but also its sustainability on the basis of increasing its positive impact on PEOPLE, PLANET and PROSPERITY in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This is also the third consecutive year HEINEKEN Vietnam has published a GRI accredited full Sustainability Report for Vietnam.

Matt Wilson, Corporate Affairs director of HEINEKEN Vietnam, said, "We are delighted with our significant progress in pursing sustainable development to date. However we also understand that there is still a lot more to be done."

"In 2016, we moved closer to brewing 100 per cent from renewable energy at all of our breweries whilst creating close to zero waste. We strengthened our partnerships and programmes that promote responsible drinking and continued to invest heavily in developing our people and our communities. Whilst there are more challenges ahead, we believe that our "Brewing a Better Vietnam" journey will continue to add more value to people, planet and prosperity in Vietnam," Wilson said.

HEINEKEN Vietnam’s Sustainable Development Report 2016 focuses on six key areas: promoting responsible drinking, protecting water resources, reducing CO2 emissions, supporting our communities, sourcing sustainably, including locally wherever possible, and promoting health and safety.

HEINEKEN Vietnam invested more than 8 per cent of Heineken brand’s media budget to promote drinking Heineken responsibly. The anti-drink driving campaign reaching 65 million views.

HEINEKEN Vietnam invested more than VND16 billion for training and development as well as providing more than 17,000 hours of road safety training. Finally, HEINEKEN Vietnam provided more than VND25 billion in community sponsorships, including five major clean water projects. In 2016, HEINEKEN Vietnam’s long running "One minute less for one million smiles" programme provided 576,000 liters of clean water to more than 2,500 households nationwide.

Currently, four out of six HEINEKEN Vietnam breweries brew beer using 100 per cent renewable energy, which helped reduce CO2 emissions by 38 per cent compared to 2015.

In 2017 and the coming years, HEINEKEN Vietnam aims to brew 100 per cent from renewable energy at all of its breweries. In addition, the HEINEKEN Vietnam has reduced the amount of water used by 3 per cent, nearly halving the amount of water used in 2008.

State of the art waste water treatment plants ensure all water used is treated beyond standard quality regulations before being discharged back into the environment. At all HEINEKEN Vietnam breweries, up to 99 per cent of the residual materials used in production are reused or recycled for operations, getting close to zero-waste breweries.

HEINEKEN Vietnam is committed to using local suppliers to create more jobs for the people. All of HEINEKEN Vietnam packaging materials are purchased locally, a testament to the company’s commitment to select local suppliers and support them wherever possible with HEINEKEN Vietnam's partners. Accordingly, HEINEKEN Vietnam contributed VND33.5 trillion to Vietnam's economy, equivalent to 0.75 per cent of Vietnam’s total GDP.

"HEINEKEN Vietnam was honoured as the third most sustainable manufacturing company in Vietnam in the VCCI’s, CSI Sustainable Business Indicators 2016. With another solid year’s performance of sustainable growth, we look forward to continuing to lead the way for sustainable growth in Vietnam and, together with all of our partners and stakeholders, brewing a better Vietnam," Wilson said.