The Top 100 sustainable businesses in Việt Nam in 2019 were announced at a ceremony on Tuesday in Hà Nội. —  Photo VBCSD

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development in collaboration with the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) announced the top 100 sustainable businesses in Việt Nam in 2019 at a ceremony on Tuesday in Hà Nội.

In 2019, the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) continues to be used as criteria to assess the sustainable development of businesses. The CSI 2019 indicator set includes 98 indicators in three areas: society, economy and environment; of which 90 per cent are the norm of compliance with laws.

Speaking at the event, VCCI Vice President Võ Tân Thành praised the contribution of local and international enterprises in economic development in Việt Nam.

“There is no sustainable economic growth without a sustainable business community,” said Thành.

“With the CSI set, businesses can look into it to check their own "health", in order to develop production and business plans following sustainable development direction or detect untapped development potentials or shortcomings in corporate governance that need to be handled,” said Thành.

Some outstanding names in the Top 100 Sustainable Businesses 2019 include Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk), Coca-Cola Beverages Vietnam Limited, Nestlé Vietnam Limited, Unilever Vietnam International Company Limited, Heineken Vietnam, Lee & Man Vietnam Paper Manufacturing Limited and Tetra Pak.

Heineken Vietnam was selected among the top three most Sustainable Companies in Việt Nam 2019 in the manufacturing sector. This is also the fourth consecutive year Heineken Vietnam has received this recognition for its continuous efforts in sustainability and positive impact on Việt Nam's socio-economic development.

The company’s sustainability strategy focuses on six key areas and supports the implementation of six out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, where the company believes it can have the greatest impact in Việt Nam, including: advocating responsible consumption, promoting health and safety, protecting water resources, reducing CO2 emissions, growing with communities and sourcing sustainably.

“Sustainability has always been at the core of our business. This award is an added encouragement and a challenge for us to improve further because sustainability is a long-term journey that requires the cooperation of all stakeholders, including the business community," said Jacco Van der Linden, Managing Director of Heineken Vietnam.

Some companies have received this award for the second consecutive year such as Lee & Man Vietnam.

"Sustainable development is the direction that every company and manufacturing industry in the world needs to focus on and is the criterion that Lee & Man sets out from the beginning in every market in which we invest,” said Edmond Lee, CEO of Lee & Man Group.

“When investing in Việt Nam, Lee & Man not only wishes to promote the development of a high-quality paper industry in line with the needs of the economy and the country’s technology transfer, but we also hope to elevate an important manufacturing industry which contributes significantly to Việt Nam's GDP through responsible business activities," Lee said and hoped to connect and become an inspiration for Vietnamese businesses to achieve sustainable development, helping companies to improve business standards as well as reach and integrate in international markets. 

Meanwhile, Tetra Pak, the Sweden-based food processing and packaging solution provider took part in the ranking for the first year.

Tetra Pak’s newly-inaugurated manufacturing hub in Bình Dương is among Việt Nam’s first factories to apply the latest, most-demanding environmental standards set by the globally-recognised LEED certification which enables up to 36 per cent reduction of energy, over 21 million litres of water reused a year. Nearly 100 per cent of its carton packages are made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cartons.

Organised annually since 2016, the Top 100 sustainable businesses in Việt Nam programme aimed to promote awareness about the importance and benefits of sustainable development in businesses, communities and society. —  VNS