ESG key to sustainable development

“Promoting ESG adoption throughout the investment value chain can encourage greater private investment in sustainable development, resulting in greater impact,” Patrick Haverman, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Vietnam, made a statement at the “ESG – a key for sustainable development” conference.

He informed that the various actors in the investment value chain, including investors, banks and companies, had been increasing including ESG and sustainability information in their reporting processes.

It would be important to create an enabling environment for sustainability and integrated reporting to flourish.

He added that: “Contributing to and achieving the SDGs offer a compelling growth strategy for businesses and for the world economy as a whole."

In term of private sector, representative of TUI Blue Nam Hoi An resort, a joint venture of Thien Minh Group and TUI Group, informed that the resort has committed to promoting sustainable development and ESG in its operations for long.

Anton Bespalov, General manager of TUI Blue Nam Hoi An, emphasized that sustainable development as well as ESG standards are applied in its daily, short and even long-term planning and implementation, of which the most typical activity is environmental protection.

In details, the resort has plans and then, has taken actions to reduce single-use plastic nylon as much as possible, save energy, using organic waste as fertilizer for growing vegetables.

It has also worked closely with the local community to raise awareness and encourage people to follow best practices, such as green tourism.

Pursuing sustainable development through applying ESG standard costs businesses considerable amount of money, but it will become a great advantage when green tourism is becoming trending, Anton Bespalov stated in the conference.

In term of sustainable development, TH Group considers the ESG standards as the key to create healthy and self-sustaining corporate ecosystems.

In its sustainability report, Madame Thai Huong, founder of TH Group, stated that: “Confronting the tough challenges and taking the great pride on the journey of “Sustainability” for we all know that ultimately, it is the vital path for long lasting development.”

Sustainability serves as the guiding light for TH operations and businesses towards everlasting prosperity and global recognition. This is acknowledged with six sustainability pillars, including nutrition and health, environment, people, education, community, and animal welfare.

Hoang Cong Trang, chief executive officer of TH Group, President of the group’s Sustainability Committee, emphasized that sustainably is no longer a choice, but has become essential prerequisite for the existence and development of all business.

In 2021, TH actively fulfill its social responsibility, and accompanied the government and competent authorities in providing support to Covid-19 fontline workers by contributions and donations amounted to over VND108 billion.

It also kept playing the role of a co-founder in environmental initiatives such as Vietnam Packaging Recycling Organization (PRO Vietnam) and the Vietnam Business for Environment (VB4E).

Other founding members of PRO Vietnam, Nestlé Vietnam also considers sustainable development to play an important role in its long-term investment process in Vietnam.

“As the global leader in the food and beverage industry, Nestlé Group attaches importance to the principles of sustainable development in production and business activities in association with corporate social responsibility. We believe in the power of food to enhance lives,” said Binu Jacob, CEO of Nestlé Vietnam.

He added: “This belief underpins Nestlé's commitment to using its global scale, resources and expertise to contribute to a healthier future for people and the planet. For its environmental sustainability strategy, Nestlé aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.”

As part of its commitment to environmental protection, Nestlé Vietnam undertakes action programmes to avoid detrimental impact on the environment. It also contributes to the preservation, restoration, and regeneration of natural resources for the present and future generations.

The company focuses on four key areas for both present and future generations, including prevention and adaptation to climate change, developing sustainable packaging, sustainable purchasing, and water management.

Despite being affected by the pandemic from 2020 to 2021, Nestlé Vietnam continues to make investments to guarantee the proper implementation of the roadmap and priorities its sustainable development commitments.