Nestle Vietnam honoured with Vietnam Environment Awards

Nestle Tri An factory’s Director Truong Hoang Phuong at the awards ceremony (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Nestle Vietnam has recently been honoured for its contributions to environmental protection in the 2017-19 period by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE).

To receive the Vietnam Environmental Awards, firms must bolster investment in advanced, environmentally friendly and energy-saving technology, and put forward initiatives for social development.

Over the past 25 years, Nestle Vietnam has channeled more than 600 million USD into the country and won the Ministry of Finance’s certificate of merit for making the largest tax contributions.

Its factories have applied advanced and environmentally-friendly technology, and all of them fulfilled the target of not discharging solid waste to the environment in 2017.

In addition, Nestle Vietnam has applied cutting-edge technology in food processing and manufacturing, along with renewable energy. It is also the co-founder of Vietnam Recycling and Packaging Organisation (PRO Vietnam) and has taken part in the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a MoNRE initiative.

The company was also the first one in Vietnam to introduce biodegradable paper straws, which helped cut 24 million single-use plastic ones annually, equivalent to over 10 tonnes of plastic.

Since October, its brand Nestle Milo has rolled out a contest titled “Green journey, recycling milk cartons” in nearly 400 kindergartens and elementary schools in HCM City, calling on 280,000 students to collect and recycle the cartons.

Nestle Vietnam has played an active part in the realisation of the target to reduce 75 percent of plastic waste in oceans by 2030 of the Vietnamese Government.

It has set itself a target that no Nestle’s packaging, including plastic ones, will be discharged to the environment by 2025, as all of them will be recyclable or reused.

Nestle Vietnam’s Technical Manager Todd Yates said the company always considers sustainable development the core of all its business activities and is strongly committed to realising the targets for a sustainable environment.

Nestle Vietnam’s Technical Manager Todd Yates (Photo courtesy of Nestle Vietnam)

In the forthcoming time, the company will continue accelerating efforts towards building a circular economy as well as strengthening the public-private partnership model for the success of sustainable development goals, said Nestle Tri An factory’s Director Truong Hoang Phuong at the awards ceremony held in Hanoi on December 26.

Officially launched since 2009, the biennial Vietnam Environment Awards is the most prestigious one on environmental protection and climate change adaptation, with an aim to honour collectives, individuals and communities with outstanding contributions in the field.

The prize also facilitates solutions and innovative models on environmental protection, contributing to the country’s sustainable development.

This time, the MoNRE received 230 entries from 166 organisations, 63 individuals and a community in the fields of education, training, communication, consultation, and supervising the implementation of policies and laws on environmental protection. The jury selected 34 winners to present with the awards.

In his remarks, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said his ministry will work with relevant agencies to look into and apply effective solutions and models. It will also further review current mechanisms and policies based on feedback.

The recognition is expected to contribute to the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection approved by the National Assembly, so as to fulfil international commitments on environmental protection and climate change adaptation./.