Heineken Viet Nam on Thursday released its fourth annual Sustainability Report.

The report, for 2017, said the Dutch company’s sustainability strategy continued to focus on six key areas: advocating responsible consumption; promoting health and safety; protecting water resources; reducing CO2 emissions; growing with communities; and sourcing sustainably.

It spent over VND16 billion (US$700,000) on its responsible consumption campaign, which reached 10 million customers by providing 130,000 taxi vouchers. Another VND18.9 billion ($830,000) was spent for over 2,600 hours of training on road safety and health for employees and 6,000 hours for distributors and sub-distributors.

It sent virtually zero waste to landfills, reusing or recycling 99 per cent of its inputs.

Last year the company obtained 54,000 tonnes of rice husk and woodchips from farmers to generate energy.

This allowed four out of its six breweries to fully brew with carbon-neutral renewable energy.

It treated all its wastewater and reused for other purposes like landscaping. The breweries are the most water efficient of all Heineken companies in the Asia Pacific region.

“We contributed 0.88 per cent of Viet Nam’s total GDP in 2017 and continuously chose green for a better Viet Nam and inspired others to do so,” Leo Evers, the company’s managing director, said.

Last year Heineken was honoured as the Most Sustainable Manufacturing Company by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry at its annual CSI 100 awards. — VNS