HEINEKEN continues to ‘Brew a Better Vietnam’ as it counts down to its 30th Anniversary in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, 24^th June 2021 – Today, HEINEKEN Vietnam has released its 2020 Sustainability Report. This is the seventh year the company has issued its ‘Brew a Better Vietnam’ report and highlights its resilience and commitment to sustainability during 2020. As HEINEKEN Vietnam builds up towards its 30^th anniversary in Vietnam, the company is also announcing on this occasion it will continue to “Raise the Bar” to contribute to HEINEKEN’s global ambitions for sustainability.

“In 2020 we saw the challenges brought on by COVID-19 unfold, and the world around us is changing in an unprecedented manner,” reflects Alexander Koch, Managing Director, HEINEKEN Vietnam. “Against this backdrop, in 2020 HEINEKEN Vietnam not only demonstrated our strength and resilience, we also seized the opportunity to become more innovative and responsible in every aspect of our business operation, and showed how important it is to stay committed to supporting Vietnam’s sustainable development agenda throughout.”

In a turbulent 2020, HEINEKEN Vietnam set the health and safety of its employees as top priorities. However, due to COVID-19, the number of jobs HEINEKEN Vietnam indirectly supports through its value chain decreased by 14% compared to the previous year, with the biggest impact felt in bars and restaurants.

To stand strong with those facing hardship in 2020, the company supported its business partners by giving away 1.5 million free Tiger bottles across 47 cities & provinces to encourage consumers to visit their favorite bars when they reopened for business after social distancing. HEINEKEN Vietnam also contributed 12 billion VND and 22,000 masks through the two brands Bia Viet and Larue to COVID-19 relief funds, and donated 3.2 billion VND for disaster relief in the Central region, in support of the most vulnerable communities across Vietnam the past year.

Towards its 2025 Sustainability Ambition of 100% renewable energy, 100% water balanced and zero waste to landfill, in 2020 HEINEKEN Vietnam powered it breweries with 56% renewable energy and reused and/or recycled 99% of waste and by-products. This is part of the company’s efforts to “Raise the Bar” to meet the company’s global ambition of becoming carbon neutral in all breweries worldwide by 2030, throughout its value chain in 2040 and become fully circular by 2050.

Highlights from the 2020 Sustainability Report include:

Growing Prosperity for a Better Vietnam:

• HEINEKEN Vietnam contributed 0.87% through its value chain to Vietnam’s GDP
• 85% of the company’s input materials were locally sourced and supplied

Growing People for a Better Vietnam:

• HEINEKEN Vietnam signed the United Nation’s Women’s Empowerment Principles, with the vision of growing and nurturing an inclusive and diverse workplace. In 2020, women made up 32% of our senior management.
• To support the Government’s agenda, Decree 100, and encourage responsible drinking, the company introduced its first non-alcoholic product - Heineken® 0.0.

Growing Sustainably to Protect the Planet for a Better Vietnam:

• 5 out of 6 breweries of HEINEKEN Vietnam are using 100% renewable thermal energy with plans for the sixth brewery already underway.
• 100% of fridges are environmentally friendly and all glass beer bottles in bars and restaurants have a “two-way” system where they are returned to the brewery to be sanitized before being reused several times.
• In addition to reducing water consumption, over the last 10 years HEINEKEN Vietnam has supported 25 water stations to help communities across Vietnam with access to clean water.

All the achievements contributed to HEINEKEN Vietnam being recognised as the #2 most sustainable company in Vietnam in 2020 by the VCCI. This is the fifth consecutive year the company is honoured to be in TOP 3 of this ranking.

As HEINEKEN Vietnam is celebrating its 30^th Anniversary this year, the company is reflecting back on its journey of ‘Growing Together with Vietnam’ – a commitment HEINEKEN Vietnam has been honouring since day one. With sustainability and responsibility as the backbone of its business, HEINEKEN Vietnam will continue to grow in a sustainable way – together with the country and its people.

The full report can be accessed from the company website: https://heineken-vietnam.com.vn/en/sustainability/

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For more information, please contact:

Ms. Nguyen Huong Mai
Head of Communications
Heineken Vietnam Brewery Limited Company
Email: mai.nguyenhuong@heineken.com
Telephone: +84 28 3822 2755

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About HEINEKEN Vietnam

HEINEKEN Vietnam is turning 30 this year. We are a successful joint venture with SATRA (Saigon Trading Group) and have a proud history - growing from the first brewery in Ho Chi Minh City in 1991 to 6 nationwide with 3,330 employees today.

We take Vietnamese people on our growth journey in the country. We are currently creating 183,000 jobs across the value chain and contributing to almost 0.9% of Vietnam’s total GDP.

As a relentlessly innovative company, we combine international expertise with the local know-how and talent; and have been delighting Vietnamese consumers with a wide product portfolio for a variety of local tastes and drinking occasions, including Heineken®, Tiger, Larue, BIVINA, Bia Viet and Strongbow. Many of our beers are innovations made exclusively for Vietnam and by Vietnamese brew masters, most notably our newest brand Bia Viet.

Sustainability and responsibility are the way we do business at HEINEKEN Vietnam. From day one, we have been committed to “Brewing a Better Vietnam”, and for 5 consecutive years 2016 – 2020, we have been recognized by the VCCI as one of the top 3 most sustainable companies in manufacturing sector. Currently 56% of the energy powering our breweries is renewable and 99% of our waste and by-products are reused and/or recycled. We are also passionate about advocating responsible consumption and addressing drink driving in Vietnam, and in 2020 introduced Heineken® 0.0 to support the Government’s efforts in this area.

To know more about us, please visit  https://heineken-vietnam.com.vn