Challenges on the journey to Net Zero
As an ambitious and successful enterprise on its journey towards Net Zero, HEINEKEN Vietnam also faces major challenges in realizing its ambitions.
Ms. Tran Ngoc Anh - Senior Corporate Affairs Director at HEINEKEN Vietnam - shared that the unit is pursuing the ambition of achieving net zero emissions in production by 2030 and net zero emissions across the entire value chain by 2040. "Regarding the ambition in production, we are quite confident that we will be able to realize this ambition" - Ms. Anh said.
However, when it comes to the ambition of achieving net zero emissions across the value chain by 2040 – 10 years earlier than Vietnam’s commitment – HEINEKEN’s leadership does not yet have all the answers.
In fact, indirect emissions arising from business activities that are not directly under their control or ownership, across the entire supply chain (scope 3), are the most complex and diverse type of emissions.
At HEINEKEN, the company's current supply strategy in the value chain focuses on collaborating and supporting suppliers to develop emission reduction roadmaps, thereby contributing to reducing scope 3 emissions.
Ms. Anh said that HEINEKEN Vietnam's experience is to thoroughly apply circular economy and innovation to exploit and use raw materials in the most effective way.
"For packaging, we reuse up to 97% of glass bottles and 99% of plastic crates. For aluminum cans and cartons, we are cooperating with suppliers and recyclers. In addition, we also apply optimization and innovation in the Logistics stage. In the future, we will apply initiatives such as converting transportation means to electric trucks. However, these initiatives depend a lot on market availability and transportation infrastructure," said Ms. Anh.
The Senior External Affairs Director of HEINEKEN Vietnam said that the final step in the company's value chain is serving customers in the market. The unit is currently using low-emission refrigerators with quality control from HEINEKEN globally.
But according to Ms. Anh: "There are many stages in the value chain that we cannot control, but we need the cooperation of our partners, how to make them boldly transform towards zero net emissions in their operations. This requires awareness as well as commitment to sustainable development from our partners."
Need to ensure small and medium enterprises are not left behind
Talking about the story of green transformation and digital transformation in the value chain, Ms. Do Le Thu Ngoc - Head of Inclusive Development, UNDP in Vietnam said that the story of Dual Transformation (Green Transformation and Digital Transformation) with the efforts of the Vietnamese Government, along with many development organizations, has had certain positive impacts on the business community in Vietnam.
However, in the ESG practice reports of USAID and the ESG Report of KPMG, it is shown that large enterprises are often able to approach more quickly and move from awareness to action more clearly. While small and medium-sized companies, most of them are just at awareness, have not had many changes or clear actions.
As for the group of micro enterprises, or business sectors such as cooperatives and individual business households, there is almost no awareness or action to change towards dual transformation.
"In the context that 98% of Vietnam's enterprises are small and medium-sized, 20% of which are owned by women, sustainable development cannot only be pioneered by large enterprises, but also requires ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises and enterprises owned by disadvantaged groups are not left behind," Ms. Ngoc shared.
Mr. To Quoc Huong - Country Director, Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants (ACCA Vietnam) - said: "We have worked with many small and medium-sized enterprises not only in Vietnam but also in many other countries around the world. The common point we see is that these enterprises all have difficulty meeting international standards on sustainable development reporting".
