The company is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement, aggregates and concrete. As a corporate leader in Vietnam, Holcim has navigated its ways into the future by taking the sustainable route. Holcim has long emphasised its commitment to environmental performance and social responsibility as key elements its long-term growth strategy.
Last September it announced the opening of a new Sustainable Development Department, the first of its kind at any company operating in Vietnam.
Every person wants the members of his or her community to live in a healthy and happy environment and for quality of life to continue upwards. To obtain this target, people strive towards development. There are various ways of development, with a common feature being consideration of demographics, economics, society, natural resources and the environment. This ensures that development progress in the short term will not compromise long-term development. This is sustainable development as defined by UNICEF.
“At Holcim Vietnam we have identified four pillars of sustainable development in our business strategy: environmental performance, corporate social responsibility, sustainable construction, and corporate communications,” said Mr Nguyen Cong Minh Bao, Head of the Sustainable Development Department at Holcim Vietnam.
To achieve these goals, Holcim Vietnam has consolidated and enhanced partnerships with various organisations such as Vietnamese research institutions and universities, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), GTZ, Habitat for Humanity, the International Crane Foundation, and others.
Sustainability development requires reinventing the ways industries operate, on the production side, in resource usage, emission controls and ecological stewardship, and through new thinking about community and social interaction. Holcim Vietnam is totally committed to developing the community in their activities in a sustainable way.
The company’s Sustainable Development Department also defines corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategically. CSR encompasses not only what companies do with their profits but also how they make them. It goes beyond philanthropy and compliance and addresses how companies manage their economic, social, and environmental impacts, as well as their relationships in all key spheres of influence: the workplace, the marketplace, the supply chain, the community, and the public policy realm.
Holcim’s CSR initiatives focus on developing infrastructure and supporting education and health activities in the community. Financial support has been given to specific projects proposed by an NGO and/or a social organisation, such as building houses of gratitude, bridges, roads, and schools in remote areas (examples of kindergartens built in recent years include the Durian kindergarten, the An Quy kindergarten, and the Son Hai islet kindergarten). Some typical activities are supporting programs to offer better housing to poor people, partnering with the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUT) and the Can Tho University (CTU) in the Green Summer campaign, scholarship programs, the Holcim Talent scholarship program, student initiatives and various projects in sustainable development. Holcim also supports education and vocational training programs, for example by partnering with the Duc Duc street children care program in Ho Chi Minh City.
Mr Nguyen Cong Minh Bao said: “The students of today are the potential leaders of tomorrow, so we will focus on improving our university sponsorship and educational sponsorship to encourage learning, to prepare the human capital of the future in Vietnam. As a socially responsible company, we believe our active and holistic engagement will promote other industries to follow this sustainable development pathway…Because Tomorrow Matters.”
Via: VET
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