Nestlé Vietnam spreads the movement to raise awareness of environmental protection while reducing, collecting and recycling plastic waste with many initiatives and solutions.
Through its proactive plans, Nestlé Vietnam has focused on prioritizing the development of sustainable packaging with the goal of over 95% of packaging being designed for recycling, aiming to reduce the amount of virgin plastic used in the production system to 1/3 by 2025.
Nestlé is one of the first companies in Vietnam to switch from single-use plastic straws to FSC-certified paper straws (a voluntary standard to support responsible forest management on a global scale) for all its ready-to-drink products. In 2021-2022, the company has reduced about 2,500 tons of plastic packaging. In addition, the company has also committed to achieving its goal of being plastic neutral by 2025.
Nestlé Milo has switched from plastic straws to paper straws on its ready-to-drink milk products to reduce the amount of virgin plastic used in production. Photo: Nestlé
Not only coordinating with partners and packaging collection and recycling organizations, the unit also carries out campaigns to raise awareness about the issue of plastic waste and calls on consumers to join hands in activities of classifying and collecting plastic waste. These include the Tet campaigns "Giving good things, Receiving green fortune" and "Eating green Tet, Receiving good fortune" in 2022 and 2023, the beach cleaning campaign "For a blue ocean"... all aim to raise awareness among consumers and the community about reducing plastic waste in daily life, especially during Tet.
"The company's vision is that no packaging, including plastic, will be discarded into the natural environment. The company is striving to achieve this towards a zero-waste future through specific actions based on five main pillars: reduce, reuse, sustainable design, recycle, and change behavior," said Mr. Binu Jacob, General Director of Nestlé Vietnam.
The "Clean Up the Beach" campaign launched by Nestlé Vietnam contributes to raising awareness about reducing plastic waste in the environment. Photo: Nestlé
Mr. Vu Minh Ly, Deputy Director of the Center for Natural Resources and Environment Communication, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said that in recent years, the Government has implemented many mechanisms, policies and projects to reduce plastic waste and protect the environment, typically the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 has added regulations on reducing, reusing, recycling and treating plastic waste. Nestlé Vietnam is considered one of the pioneering enterprises in spreading the movement against plastic waste with many models, initiatives and practical solutions, contributing to raising awareness about reducing plastic waste in Vietnam.
"The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment highly appreciates Nestlé Vietnam's initiative and efforts to join hands in spreading the movement against plastic waste in the business community and society. Continuously leading the 'Top 100 Sustainable Enterprises' in the manufacturing sector is a testament to Nestlé Vietnam's positive contributions to sustainable development, compliance with environmental protection regulations and plastic waste reduction," said Mr. Vu Minh Ly.
As a co-founder of the Vietnam Packaging Recycling Alliance (PRO), Nestlé Vietnam also coordinates with members to implement many activities to raise consumer awareness about recycling and waste classification, develop existing packaging collection systems, and support recycling programs.
Ms. Chu Thi Kim Thanh, Operations Director of Vietnam Packaging Recycling Alliance (PRO) shared: "As a co-founder of PRO Vietnam, Nestlé Vietnam also plays an important role in supporting the Government, ministries, departments and sectors to increase the impact of the anti-plastic waste movement on a larger scale. With a strong commitment to plastic neutrality, Nestlé Vietnam has been closely coordinating with PRO Vietnam to effectively implement the EPR regulation, actively contributing to the prevention of plastic waste in Vietnam."
With its long-term sustainable development plans, Nestlé Vietnam continues to be the leading unit in the Top 100 most sustainable enterprises (CSI 100) in Vietnam in 2023, voted by the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD-VCCI).
Mr. Binu Jacob, General Director of Nestlé Vietnam, represented the company to receive the certificate of the most sustainable enterprise in Vietnam in the manufacturing sector. Photo: Nestlé
In terms of solid waste, Vietnam is among the top 20 countries with the largest amount of plastic waste in the world, with an average of 2.9 million tons of plastic waste per year. This amount of plastic waste is also increasing rapidly at a rate of 5% per year. However, with only about 33% of plastic waste recycled, Vietnam is losing about 2.2 - 2.9 billion USD per year, according to WWF Vietnam's Plastic Waste Generation Report 2022.
According to experts, reducing plastic waste is a long journey that requires strong commitment from all stakeholders including the Government, businesses and the community. Over the years, the Government has implemented many mechanisms, policies and projects to reduce plastic waste and protect the environment, typically the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 has added regulations on reducing, reusing, recycling and treating plastic waste.
After plastic goes from producer to consumer, plastic waste has appeared significantly in the classification and post-use collection stages. Disposable plastic products and the quality of plastic for recycling are also problems that need to be solved. Therefore, the initiative and participation of businesses in reducing, reusing and recycling play an important role in creating common value for the environment.
Diep Chi
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