Organic farming, using solar energy, applying circular economic models... Vinamilk becomes the first dairy company to have a farm that achieves international carbon neutral certification.
At the end of May, Nghe An Dairy Farm and Nghe An Milk Factory were the first two units of Vinamilk, and also of the Vietnamese dairy industry, to be awarded the "Carbon Neutrality Certification according to PAS 2060:2014 standard" by international independent assessment organizations.
On this occasion, the Vietnamese dairy giant also announced its roadmap to Net Zero 2050 with the action program "Vinamilk Pathway to Dairy Net Zero 2050" in response to Vietnam's commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 (Net Zero 2050), as announced by the Prime Minister at the COP26 Climate Change Conference held in the UK in 2021. Accordingly, Vinamilk will cut 15% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2027, cut and neutralize 55% of emissions by 2035 and move towards the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Reports show that livestock and agriculture are sectors that have a direct impact on the environment and are among the sectors that need to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases. In the dairy industry in particular, increasing demand, expanding dairy herds, and developing dairy farming models - especially in developing countries - mean that greenhouse gas emissions are also increasing. According to Mr. Piercristiano Brazzale, President of the IDF (International Dairy Federation) at the Global Dairy Conference held in the UK last June, the goal of sustainable development is a challenge and an urgent requirement for the dairy industry in the context of the global response to climate change. This will also be an issue that businesses need to take very seriously.
In fact, Vinamilk has been implementing its sustainability program for more than 15 years. With the goal of proactively sourcing quality fresh milk domestically, Vinamilk launched its first farm in Tuyen Quang in 2007. "Many years ago, Vinamilk identified agriculture and dairy farming as industries that directly impact the environment. To have sustainable production activities, it is necessary to have an orientation to build green, environmentally friendly farms," said a company representative.
To concretize this, in 2015, this enterprise was the first unit to own the Global Good Agricultural Practices (Global GAP) certificate for its dairy farm in Nghe An. To date, all of their farms have achieved this certification. Also under the sustainable development strategy, Vinamilk has invested an initial capital of more than 300 million USD in 3 Vinamilk Green Farm ecological farms in Tay Ninh, Quang Ngai, Thanh Hoa with a herd of nearly 20,000 cows and this number continues to increase. This is also a model that many international experts consider a pioneer in sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture.
At Vinamilk farms, the company applies the principle: the output of one process is fully utilized as input for another process, thereby reducing resource exploitation, waste treatment costs and environmental pollution in the construction and operation of the farm. Accordingly, all waste generated from livestock activities will be collected and treated with a biogas technology system to create organic fertilizer for crops, improve soil; as well as utilize it as gas to heat water to sterilize milk for calves, dry grass and serve farm operations. At Green Farm Tay Ninh alone, with a scale of 8,000 cows and calves with 500 tons of manure discharged each day, the biogas system not only helps to handle environmental issues but also saves more than 100 million VND in electricity bills each month.
In farming and livestock farming activities, aiming for more sustainable models, the company's farms are in the process of limiting their impact on the environment. Vinamilk Organic Da Lat Farm, since its inauguration (early 2017), has been certified by the global organization Control Union (Netherlands) as the first European-standard organic dairy farm in Vietnam. Using the organic method, the company has spent 3 years converting to "return" the land to its most natural state: no chemicals, no pesticides, plant protection drugs or chemical fertilizers.
Not only the farms in Tay Ninh or Da Lat, but all 13 Vinamilk farms nationwide have converted energy in the direction of "greening". Instead of fossil energy or hydroelectricity, Vinamilk has applied environmentally friendly technologies such as biomass energy (biogas), renewable energy... Currently, 100% of Vinamilk farms have been installed with complete solar energy systems, contributing a large proportion to the total energy consumption.
An important step in the process of reducing emissions is carbon absorption. Most of the farms of the largest dairy enterprises in Vietnam dedicate 50-70% of their area to planting trees as well as developing ecological lakes... such as at Green Farm Tay Ninh, Quang Ngai... Trees are natural biological barriers, helping to limit impacts on the ecosystem around the farms, while contributing to regulating the general climate for the entire surrounding area. In the hottest place in the country - Tay Ninh - during peak season, Vinamilk farm can still maintain a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius in the dairy cow barn areas thanks to the surrounding green tree system. At the same time, the enterprise actively invests in tree planting activities, forming green areas, also known as "Carbon Sink" to absorb and neutralize greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the programs of the 1 Million Trees Fund for Vietnam (completed in 2020 with 1.121 million trees), the Tree Planting Project towards Net Zero (2023-2027, with an investment of 15 billion VND), the Mangrove Regeneration Project of Mui Ca Mau National Park... According to Vinamilk's announcement, this is also a tree fund that helps businesses neutralize for factories and farms in the future.
In Vietnam, Vinamilk is one of the businesses that has made many positive contributions to the more sustainable development of the dairy industry, while strongly promoting the process towards Net Zero 2050. Since 2012, Vinamilk has published a sustainable development report according to international standards, to accurately record and assess its practices.
Vinamilk is also the first Vietnamese dairy company to join the Global Initiative of the Dairy Industry on Net Zero - Pathways to Dairy Net Zero, which brings together 180 organizations accounting for more than 40% of global milk production. The initiative was founded by the International Dairy Federation (IDF), the Dairy Sustainability Framework (DSF), the Global Dairy Platform... with the goal of enhancing or introducing solutions to help reduce emissions in the global dairy industry and in countries to achieve Net Zero.
"We look forward to welcoming Vinamilk into this process, as a leading and pioneering enterprise in Vietnam," said Mr. Brian Lindsay, Director of the World Dairy Sustainability Framework (DSF), and hoped that deeper cooperation with enterprises like Vinamilk would bring opportunities for enterprises and the dairy industry of countries to achieve Net Zero.
After more than 47 years of development, Vinamilk is now in the Top 40 largest dairy companies in the world in terms of revenue and the Top 6 most valuable dairy brands globally, with an estimated value of 3 billion USD. According to the company representative, this success comes partly from the sustainable development vision that the company set out decades ago. Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, General Director of Vinamilk shared: "Looking back on the journey towards sustainable development, Vinamilk realizes that this is the right direction and has made decisions very early on." Vinamilk's CEO also believes that consumers are the driving force for the company to persevere in sustainable development, because this is a challenging problem.
Experts assess that Vinamilk's steps in practicing sustainable development throughout the entire production chain in general and at farms in particular not only spread positive messages to the domestic business community but also contribute to promoting the world dairy industry. Along with increasing brand value, Vinamilk has recently become the only representative of Southeast Asia to be ranked by Brand Finance in the Top 5 most sustainable dairy brands globally (according to the Sustainability Perception Value - SPV index). In particular, Vinamilk's sustainability perception score is the highest in the Top 10 (with 5.75 points), surpassing many other big names in the world dairy industry, in the context that Vietnam's dairy industry is still young compared to many countries, especially in terms of sustainable development. " Sustainability is becoming an important trend. Vinamilk is promoting the sustainable development trend in the food industry, capturing the needs of consumers who are increasingly conscious in choosing food. Thanks to that, they are always the most popular brand for Vietnamese people," said Mr. Alex Haigh, Managing Director of Asia - Pacific of Brand Finance. Participating in the forum "Green development - A suitable approach for Vietnamese brands" within the framework of the announcement ceremony of the Top 100 Most Valuable Brands in Vietnam 2023, Ms. Bui Thi Huong - Executive Director of Human Resources, Administration and External Relations of Vinamilk affirmed: " Sustainable development is the core towards improving the quality of life, human health and preserving valuable resources for future generations. Vinamilk focuses on achieving that goal through providing high-quality products, developing green elements in parallel, and actively participating in activities for the environment and the community".
Ms. Bui Thi Huong and other speakers shared at the seminar "Green Development - A suitable approach for Vietnamese brands" organized by Brand Finance.
Content: Hoang Anh - Design: Thai Hung
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