MinhQuang Nguyen
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
Chris Laszlo
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AES-VCM Mong Duong Power Company Limited, has been operating in Vietnam through their Mong Duong II power project. Innovation is a part of their business model which maximizes the economic and social benefits. These benefits are demonstrated by the development of their power plant. AES-VCM Mong Duong Power Company Limited wants to ensure that they act in a way that not only benefits themselves and their employees, but also benefits the communities around them.
Their sustainability agenda is at the core of their organization. This business model came as a response to Vietnam’s Master Development plan which established renewable energy goals for national power companies to achieve by 2020. The plan emphasizes energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy. The company aims to act in a responsible and sustainable manner through socioeconomic development and embedding environmental sustainability at the local and national levels. They are committed to the continuous development of their stakeholders, as Muong Duong II affirms that sustainability is: “an agenda that is championed at the highest level of the organization.” As their business evolves, they are well-positioned to deliver value that ultimately helps the development of the local and national community and environment.
In the past few years, Vietnam has experienced strong economic growth which requires reliable electricity in order to sustain this progress. With an average growth of 6.2% per year, the company strives to maintain high standards in order to act as the backbone of the energy sector. There’s a belief that: “Distributing energy in the most sustainable way is key to improving the lives of the Vietnamese population.” However, their model is not limited to providing sustainable energy, there’s also an inspiration to develop people’s lives in the communities in which they operate. The company will keep on focusing their efforts to develop their Vietnamese team members by enabling them to strive for excellence and lead the company into the future.
Being the largest private power company in Vietnam, they feel a responsibility to be the country’s leading provider for safe and sustainable power. This is the reason that they embedded environmental and community sustainability into their operations.
Their vision is to be the world’s leading sustainable power company while providing communities and countries the opportunity for economic growth. AES-VCM Mong Duong Power Company Limited‘s goal is to go beyond all the standards and requirements set by the local and national agencies in Vietnam as well as the AES Corporate Global Environment Standards.
So far, the impact of their innovation has been positive and growing. The company withdraws fresh water from the Thac Thay River for their operations. Periodic inspection of water uses and annual targets were set for water conservation. It was estimated that the plant uses 1% of the river’s total capacity which does not jeopardize the area. Furthermore, they spent 2.5 million dollars in environmental expenditures that included water treatment, emission treatment, and water disposal costs.
Team members are believed to be the backbone of the company’s success and sustainability efforts. Therefore, AES-VCM invests in their employees by providing them with opportunities for higher studies and they offer them as much as $11,000 per course. They have a “one team” mentality that harnesses diversity and ensures the development of local talent. Everyone is significant in the development of the business and has the opportunity to shine.
As AES-VCM continually evolve as an organization, all stakeholders are involved in this process. They want to honor their commitments to their customers, teammates, communities, and suppliers while making a positive contribution to society.
The company puts great emphasis on honoring commitments with contract partners. Fulfilling these commitments helps Muong Duong Power Plant II gain recognition for their capabilities which in turn helped them gain success through these relationships. With the Vietnamese government as their sole customers, maintaining a flawless relationship with the government stakeholders is key to their business strategy
They promote job stability to their employees, and have a zero tolerance policies for any condition that compromises heath and safety amongst stakeholders. 100% of all department’s managers participate in health and safety meetings to monitor and advise on these programs. These have helped the company show care and increase employee retention.
AES-VCM Mong Duong Power Company Limited focuses on maximizing their profit, increasing their shareholder returns but at the same time they will make sure that they work not only with the best people but also run a responsible business.
The company sets efficiency targets and tries to prioritize the reduction of coal usage wherever possible. Rather than just simply reducing costs, they have adopted a long term planning strategy and have made additional expenditures decisions based on an evaluation of the local and global environment. They are committed in reducing their chemical, water usage, energy, air emissions output, water discharges, spills/ leaks, and so on.
They have made a commitment to engage and strengthen the relationship with their local residents. Their Community Development Plan’s goal is to build sustainable communities while keeping social justice, and social cohesion. The plan can be broken down into 3 categories: (1) Improvement of Community Health Care through annual healthcare activities and the improvement of community healthcare and water supplies systems such as aid courses and directly working with residents to build awareness. (2) Education and Capacity-building Initiatives with scholarship offerings to local communities and improvement of the education system as a whole through donation of equipments to school, and the construction of new classrooms. (3) Improvement of Livelihoods of Impacted Households by providing local procurement and support, as well as vocational training
They are committed to continuous improvement in the ways they support host communities by responding to their needs.
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Ms. My Hanh Le, StakeHolders Manager
