For a drug firm like Imexpharm Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (IMP), pursuing sustainability in its core business line of drug manufacturing is the right approach. The company, however, has done much more than that, initiating numerous corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to protect the environment and benefit the community. And such efforts have paid off.
Green development
On March 18, 2024, IMP joined forces with authorities of Nha Trang City in Khanh Hoa Province kicked off a program to plant trees along Ring Road 2 in the south-central coastal city. This activity, said a top leader of the company, demonstrated IMP’s social responsibility in joining hands with localities to protect the environment and make life healthier.
On the day, IMP’s Board of Directors and employees worked with local authorities to plant 500 trees along Ring Road 2 and collect trash along Nha Trang beach. This activity is a part of the “Nurturing Green Seeds – Drawing the Future” program launched by Nha Trang City in response to the national program to plant one billion trees in the 2021-2025 period.
“We hope to contribute a small green area to Nha Trang City, one of the coastal cities that has been greatly affected by global climate change. As a leading pharmaceutical company in Vietnam, IMP always supports and focuses on implementing “dual goals”: preserving the environment while keeping people’s health good,” said IMP General Director Tran Thi Dao.
She explained that this tree-planting activity is part of the company’s ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) approach with the goal of promoting sustainable development. In particular, the green transformation is spreading in the pharmaceutical industry around the world, changing the way of production and marketing of products. As there are many growing concerns in this industry like smoke emissions and medical waste that are said to affect the environment and climate change, ESG has become a mandatory trend for pharmaceutical businesses to control these factors.
“As the leading pharmaceutical company in Vietnam, IMP always prioritizes sustainability with ESG development orientation. This has helped us promote more sustainable operating practices and pursue innovation and operational and business efficiency,” said the CEO.
Apart from environmental protection, IMP has over the years also attended to other CSR activities. For 22 years on end since the 2001-2002 school year, the company has sponsored the Huynh Thuc Khang Scholarship program in Danang, handing out scores of prizes to gifted students each year.
In September last year at the beginning of the new school year, IMP donated over VND560 million to Dong Thap Province’s Department of Education and Training as awards for 148 outstanding teachers and students. This was the 21st consecutive year IMP had honored outstanding teachers and students in this Mekong Delta province.
A senior leader of the company said IMP is always willing to contribute to education, considering support to the country’s education and healthcare as its key CSR.
Sweet fruit from sustainable manufacturing
In embracing ESG, IMP has exercised great care for environmental protection in its manufacturing operations. The company currently operates four factory clusters, three of which have 11 production lines meeting EU-GMP standards for manufacturers.
These standards also require IMP factories to reduce energy consumption as well as water use and focus on waste treatment. For example, in 2022, the total amount of CO2 emissions from using electricity in production was 8,896 tons, dropping 5% year-on-year. IMP has also built wastewater treatment systems according to European standards at its factory clusters.
“When developing a priority action plan on ESG, IMP chose the GRI Standards and the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a reference to identify the crucial issues and action plans. By pursuing these values, we aim to bring the highest possible values to our stakeholders, ensure sustainable growth and make a strong contribution to the development of the national economy. For the pharmaceutical industry, this is also an orientation to help Vietnam achieve its goal of becoming a high-value pharmaceutical production center in the region by 2030,” said CEO Tran Thi Dao.
According to her, IMP has managed to inspire green values in all departments and employees, so that all people at the company strictly adhere to environmental protection norms such as energy saving and prevention of plastic waste.
The sweet fruits of sustainable investment have helped IMP achieve many impressive results in recent years. In 2023, the company’s total gross revenue reached VND2,113 billion, growing by 26% against the overall market growth rate of about 8%. At the same time, the company accelerated the expansion of production capacity according to international standards and increased the ability to produce new, technically difficult generic drugs to promote the competitiveness of domestic drugs with other imported products of the same type.
