Suntory Beverage & Food Asia

SBFA's sustainability strategy

At SBFA, we aim to be in harmony with nature and society to achieve long-term sustainable growth. It is our priority to accelerate sustainability management and contributions to local societies.
We look towards Growing for Good with our people and our values. Whilst striving to deliver the highest quality products and services to our customers, we also make every effort to contribute to the fruitful development of culture, lifestyles and a global sustainable environment.
SBFA believes in fostering valuable relationships with consumers, partners, employees and communities to achieve a sustainable balance between People, Planet & Profit.

Code of Ethical Conduct

SBFA has set high standards for corporate governance, as should any responsible company. We strive for transparency of corporate management strategy for our stakeholders. We fully comply with corporate governance laws, and our business is guided by a Management Team with diverse and extensive business experience. In line with our Anti-Bribery & Corruption and Conflict of Interest Policies, all employees went through a training session to help them understand the importance of accountability in their actions. The policies serve as a guidance for our employees in terms of day-to-day decision making.

Quality Assurance

SBFA established its Group Quality & Regulatory Affairs department as part of our efforts to become a best practice company. The mission of the department is to offer the best products and services, compliant with relevant laws and regulations, to our customers and consumers throughout the entire product value chain: from research, planning, development, procurement, registration, production, distribution, sales until the moment of consumption. This is in line with SBFA's company promise, mission and vision, and guided by principles, policies and standards for ensuring consistency across the group. These principles, policies and standards focus on the following areas:

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  Customer Focus
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  Enhanced Innovation
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  Risk Management
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  Essence of Lean, Clean & Green
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  Brand Image & Reputation Protection
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  Ownership, Shared Responsibility & Accountability
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  Strategic Partnership

Working together with the various functions and management levels of the supply chain, the Group Quality & Regulatory Affairs department enacts mechanisms and structures related to quality management. This helps to ensure cross-functional quality excellence throughout the Group, for better organization and quality management.

Keeping Customers Safe

BRAND’S Suntory Thailand (BSTL) partnered with Thai Highway Police on the “Don't Drive Drowsy, Rest and Drink BRAND’S” campaign for more than 12 years with an aim to help reduce car accidents during the year-end festive season. It is a peak period where many Thais travel home from Bangkok and have to be on the road for long hours to reach their respective provinces. There are also many who are driving to other parts of Thailand to enjoy their long holiday. Unfortunately, these led to many unfortunate car accidents. In a bid to help drivers stay alert and be more aware of their surroundings when they are behind the wheel, BSTL has been distributing BRAND’S Essence of Chicken to the provincial highway police stations and their respective checkpoints during the festive period. When drivers experience tiredness while they are on the road, they are encouraged to make a stopover at the checkpoints, do some stretching to relax and drink a bottle of BRAND’S Essence of Chicken, which are readily available at these checkpoints and retail stores in partner gas stations. BSTL is proud to be a part of a meaningful initiative to build awareness for safe driving and help keep our roads safer.

Customer Intimacy Goes Digital

The way people communicate and speak to one another has changed vastly in recent years. This has prompted us to adopt a fresh look at the way we interact with customers, as well as in the way we market our brand and products. We are gradually moving from traditional media-led campaigns to focus more on digital marketing channels in order to reach out to a new generation of customers who are constantly connected.

We are excited by the prospects of how digital convergence can help propel us further in our quest to be closer to consumers. We will continue to seize the opportunities to transform the way we interact with our consumers by opening up data access and analysis, using the power of digital technology to keep ahead in today's consumers' lifestyles. Leveraging on the strength of our digital marketing capabilities, we will continue to engage customers while maintaining relevance to their lives. This will build brand loyalty and drive sustainable business growth.

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  Customers wowed by the first-ever
  3D Augmented Reality Interactive
  games

Relations with Business Partners

As SBFA progresses in its CSR journey, it is our intention to work with our business partners to ensure that they fulfill their social responsibilities with regard to human rights, labor standards, environmental sustainability and other issues. This will help to ensure not only that SBFA's business processes are sustainable, but also that our business partners' processes are sustainable. A regional purchasing policy was also developed and applied, ensuring that business units have a fixed set of guidelines to abide by in terms of purchasing transactions and selecting vendors.

International Certifications

SBFA has twenty-two plants in twelve countries, and most have attained ISO14001 (environmental management systems) and ISO22000 (Food Safety Management System) certification. Particularly for our newest plants built in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, environmentally friendly mechanisms were incorporated from the design stage and are utilized in the plants' operation. We are currently in the process of obtaining ISO14001, OHSAS18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) certifications for all of our operations in Asia. Our goal is to continue with good environmental management and making continuous improvements in the future.

Sustainable Operations at Our Environmentally Friendly Plants

The latest plant in Vietnam was opened in June 2017, designed with a 2E philosophy – Environmental Friendly and Employee Motivation. In terms of environmental friendliness, the plant sets a new benchmark for waste water treatment, where at least 70% of the water used in production is treated before being discharged. Apart from using LED lighting for the entire factory, the hot water systems in the locker rooms and canteen are also powered by solar energy. Additionally, the plant design has also taken employees' needs into consideration, where a modern and professional workspace was created to enable effective communications and enhance efficiency. The plant also boasts a central library fitted with technical documents and soft skills books where employees can tuck themselves in the reading corners during their break times.
Read more about SPVB's Sustainable Activities here.

Two other plants in Thailand and Malaysia, which opened in 2010, were designed to be environmentally friendly and energy efficient. Some of their features include solar cells, energy efficient lighting, natural lighting, low-energy utility systems for boiler and cooler management, and reuse of production line water for sanitary systems. These plants meet international standards, including GMP (process design), ISO9001 (quality management systems), and ISO14001 as well as ISO22000 (Food Safety management system). Our Thai plant has also received OHSAS 18001 certification. We at SBFA pledge to continue working toward reducing our environmental impact and to grow with local communities for a sustainable future.

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  Our new plant in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam

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  Bird’s Nest bottling in one of our Thailand plants

Developing the Next Generation Through Lessons from Nature

BRAND’S^® Junior team in Thailand teamed up with the Environmental Education Centre (EEC) Thailand to organize a camping program with the aim to promote awareness of nature and environment through science. With practices and experiments, the young participants were guided to explore nature. The program involved water conservation activities where participants were taught how to observe invertebrates to determine water quality, and went on an adventure trail to learn about various vegetation and animals who call the forest their home. They also took part in a field study on water resource management. The camp not only embraced Suntory's Sustainable Water Philosophy, but also helped pave the way for children to achieve holistic development including problem solving and confidence building.

Children took part in water conservation activities at the camp

Waste Reduction Program

SBFA's HQ in Singapore introduced its waste reduction and recycling program in 2010 and has successfully recycled more than 10.4 tonnes of paper and 2.97 tonnes of glass. On the 5th year anniversary of the establishment of the SBFA Recycling Initiative, we further improved our environmental efforts in the office with the rededication of our office recycling initiative. A new segregated waste system, consisting of 3 categories - Paper, Plastic and Glass, has been introduced. Newly designed, colour-coded signs are attached to the bins for easy identification and segregation. 2030kg of paper, plastic and glass were recycled since the rededication of the program in Q4 2015.
Following the successful introduction of waste reduction and recycling programs in our Singapore office, we have extended the program to Taiwan. All Taiwan staff are encouraged to adopt a green lifestyle starting from their daily activities, such as unplugging of switches, printing on double sides, adjusting the temperature of air-conditioners and many more. The message was to get every staff to understand that they can make a difference to the environment and Earth through small combined efforts and all these can be achieved through the lifting of a finger. The program has been very successful and staff also receives monthly green tips to remind them to continue doing their part for the environment.

Contributions Rooted in the Local Community

Contributing to the local community is an important success factor for SBFA. To succeed as a company that is socially trusted, we are always looking for innovative and meaningful ways to contribute to a better life for our employees, their families, and those who are less fortunate. We contribute in a wide range of fields including health, education, sports, and the arts.

Supporting Local Causes

BRAND’S Suntory Thailand encouraged the citizens of Thailand to support the Children Cancer Foundation, which was established by the Quality Mother Foundation under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali, at BRAND’s^® Bird’S Nest Mother's Day campaign. This campaign encourages everyone to donate directly to the Children Cancer Fund - this reflects an understanding that children are the future of the nation and should be given every opportunity to receive treatments, recover fully, and lead a normal life. BRAND’S^® also produced a television commercial that tells the story of a girl who battled with leukemia and her mother who donated her bone marrow to her.

Letting Dreams Take Flight - BRAND’S Suntory Helps Taiwanese Children Unlock Potential

BRAND’S Suntory Taiwan launched its "Unlocking Potential" initiative, which comprises a two-pronged approach: a school-based "Potential of Creativity" program and a nationwide "Hope in a Bottle" program. The goal of the initiative is to make a positive difference in the lives of some of Taiwan's most overlooked but deserving children, helping them to unlock their physical, emotional and intellectual potential, and achieve their dreams.
The Potential of Creativity program brings arts and creativity focused curriculums to needy and academically underachieving schools in Taiwan. Staff volunteers also join students, on a weekly basis, for day-long creativity programs that explore local and culturally relevant colors, motifs and architectural styles, integrating these local themes into individual student art projects and large-scale community art projects.
The Hope in a Bottle program is a nationwide program that encourages individuals or groups of students to "dream big", asking them to submit proposals describing their plans to make a meaningful impact in their communities. BRAND’S Suntory Taiwan provided grants and guidance from BRAND’S Suntory's Hope Coaches and Hope Team volunteers help students from winning teams make their projects and dreams a success.
By focusing on the needs of the next generation, the initiative demonstrates our long-term commitment to creating sustainable and thriving communities in Taiwan.

Participants of the Hope in a Bottle program

Exemplary CSR

SBFA's CSR activities have an excellent reputation in Asia. We recently received accolade which was the Excellent Stakeholder and Partnership Award from the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore. SBFA was also awarded the Leading HR Practices Award in Corporate Social Responsibility from the Singapore Human Resource Institute.

SBFA has developed a close partnership with United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS) and their local networks in Asia. SBFA has slowly established itself as a thought leader in CSR and featured prominently in the annual summits organized by GCNS. Most recently, SBFA was invited to speak at a panel in ASEAN CSR Network's Regional Business Integrity Conference, further reiterating our status as good corporate citizens in Asia.

SBFA released its inaugural sustainability report in 2015, which broadly describes the activities which the group has participated in recent years, as well as the efforts taken by the group on the path to a sustainable organization. Cerebos (now known as BRAND’S Suntory Asia) was acknowledged as one of the finalists for Asia's Best First Time Sustainability Report in the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards 2015.

Developing CSR Activities Region Wide

In November 2016, SBFA conducted their first ever group charity sales drive around the region. With SBFA HQ in Singapore leading the pack, other subsidiary business units in the region have also conducted their respective Charity Sales events to contribute to their local communities. Offices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam have adopted their own charitable organizations which ranged from various children's causes to food banks in line with our corporate vision of "Growing for Good".

SBFA is involved in long-term volunteer activities, such as the BRAND’S^® Summer Camp in Thailand (supporting over 50,000 students for their college entrance exams for more than 25 years). This initiative has since spread to Yangon, capital of Myanmar as BRAND’S^® Brain Study Camp in 2014, and has helped students achieve distinctions in their matriculation examinations. Additionally, colleagues in Singapore celebrated Christmas in a meaningful way by inviting 100 needy children to join in their Christmas Party and have their Christmas wishes fulfilled. In addition to buying gifts for the children, staff and the children attending shared in the Christmas spirit with special programs and activities. Finally, staff volunteers took part in the large-scale cooking and delivery of 4,000 meal packets for less-privileged households in Singapore.

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  BRAND’S^® Summer Camp in Thailand

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  SBFA Christmas Party with children
  from The Straits Times School
  Pocket Money Fund

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  SBFA colleagues participate
  in Willing Hearts event to cook
  and deliver lunch for the needy

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  BRAND’S^® Brain Study Camp in Myanmar

BRAND’S Suntory Taiwan launched the “Charity Health Check-up and Healthy Diet Education” program in 2017 by funding 5 groups of medical care services organized by medical students. 500 disadvantaged children from the remote countryside benefited from the program through health check-ups and medical inquiry services. Employees also volunteered to educate the children on the importance of a healthy diet and provided BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken as a nutritional aide.

Children from remote areas benefits from BRAND’S Suntory Taiwan's initiative

Other Activities

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  Singapore
  BRAND’S^® partnered with World Vision International, a NGO that offer development aid and emergency humanitarian support, on a "Drink BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken and Donate" charity drive during the BRAND’S^® Funival. Shoppers were encouraged to purchase a bottle of BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken at S$1 and to drink on the spot for a good cause. More than S$2,000 was raised and donated to fund the training and exposure of World Vision's youth ambassadors who will be actively involved in advocating and raising awareness on global poverty issues affecting vulnerable children.
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  Malaysia
  The Smart Achievers Campaign in Malaysia rewards students who excel in both studies and co-curricular activities. We also organized a Charity Warehouse Sales, as well as a BRAND’S^® 14 Day Campaign roadshow to encourage the public to donate and aid in disaster relief efforts.

BRAND’S^® cap collection raises funds for World Vision International

The STSPMF Corporate Charity and ChildAid Asia Concerts

SBFA has worked with the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF), a charity fund, since it was established in 2000. The STSPMF seeks to increase public awareness that many low-income families must send their children to school without the necessary school supplies. The STSPMF provides about 11,000 children annually with financial assistance for school meals, bus commutes, and school supplies. The amount of financial support has reached more than 140,000 students, disbursing approximately SGD 5.2 million as of 2015.

SBFA has supported ChildAid since 2005.

SBFA is also a long-time supporter of ChildAid, which is one of Singapore's biggest annual children's charity concerts organized by The Straits Times and The Business Times since 2005. It is in aid of STSPMF and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, which provides them with structured arts training and the opportunity to develop their artistic talents. The success of ChildAid also inspired similar concerts in Asia, namely Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, where children raise funds for less privileged children through musical and dance performances. SBFA is also proud to be a major supporter of affiliated ChildAid concerts in the region, and has helped numerous children develop their artistic talent.

Developing People - Heart of Performance

A fundamental part of the GfW strategy, this initiative aims to equip all supervisory SBFA staff with the skills to groom leaders from within, using a coaching approach that targets both heart and mind. SBFA leaders recognize which skills need to be groomed in our managers. The program will give them the further toolsets needed to coach these skills. Specifically designed to support line managers and senior and top management in achieving more effective, honest and challenging conversations, the "Heart of Performance" initiative will build a coaching culture to support performance and leadership development.

Developing People - SBFA Leadership Development Program (LDP)

The LDP focuses on middle management, who are our future leaders and growth champions. These members will be instrumental in building sustainable business for SBFA. The program includes a partnership with the prestigious National University of Singapore (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking system has ranked NUS as the top university in Asia for 2019). This partnership allows us to customize a leadership development program for leaders that spans five months. Leadership competencies and strategic priorities form the cornerstone of the LDP. The LDP also ensures that learning is meaningful and relevant to participants.

Developing People – SBFA Supply Chain Leadership Development

Recognizing that Supply Chain is an important part of our business, SBFA started working together with Singapore Management University in 2018 to customize a 5-day intensive Supply Chain Leadership Development program for participants to learn about supply chain topics like risk management, sustainability, data analytics and digitization. Participants from the region were asked to design Suntory’s Supply Chain strategy for the next 10 years, and also work as a team on actual projects, in which their proposals were presented to Senior Management in a day-long Pressure Cooker Challenge. The program addresses challenges and opportunities in SBFA’s supply chain and aims to identify the next generation of Supply Chain leaders in SBFA.

Promoting Suntory’s Philosophy

SBFA has also been actively promoting Suntory’s Philosophy by localizing the Suntory Ambassador Program for the region. For instance, Suntory Beverage & Food Malaysia (SBFM) and BRAND’S Suntory Malaysia (BSMY) came together to attend the Suntory Ambassador Program, the first of its kind held in Malaysia. Jointly organised by the HR teams in SBFA, SBFM, BSMY and supported by Suntory University, participants were inducted into Suntory’s Founding Spirits and also learned about the spirit of One Suntory.

One Suntory Ambassador Program in Malaysia

Supporting Employees’ Personal and Professional Growth

SBFA supports our employees’ personal and professional growth because we feel this is the best way not only to create value but also to attain our vision of becoming the leading health enrichment and food enterprise in the Asia Pacific region.

Over the years, the company has established platforms and mechanisms to connect with and listen to employees. SBFA conducts employee engagement surveys, bi-annual Town Hall Meetings and management dialogues. In all the platforms, employees have the opportunity to raise questions and share their thoughts on any issues they are concerned with.
Opportunities such as these allow employees to be up close and personal with members of the leadership team, and go a long way toward engaging and motivating employees.

Supporting Employee Volunteerism

SBFA’s employees incorporate contributions to society and elements of our sustainability strategy into all aspects of their workplace and their lifestyles. We established a Quality Work-life Committee in which representatives from each department plans innovative and interesting activities that meet the varied interests of our employees. These include many community involvement and volunteerism activities such as helping out in soup kitchens and buying school books and stationery for needy children.
SBFA also provides its employees with opportunity to donate their time. In Singapore, employees are able to use their Volunteer Leave to contribute time to any charitable organization.

Contributing to Society Through Healthy Activities

In 2019, as part of the Global One Suntory Walk event spearheaded by Suntory Holdings, SBFA partnered with Beam Suntory International and Suntory F&B International to organize a One Suntory Active Day in Singapore. This is the 1st time the 3 companies came together for an event where every step they take will contribute to a positive impact for the environment as One Suntory.

In 2015, BRAND’S Suntory Asia makes the Top 50 list for Outstanding Work-Life Strategies in a book published by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). Progressive workplace practices have enabled a wider pool of employees to contribute productively to their workplaces, while maintaining a healthy, active, and balanced personal life. s BRAND’S Suntory Asia was featured in the "Play" section of the book, which focuses on organizations that have encouraged their staff to get actively involved in recreational activities or volunteer work.

BRAND’S Suntory Asia also won the Best Company for Mums SG50 Special Award organized by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), Women’s Development Secretariat (WDS), and Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). This exclusive award gives recognition to companies who have developed exemplary flexible work-life benefits -beyond statutory requirements- to support their employees at various stages of their lives and careers.

Click here for more detailed information on each group company.

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  PT SUNTORY GARUDA BEVERAGE

  Production and sales of non-alcoholic beverages

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  Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage

  Production and sales of non-alcoholic beverages

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  Suntory PepsiCo Beverage Thailand

  Production and sales of non-alcoholic beverages