Lotte is as committed to coexisting with local communities in Vietnam as it is to expanding its distribution business. In addition to repairing school facilities and supporting children's surgeries, employees directly participate in street cleaning, mirroring the social contribution activities conducted domestically. The aim is to go beyond the image of a foreign-owned distribution company that merely sells goods and takes profits, and to take root in local society.
In the case of Lotte Mart, it is promoting an integrated ESG campaign covering environment, society, and co-growth in Vietnam. The scope is diverse, including environmental protection, education and medical support, and expanding sales channels for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). Lotte Mart's 'Good Today' program is a representative child education support project. It repaired facilities at Hien Van Primary School in Bac Ninh Province in northern Vietnam and donated educational computers. It also conducted coding and Korean fan-making classes for children. It also provides scholarships to university students in the Ho Chi Minh City area through the Lotte Scholarship Foundation.
Medical support projects are also being carried out concurrently. By sponsoring the international medical aid organization Operation Smile, it supported surgeries for Vietnamese children suffering from cleft lip and palate. Cleft lip and palate is a condition where the lips or palate are congenitally split due to developmental failure during the fetal period. It is rare for foreign-owned companies to conduct child medical support projects.
Environmental protection activities are standard. Last June, it drew attention by conducting citizen plogging in the West Lake area of Hanoi with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Since last April, it has also been carrying out activities to reduce plastic bag use, such as introducing electronic receipts to reduce the use of hard-to-recycle thermal paper and providing points to customers who use eco-friendly shopping bags.
Co-growth with local companies is one of the localization philosophies held by Lotte Mart. Through the 'Global Bridge in Vietnam' event, it supports the development of local sales channels for Korean food and beauty SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and is expanding cooperation with Vietnamese companies and suppliers. Hiring local personnel during the process of opening new stores is also a basic principle. For these reasons, Lotte Mart was selected this year as one of the 'Top 10 ESG Companies in Vietnam's Distribution Sector' and the 'Top 10 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Companies Leading Green Transition.'
Lotte Department Store is also called the street cleaner around Diamond Plaza in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. This is due to street cleaning and environmental purification campaigns involving employees. District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City is a core urban area densely packed with historical and commercial facilities, and it suffers from garbage problems. It is reported that merchants and residents around the plaza bloom with smiles on their faces when they see people wearing blue vests (Lotte Department Store's street cleaning uniforms) appearing with black trash bags.
Efforts to reduce carbon emissions generated during operations are also being made concurrently. Employees in charge of engineering and facility management complete training on greenhouse gas reduction and eco-friendly energy saving, and are also focusing their capabilities on improving the building's energy efficiency.
A representative from Lotte Department Store and Lotte Mart said, "We plan to continue environmental protection, education and medical support, and coexistence activities with partner companies, while broadening our connection points with Vietnamese local communities."
in LIVING
