CSR Portrait n°14: Archetype Vietnam

Can you explain your activity in a few words?

Archetype Vietnam is the largest privately-owned construction consultancy in the country with core services in Architecture & Planning, Building & Infrastructure Engineering, Project & Cost Management and Industrial & Process Engineering. Our expertise covers the key construction markets of buildings & real estate, industry & manufacturing and energy & infrastructure.

Since 2002, Archetype has been involved in many different building and real estate projects throughout Vietnam. Iconic built projects in the healthcare, residential, commercial and hospitality sectors include notably the French-Vietnamese Hospital and Pacific Place in Hanoi, E.town Central, Saigon Pearl and Sunrise City in HCMC, Amano’i Resort in Vinh Hy and Banyan Tree in Lang Co. In the region, our built references include some prestigious projects such as the MahaNakhon Tower in Bangkok, the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, Capital Place in Jakarta, Amansara in Siem Reap, several Ikea superstores in China and the Shangri-La hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

Archetype’s activities in industrial and energy sectors have increased strongly and solidified further our standing as the market leader for these sectors in Vietnam and in the region. Our extensive portfolio of references includes factories and complexes for top clients such as Unilever, Heineken, Danone, AkzoNobel, CocaCola, IFF, Givaudan, Mondelez, Huntsman, Cargill, Syngenta, Sanofi, Bel, Medochemie, Amway, Galtronics, GE and Buhler in the industrial sector and TTC/GEC, Vopak, Exxonmobile and Puma Energy in the energy sector. Transportation references include International Airports in Danang, Siem Reap, Maldives, Mumbai and other hubs in the region.

Archetype Group has also subsidiaries in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand and has more than 1,000 employees worldwide.

Have you already implemented a social or environmental project in your company? Or do you have a sustainable development policy?

Sustainability/green design is one of our core values. We are pioneers and advocates in this field in all countries where we operate. Archetype Group has signed an agreement to partner with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on EDGE, a software standard and certification system for emerging markets. This software, which is the first of its kind in the world, is an innovative tool that can be used to determine the financial viability of a green building project at the early design stage. We also have joined in partnership with Altereo and Berim combining the significant resources and skills of three distinct and leading firms to form Archetype Environment that brings together expertise in water and environmental solutions for local conditions -within Vietnam and South East Asia- in the following areas: Water Treatment, Water Management, Solid Waste Treatment, Geographical Information Systems. In addition, Archetype Group is member of Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC) and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

In addition, in-house training is frequently organized and conducted by our green expert to share experiences and keep updating the new trend about sustainable design.

Some projects designed, as well as done by Archetype Group got green certification such as:

• Schneider Electric Factory (Vietnam) – LEED Platinum certified
• e.town Office Building (Vietnam) – LEED Gold certified
• Kairos School (Vietnam) – EDGE certified
• The Water Bay (Vietnam)  – EDGE certified
• Coca-Cola Factory Vietnam – LEED Silver certified
• Bel Factory (Vietnam) – Lotus certified
• Unilever Homecare Liquid Bac Ninh (Vietnam) – LEED Silver certified
• Capital Place (Indonesia) – Green Mark certified
• International Flavors & Fragrances Centre (Indonesia) – LEED Silver certified
• Evonik R&D Center (China) – LEED Silver certified
• Fernand Léger Highschool (France) – HQE certifi
• Laurelton Diamond Factory (Cambodia) – LEED certified
• and some other project references in region...

As part of Archetype Group’s aspirations, we don’t just develop buildings, but are also deeply committed to contributing to the harmonious and sustained development of our society. It is a chance for us to contribute and give back to communities.

Annually, Archetype Vietnam donates and organizes CSR activities, sponsors and actively supports causes to help orphans, children with disabilities, victims of Agent Orange and elderly people. We are also involved in CSR through the sponsorship for Mai Nha Ngo Orphanage in Nha Trang.

What type of advice would you give to other companies in Vietnam to launch such CSR project?

This is all about the initiative and social responsibilities of companies to contribute and give back to their communities. No matter what kind of CSR activities you choose, it could be environmental, ethical or philanthropic, it has to be a long-term initiative and sustainable.  CSR could apply to many other aspects of a business, including boosting employee morale.