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Aon Names Jeff Plein as Chief Operating Officer for the Asia-Pacific Region, Bringing Expertise in Business Operations to Better Serve Clients

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 13 September 2023 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, today announced Jeff Plein has been named as the chief operating officer (COO) for the Asia-Pacific region, effective Sept. 11.

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Plein will report to Mindy Simon, global chief operating officer, and Anne Corona, chief executive officer of Asia Pacific. He is based in Singapore and joins the Aon Asia-Pacific Executive Committee and the Aon Business Services Global Leadership Team.

“We are delighted to welcome Jeff to Aon. He is an outstanding leader and his extensive experience in driving operational excellence will help further develop the world-class operations and technological capabilities that Aon delivers to our clients in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Corona.

Plein succeeds Bill Hooper, who was named as global COO of Commercial Risk Solutions, for which he will relocate to the United Kingdom later this year.

“With his extensive experience in investment management, banking and the broader financial services sector, Jeff will bring strong insights that will help our firm continue to deliver innovative solutions as we help our clients to be better informed and better advised,” added Simon.

Plein will work closely with regional and global teams to support growth and deliver a differentiated client experience, with responsibility for the design and execution of all aspects of the Asia-Pacific operating model.

“The Asia-Pacific region presents significant opportunities for growth and innovation,” said Plein. “I am looking forward to building on the firm’s vision to help clients make better decisions as they face today’s rapidly changing, increasingly complex and interconnected challenges. Working together with our colleagues, we will continue to leverage technology, data and insights to deliver enhanced solutions and capabilities for our clients in the region.”

Plein joins Aon from Citibank, where he worked since 2018 as managing director, Asia Pacific head of securities services operations. He has previously held senior roles at Fullerton Fund Management, BlackRock and Pacific Investment Management Company.

For more information about Aon in the Asia Pacific region, please visit www.aon.com/apac.

Hashtag: #Aon

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Aon

(NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries and sovereignties with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.

Follow Aon on , , and . Stay up-to-date by visiting the and sign up for News Alerts .

Noisy Music at Laos Tourist Sites Irks Nature-Loving Visitors

Noisy Music at Laos Tourist Sites Irk Nature-Loving Visitors
Foreign tourists enjoying themselves at the Blue Lagoon in Vang Vieng (photo: Lengthy Travel)

Foreign tourists have spoken out about noisy music at tourist sites in Laos, highlighting the disturbance it causes to those who want to spend some quiet time in nature.

China Business Knowledge White Paper Series: Space Tourism Isn’t Science Fiction Anymore

By Professor Lisa Wan, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, CUHK Business School

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 13 September 2023 – Since ancient times, humans have observed astronomical phenomena and dreamed of exploring the worlds beyond ours. When Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969, he said, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Space exploration has served as an inspiration to humankind. Although space exploration was only limited to professional astronauts in the past, it is no longer a dream for private citizens reaching for the stars themselves anymore.

With the continued advancement of technology, space travel is turning into reality.
With the continued advancement of technology, space travel is turning into reality.

Virgin Galactic first blasted off to suborbital space on July 12, 2021 and Blue Origin soared past the edge of space on July 20, 2021. Then, Space X launched Resilience which carried 4 civilians into space on Sep 15, 2021, making it the world’s first spacecraft to carry all civilian passengers.

With the continued advancement of space technology, space exploration has become a key mission for many nations including the U.S. and China. For example, the U.S. plans to return to the moon and establish a lunar colony over the next few years. China also built its Tiangong space station in 2022 and is planning to get to the Moon in 2030. The rapid development of space technology will further lower the costs of space tourism and the space tourism market is expected to grow rapidly. The global market for space tourism is estimated to reach US$1.7 billion by 2027, and the U.S. and China are the two biggest potential markets for space tourism.

Having civilians travelling to space will be a breakthrough in human cultural development. As space tourism hits mainstream commercialisation, who would be more interested to spend money on enjoying the breath-taking views of Earth in space? Moreover, a luxury space hotel Voyager Station is scheduled open for business in 2027. In order to generate revenue, what activities and foods should space tourism companies provide to tourists once reach orbit? Since space tourism is still expected to remain relatively expensive, what about the masses who are still unable to afford space travel? Is there a way for them experience space travel in a cheaper fashion? What lessons can companies seeking to develop space tourism learn?

In this CUHK Business School Research White Paper, we sought to explore the latest and future development of this newly emerging industry.

Must-Have Menu and Activities at Space Hotel

Though physical space travel is still inaccessible to all but the super-rich, this is becoming less of a barrier in the foreseeable future. With the continuous evolution of space technology, many believe that space tourism costs will drop and slowly but surely make its way into mainstream.

This research white paper provides several insights. First, Chinese people have a higher intention to engage in space tourism than their American counterparts because the latter perceive space travel to be riskier. A possible strategy to promote space travel in the Western market would be to provide more concrete technological information and to emphasise safety in advertisements and social media to reduce tourists’ risk perceptions. On the other hand, when targeting the Asian market, space travel advertisements could emphasise the fantasy and extraordinary experiences.

Second, when considering the space hotel facilities and services, both American and Chinese tourists in general want to have basic facilities of artificial-gravity pools and spa/massage room services. While American tourists have a higher preference on “outdoor” space tours, Chinese tourists prefer “indoor” activities like watching movies. Space tourism companies may consider to tailor-made the services according to their different preferences.

Third, food is an essential part of travel. Based on the survey findings, it is suggested that steak and burgers are “must menu items” for space hotel to satisfy both American and Chinese tourists. Hotpot is the most popular menu item for Chinese tourists, I highly recommend future space hotels to include this to shape Chinese tourists’ memories.

Space Travel Opportunity for Public?

Forth, immersive technology of metaverse enables users to engage in virtual space travel in anytime and anywhere. However, would visitors explore the space virtually no longer be interested in visiting the space physically in the future? I conducted a survey in 2022 by inviting 120 participants to experience a 5-minute virtual space tour for enjoying the earth view. After experiencing the immersive VR space tour, more than 80 % of participants were excited and indicated that they would travel to space physically if they could afford it. Therefore, using immersive technology as a “pre-trip” of space can attract tourists to travel to space physically.

Thanks to immersive VR and AR technology, the general public can experience space travel in an affordable fashion.
Thanks to immersive VR and AR technology, the general public can experience space travel in an affordable fashion.

In addition to space hotel services and food, it would be interesting for space tourism companies to explore how to apply robots to serve tourists in the near future. Robots are usually adopted to help astronauts to investigate and complete dangerous and risky space missions. In fact, robots can also serve in a companion role for human in space.

Since the cost of sending a robot to space is much cheaper than sending a human (e.g., they can be left out in space without returning to earth), it is cost effective to adopt humanoid robots to serve tourists in space hotel. My previous research suggests that, in the hospitality and tourism context, customers in general prefer to interact with humanoid robot than non-humanoid robot, and they are more willing to use friendly-looking service robots (e.g., child-like) when they are looking for suggestions such as menu items to try, specific things to see. However, they prefer to use professional and competent-looking service robots (e.g., adult-like) when seeking instructions related to tax refunds or travel insurance. These research findings on earth provide practical insights for robot adoption in space hotel. For example, space hotel could use child-like humanoid robot to greet guests and increase their satisfaction.

Space tourism remains in its nascent phase, but traveling to outer space may be as easy as taking a flight to Europe in the future. At CUHK Business School, we look forward to exploring the latest development in space tourism, and how hospitality and tourism industry can better seize these emerging opportunities.

Learn more: https://cbk.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk/research-whitepapers/space-tourism-isnt-science-fiction-anymore/
Hashtag: #CUHKBusinessSchool

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Malaysian Government Launches RM5,000 “MSME Digital Grant MADANI”

VeecoTech Serves as Digital Partner (DP)

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 13 September 2023 – The Malaysian government, through the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN Bank), and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has launched the MSME Digital Grant MADANI under Budget 2023, to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Malaysia digitise their operations.

VeecoTech Solutions, an appointed Digital Partner (DP) by MDEC, will provide digital solutions such as website development, e-commerce platforms, digital marketing, cyber security and more to help MSMEs take advantage of this grant and digitise their businesses.

VeecoTech will be holding a webinar to provide more information about the grant. The webinar will be held on 20th September 2023 [Wednesday] (10 am – 11 am) for English speakers and on 21st September 2023 [Thursday] (10 am – 11 am) for Mandarin speakers. To register for the webinar, please visit: https://www.veecotech.com.my/sme-grant/.

The grant is open to all MSMEs in Malaysia that have been operating for at least 6 months. To apply for the RM5000 matching grant, MSMEs must submit an online application form and provide supporting documents, such as their business registration certificate and financial statements.

“We are excited to partner with the Malaysian government to help MSMEs digitise their businesses,” said Alain Lye, Managing Director at VeecoTech. “We have a proven track record of serving hundreds of organisations, local and international. We can’t wait to help MSMEs, even local hawkers, in Malaysia, to take advantage of this grant and grow their businesses.”

Grant ends when the RM100 million allocation has been fully disbursed.

Hashtag: #VeecoTech #MSMEdigitalgrant #SMEGrant2023 #Grant #Malaysia #smallbusiness


The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About VeecoTech Solutions

Established in 2011, VeecoTech is a leading Malaysia IT solution company, specialised in helping businesses to achieve their success through digital solutions.

Together with the subsidiary companies, namely Benova and Bold Media, VeecoTech has operations in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Being a multidisciplinary team capable of providing an integrated and robust digital ecosystem for clients, VeecoTech’s expertise lies in website design, e-commerce, software, branding and marketing solutions.

The company has served over 500 clients from diverse industries, including public sectors, manufacturing, property, financial, healthcare, F&B and others.

SPTel Launches Ultra-low Latency, Secured Edge Cloud Solution

Developed in collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, SPTel’s Edge Cloud solution delivers new capabilities in Infrastructure-as-a-Service

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 13 September 2023 – SPTel, a joint venture company of ST Engineering and SP Group, today launched its Edge Cloud solution with new Infrastructure-as-a-service capabilities that will enable businesses to access Virtual Machine-as-a-service, Container-as-a-service, Storage-as-a-service and Back-up-as-a-service, putting scalability and the rapid provisioning of resources within the control of businesses. Incorporating the Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, SPTel’s solution enables businesses to easily scale, manage and monitor their edge cloud resources.

SPTel’s Edge Cloud is hosted within pervasive secure critical infrastructure locations across Singapore, offering ultra-low latency business application performance, proximity to the data source and robust cybersecurity protection. This allows businesses to maintain security, control, and data sovereignty over critical data. Leveraging SPTel’s ultra-low latency network and direct cloud connectivity solutions, businesses will benefit from optimum performance for their applications on both edge and leading public clouds.

Titus Yong, CEO of SPTel, said, “With unparalleled levels of security, scalability, and control over cloud and network resources, business users of SPTel’s Edge Cloud solution can now enjoy a highly secure, ultra-low latency and scalable Infrastructure as-a-service that meets their evolving needs while adhering to stringent data security and network diversity requirements with rate card pricing and a simple pay-as-you-go model. SPTel is the only cloud provider to deliver a one-stop solution that covers network, compute, storage and security requirements all via an as-a-Service model, and we are excited to see how our solution helps businesses enhance operational efficiency, drive innovation, and unlock new growth opportunities.”

Joseph Yang, Managing Director, HPE Singapore, said, “Our partner ecosystem is fundamental to our go-to-market and gives our customers choice and flexibility. Together with SPTel, we are redefining cloud management for hybrid clouds in Singapore, offering an unparalleled cloud management as-a-service solution by combining the HPE capabilities with SPTel’s secure edge cloud. Our partnership will pave the way for a digital landscape that fosters innovation, drives growth, and delivers unmatched cloud management capabilities for businesses across Singapore.”

HPE GreenLake is HPE’s portfolio of cloud and as-a-service solutions, delivering the cloud experience wherever the apps and data live. HPE GreenLake services can run on-premises, at the edge, or in colocation facilities, and connect to public cloud. HPE GreenLake has 27,000 unique customers, powers more than 3.4 million connected devices and manages more than 20 exabytes of data with customers worldwide. These organisations benefit from one control plane from which to automate, orchestrate, and run their hybrid cloud strategy. The scalable, pay-as-you go HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform delivers robust security, compliance, and control, and supports a broad partner ecosystem – including channel partners, distributors, independent software vendors, public cloud providers, service providers, and system integrators.

Hashtag: #SPTel

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About SPTel

SPTel is a joint venture company of ST Engineering and SP Group. SPTel uses unique fibre pathways that combine leased SP Group infrastructure and owned fibre pipes, laid alongside the power network cables. As a leading provider of next-generation telecommunications and digital solutions SPTel places a strong focus on innovation and reliability. This enables SPTel to deliver secure and scalable connectivity, edge cloud, IoT-a-a-S and managed security solutions to businesses, government agencies, and service providers. SPTel is committed to driving digital transformation by providing cutting-edge technologies and exceptional customer experiences.

For more information, please visit .

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) is the global edge-to-cloud company that helps organisations accelerate outcomes by unlocking value from all of their data, everywhere. Built on decades of reimagining the future and innovating to advance the way people live and work, HPE delivers unique, open and intelligent technology solutions as a service. With offerings spanning Cloud Services, Compute, High Performance Computing & AI, Intelligent Edge, Software, and Storage, HPE provides a consistent experience across all clouds and edges, helping customers develop new business models, engage in new ways, and increase operational performance.

For more information, visit .

DHL Express tops Great Place to Work Asia® list for 2023

  • The accolade is for the fifth year running, demonstrating a strong people culture
  • 23 DHL Express markets in Asia Pacific were Great Place to Work Certified™ this year


SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 13 September 2023 – DHL Express, the world’s leading international express service provider, has once again earned the top spot on the Best Workplaces in Asia™ list. This underscores DHL Express’s commitment to building a positive, supportive and inclusive work environment for its employees to excel and thrive in. This year, 23 countries across Asia Pacific are conferred a Great Place to Work Certified™, an increase from 19 in 2022.

Infographic - What employees can expect at DHL Express.jpg
Infographic – What employees can expect at DHL Express

“We are honored to be the best workplace in Asia. It attests to our “People First” approach to build a strong community of passionate employees, whose team spirit and shared values define DHL Express,” said Ken Lee, CEO for Asia Pacific, DHL Express. “This is why we celebrate our people and recognize their hard work as we believe that motivated people can deliver exceptional service quality. This achievement speaks volume of our effort to build a strong people culture and we’ll continue to maintain that.”

Developing and retaining talents through training programs

DHL Express believes that employee development is important to talent retention and attraction. It regularly organizes training and upskilling programs for its employees to ensure they continue to hone their skills and harness their potential. The company’s cultural change programs – Certified International Specialist (CIS )and Certified International Manager (CIM) – are more than a training program as they give every employee the skills and knowledge to become a specialist in international express delivery. The programs are instrumental in deepening the employee culture and getting them acquainted with the company values. In the last decade, more than 460,000 CIS and CIM trainings were carried out for employees across the region.”

Another example is the Shift Up a Gear program, which helps women at DHL Express progress into leadership positions. It is designed to increase the share of women in management by building the female talent pipeline. This is done by matching women to a management team member and providing them with coaching and mentoring. It is also an integral part of the DHL Group’s diversity roadmap to improve gender balance in the organization. The Group aims to achieve at least 30 percent female executives in management by 2025.

“Topping the Asia list is definitely not by chance but a result of everyone’s diligence to make our workplace fair and inclusive. It is also the structured programs that we have in place to exchange honest feedback, recognize and celebrate our people, and regularly train and upskill them. We will continue to examine and improve our people practices to ensure we remain the preferred employer of choice for all. We will also invest in programs to nurture our talents and provide them with a fulfilling career journey,” said Mateen Thiruselvaam, Senior Vice President for Human Resources – Asia Pacific, DHL Express.

Fostering a sense of belonging for employees

In addition to talent development, DHL Express is focused on celebrating its people and ensure they have a sense of belonging. Company initiatives, such as “Appreciation Week” recognize the hard work and effort of employees around the world while the “Employee of the Year” program celebrates selected employees for having demonstrated the company’s core values of ‘speed’, ‘passion’, ‘can do’ and ‘right first time’.

Employees are connected by the Group’s purpose of ‘connecting people, improving lives’, where they go above and beyond their job scope to make a positive contribution to the communities around them. This includes participating in corporate responsibility programs, such as DHL’s Got Heart, Global Volunteering Day, and Go programs – GoGreen, GoHelp, GoTeach and GoTrade.

Empowering people to shape their experience through Smart Connect

At the heart of DHL Express’s employee engagement success is the innovative Smart Connect platform. Not just a communication tool, Smart Connect is a digital ecosystem that empowers employees to access company news and resources, HR services, and exchange ideas and feedback anywhere, anytime. As employees from diverse backgrounds and locations can connect, collaborate, and recognize each other’s good work, it has also contributed to high employee engagement since its launch in 2022.

A journey of continuous improvement

The annual Great Place to Work® list is considered as one of the most comprehensive benchmarks for assessing workplace culture, employee engagement and organizational trust. Additionally, DHL Group employees participates in the annual Employee Opinion Survey, which allows team members to anonymously provide valuable feedback on various aspects of the organization. These two survey results motivate the company to act upon the feedback and adapt the policies to improve employee welfare and development. With deeper employee engagement, the employees can deliver higher quality of service to customers.

Hashtag: #DHLExpress #GreatPlacetoWorkAsia #AsOne



The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

DHL – Excellence. Simply delivered.

DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. Our DHL divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 395,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global sustainable trade flows. With specialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology, life sciences and healthcare, engineering, manufacturing & energy, auto-mobility and retail, DHL is decisively positioned as “The logistics company for the world”.

DHL is part of DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 94 billion euros in 2022. With sustainable business practices and a commitment to society and the environment, the Group makes a positive contribution to the world. DHL Group aims to achieve net-zero emissions logistics by 2050.

Culture week in Sapa, Vietnam celebrates 120 years of tourism

HA NOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 13 September 2023 – From Sep 20 to Sep 30, 2023, Sa Pa, a charming town in the northern mountainous province of Lào Cai, commemorates the 120th anniversary of tourism in Sa Pa. Since the beginning of this year, Sa Pa has organised numerous of festivals and cultural activities to celebrate the event, attracting more than 2 million tourists.

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During three days, from September 20 to 23, art performances depicting the rich yet unique culture of ethnic groups living in the area will take place at the Sa Pa Centre Square and the Xuân Viên Park in the town centre.

Especially, together with professional artists, local ethnic people will take part to present two elaborately-staged performances, Điểm Hẹn (Rendezvour) and Vũ Điệu Dưới Trăng (The Dance under Moonlight). Come from Mông, Dao, Tày, Giáy and Xa Phó ethnic groups in the area, these amateur actors will depict vividly and realistically a ‘slice’ of their life and culture.

The venues where they stage the plays will be setup with art installations inspired by the nature and local life. The setting, associated with the ethnic culture, will offer audience a better understanding about the region as well as its people and culture.

Vũ Điệu Dưới Trăng (The Dance under Moonlight) – a new form of art performance combining different elements such as stage installation, modern sound and lighting effect, will be debut at the Sa Pa Centre Square.

Both the performances Điểm Hẹn (Rendezvour) and Vũ Điệu Dưới Trăng (The Dance under Moonlight) are special gift for tourists visiting Sa Pa during the Cultural Week celebrating the 120th anniversary of Sa Pa Tourism.

The most well-known sightseeing spot in Sa Pa is Mount Fansipan – the highest peak in Việt Nam. With a height of 3,143 metres above sea level, this is also the highest mountain of the three Indochinese countries and has been dubbed, “The Roof of Indochina”.

Fansipan is beautiful all year round and is suitable for tourists to visit at any time of the year. In the summer time, it’s an ideal destination for them to enjoy the cool breeze, running away from the burning heat in the delta and lower altitude regions.

In the autumn, the picturesque scenery of Fansipan with blue skies and glowing sunlight can enthrall the eye and splinter the mind of any traveller. Not just Fansipan, but also the entire Sa Pa town seems to glow in the radiant colour of terraced rice fields.

When winter comes, Sa Pa Town is covered in mist, while Mount Fansipan is blanketed with white snow and ice. The majestic beauty of the mountains and forests combined with the snow give Sa Pa a fairyland feel.

Each spring, when bright pink flowers blanket the peach jungle alongside the pure white of plum blossoms in hundreds of cultivation farms, and the colouful and vivid rose gardens contrast with refreshing green tea farms, Sa Pa becomes the favourite attraction in the Northwestern region of Việt Nam.

Not only seducing tourists by its charming beauty of natural landscapes, Sa Pa also lures tourists with its rich and unique culture of ethnic groups living in the area, including Mông, Dao, Tày, Giáy, Xa Phó.

During the 120th celebration of Sa Pa Tourism, several major hotels in Sa Pa, such as Hotel De La Coupole – MGallery, Châu Long, Sapa Garden Hotel and Sapa Paradise Hotel, have been offering special promotions on room rates. Transportation companies Interbus Line and Sao Việt have been applying a ticket discount programme for their passengers. Tour operator and travel company Vietravel has presented several interesting tour packages with special prices.

The authorities of Sa Pa Town always seek to develop and diversify tourism products, and at the same time improve constantly the service quality, aiming to create professional tourism products that entice more tourists to choose Sa Pa as a reliable and attractive destination.

***

The main contents and activities of the “Culture and Tourism Week” in Sapa:

1. Sep 20: Opening “Cultural Tourism Week” Welcome 120 years of Sapa tourism.
2. Sep 23: Celebration of 120 years of Sapa tourism
3. Program to experience and explore Sapa
4. Sep 22: Sa Pa international mountain marathon program – VMM 2023
5. Sep 18-24: Exibition of agricultural products and OCOP products in Lao Cai
6. Sep 26-28: Organize cultural exchange events
7. Sep 29: Event “Full Moon Festival Night”
8. Sep 30: Sports Dance Festival

Hashtag: #Vietnam

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Zuellig Pharma awarded EcoVadis Platinum Medal for third consecutive year and rated leader in carbon management

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 13 September 2023 – Zuellig Pharma, a leading healthcare solutions company in Asia, has announced that it has achieved the platinum medal from EcoVadis, the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, for the third consecutive year. In addition to the platinum certification, EcoVadis has also rated Zuellig Pharma as a leader in carbon management, which demonstrates its best-in-class greenhouse gas (GHG) management system and strong decarbonisation ambition with approved science-based targets.

In 2023, Zuellig Pharma received an overall EcoVadis score of 82, compared to a global and Asia average of 48 and 33 points respectively. Zuellig Pharma’s work in human rights and sustainable procurement, alongside its work to reduce carbon emissions was recognised by EcoVadis in particular, placing it among the top 1% of all organisations evaluated.

Since 2020, Zuellig Pharma has achieved marked improvement in its overall EcoVadis score with a total increase of 18 points, while other organisations increased their scores by 1.7 points on average in the same duration. The company has been rated consistently above the industry standard across all four pillars which include environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

“This recognition by EcoVadis for the third year in a row is a testament to our long-standing commitment to sustainability, as we strive to be a world-class healthcare solutions company that builds a healthier future for Asia,” said John Graham, CEO, Zuellig Pharma.

“A major contributor to the success of our sustainability efforts is ensuring year-on-year improvements across key metrics and diligently building an action plan to address the gaps identified from the previous assessment,” he added.

As part of its efforts to prioritise human rights and sustainable procurement, the company launched a pilot programme “Elevating Worker Voice” in 2022, to monitor and address any labour risks in its supply chain in three markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Leveraging its partnership with The Mekong Club, a non-profit organisation specialising in detecting and eliminating modern slavery in Asia, a survey was conducted to understand the conditions faced by workers engaged by Zuellig Pharma’s suppliers. With the survey results, debriefs were conducted with suppliers, alongside collaborative efforts to address shortfalls in practices. This year, Zuellig Pharma plans to establish regional guidelines for the inclusion of worker surveys as part of supplier audits and implement the programme in sites across the region.

In 2022, the company also successfully reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 31% and made progress against its Science Based Targets through initiatives such as the greening of its fleets and facilities, the migration of regional services to cloud-based data centres and partnerships with suppliers to drive emission and waste reduction. The introduction of such initiatives allowed Zuellig Pharma to readjust its operations to be more energy efficient, and successfully reduced its material value chain emissions and overall carbon footprint.

Earlier this year, Zuellig Pharma announced its score of “A-” for Supplier Engagement from global carbon disclosure platform CDP, making it the first and only company worldwide in its activity group to receive this recognition. The company was also awarded a score of “B” for Climate Change. CDP is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impact.

Its latest Sustainability Report can be found here.

Hashtag: #ZuelligPharma #Sustainability #Healthcare #ESG #Pharmaceutical #EcoVadis #Scope1 #Scope2 #GHG

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Zuellig Pharma

Zuellig Pharma is a leading healthcare solutions company in Asia, and our mission is to make healthcare more accessible to the communities we serve. We provide world-class distribution, digital and commercial services to support the growing healthcare needs in this region. The company was started a hundred years ago and has grown to become a multi-billion dollar business covering 16 markets with over 12,000 employees. Our people serve more than 200,000 medical facilities and work with over 450 clients, including the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world.