VIETNAM NOMINATIONS FOR 2009 AWARD FOR CORPORATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000532 STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EEB/EPPD NSMITH-NISSLEY USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON BEXP AMGT VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM NOMINATIONS FOR 2009 AWARD FOR CORPORATE EXCELLENCE REF: STATE 34898 ¶1. Summary: Mission Vietnam is pleased to nominate Intel Vietnam and Boeing Corporation in the multinational enterprise category, and the Protec Helmet Company in the small-to-medium enterprise category, for the 2009 Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). End Summary. -------------- INTEL VIETNAM -------------- ¶2. Mission Vietnam is pleased to nominate Intel Vietnam for the 2009 Secretary's Award for Corporate Excellence in the multinational enterprise category. While Intel Vietnam is strong in all eight award categories, this nomination highlights its extraordinary outreach efforts, including: 1) good corporate citizenship; 2) responsible environmental stewardship; 3) contribution to the rule of law; and, 4) contribution to local science and technology capacity. ¶3. Intel Vietnam began its operations in Vietnam in 1997 and was the country's first major foreign investor in high technology. The company currently operates a sales and marketing office in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC),and has almost completed construction on an assembly and test facility for the production of chips and computer parts. Intel Vietnam has invested over a billion dollars in the construction of this facility, which, when complete, will provide jobs for more than 1,200 Vietnamese citizens. ¶4. Intel Vietnam has been an excellent corporate citizen and has made supporting the development of local Vietnamese communities a priority. The company has spent more than $206,000 since 2007 (not including the significant funding it has appropriated each year for education programs here),giving back to the Vietnamese community through its ten corporate outreach programs, including building two playgrounds. One playground was built for the Nguyen Minh Quang Primary School, another for the surrounding neighborhood, and the company will build a third in the summer of 2009. The playgrounds have helped local children to improve their physical strength, practice teamwork and take part in healthy and positive activities. Other programs in which Intel has participated include The Walk for Education, Job Fair & Career Orientation Days, and clean water programs for students at Hung Binh Junior High School. ¶5. Intel pursued two major environmental projects in 2008, the first of which involved a campaign to substitute plastic bags in HCMC with thousands of free, reusable cloth bags. This project helped increase environmental awareness by encouraging individuals to reduce waste by utilizing reusable bags. ¶6. Intel Vietnam also signed a Letter of Cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Greater Mekong Program in 2008. This cooperation focuses on the conservation of natural resources in the Dong Nai River Basin, a critical water supply for HCMC residents. Additionally, Intel celebrated the 40th anniversary of its community outreach program, "Intel Involved," by planting nearly 500 trees covering 1.8 hectares in the Vinh Cuu Natural Reserve Zone, now referred to as the "Intel Forest." The company's objective in pursuing this sustainable project is to provide long-term support for the Reserve Area, and raise public awareness regarding protection of the forest. ¶7. In addition to its environmental programs, Intel Vietnam Team Members encouraged key government leaders in HCMC to create and enforce road and helmet safety laws. It is estimated that 30 people die each day in Vietnam in traffic accidents. In addition to its work with government officials, Intel Vietnam collaborated with the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIPF) to give more than 1,200 helmets to students at the Long Thanh My Primary School in HCMC. The company also pledged to continue and expand its "Helmets for Kids" program, in addition to developing a Traffic Safety Training program. Intel has contributed more than $50,000 to the program over the past three years. ¶8. Intel is also committed to increasing the capacity of Information and Communication Technology education. Intel employees are training WWF and Vinh Cuu Natural Reserve staff to incorporate information technology into their daily work and on special projects such as conducting a rural sanitary survey, analyzing the survey data and implementing action plans for the coming years. ¶9. In early 2008, Intel donated 45 personal computers and a projector to Phuoc Binh High School. Later that year, Intel sent a team of its IT engineers to the high school to conduct lab maintenance and teach IT classes for students and teachers to enhance their computing skills. Intel Vietnam has pledged to HANOI 00000532 002 OF 003 continue this project, and will sponsor another IT school lab in ¶2009. -------------- BOEING CORPORATION -------------- ¶10. Mission Vietnam is also pleased to nominate the Boeing Corporation for the 2009 Secretary's Award for Corporate Excellence in the multinational enterprise category. While Boeing is strong in all of the award categories, this nomination highlights its exceptional outreach efforts, including: 1) good corporate citizenship; 2) contribution to the overall development of society; and 3) compliance with international and local laws. ¶11. Boeing has been active in Vietnam since the United States and Vietnam restored diplomatic and trade relations in the 1990s, and has built a strong reputation in the community through its corporate outreach programs. Over the years, Boeing has become increasingly active in Vietnam's education sector and has provided funding to restore and build eight state-of-the-art elementary and middle schools in some of Vietnam's poorest districts. ¶12. The company has spent approximately $600,000 to reconstruct multiple school buildings over the past two years, developing public partnerships with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), the East Meets West Foundation (EMW),the Global Community Service Foundation (GCSF),and the International Center (IC) in the management, construction and maintenance of the school building projects. Boeing has worked with all three foundations in various capacities, and through these partnerships has been able to build the following schools: 2006 ($200,000) -------------- Nguyen Van Troi Primary School (Central Vietnam) Trong Tien Hoc Hoi Ninh Primary School (North Vietnam) 2007 - 2008 ($400,000) -------------- Tan Tien Middle School (North Vietnam) Lac Quoi Primary School (South Vietnam) Thoi Son Primary School (South Vietnam) Xuan Tho 2 Primary School (South Vietnam) My Cat Primary School (Central Vietnam) Xuan Hoa Kindergarten (South Vietnam) ¶13. Boeing is committed to creating a long-term positive impact on the community and improving the education of generations of children through these projects. Over 1,115 students and teachers have directly benefitted from Boeing's contributions, and thousands more will benefit from the reconstruction of nine additional schools, costing more than $750,000 in 2009-2010. As Boeing's Senior Sales Director noted during one of the school dedication ceremonies: "Boeing recognizes that children are the future of Vietnam, and that an education has a strong positive impact on their development." ¶14. These new schools have been built using high quality materials constructed to withstand annual typhoons, and rain and wind storms. -------------- PROTEC HELMET COMPANY -------------- ¶15. Mission Vietnam is pleased to nominate the Protec Helmet Company for the 2009 Secretary's Award for Corporate Excellence in the small-to-medium enterprise (SME) category. Protec, the world's only non-profit safety helmet company, began its operations in Vietnam in 2001. Protec is a strong leader in all eight award categories. ¶16. Protec is a safety helmet production company and is 100% owned by the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP Foundation),a U.S. 501(c)3 organization. Protec reinvests all of its earnings from helmet sales to fund donations of safety helmets to children and to support the helmet and traffic safety awareness activities of the AIP Foundation. These activities include road safety education in schools nationwide, public awareness campaigns and the "Helmets for Kids" helmet donation program. Protec's vocal advocacy campaign played a vital role in convincing the Government of Vietnam to implement its mandatory helmet laws. To date, compliance remains extremely high with many examples of lives saved due to helmet protection. Since the enactment of the law in December 2007, Protec has donated over 20,000 child helmets to needy children nationwide. This is in addition to the more than 350,000 helmets that have been distributed via "Helmets for Kids." HANOI 00000532 003 OF 003 ¶17. Protec's advocacy to improve compliance with road safety laws has improved public knowledge of traffic rules and regulations. Additionally, through its safety helmet testing lab, Protec has helped the government of Vietnam develop helmet safety standards by testing helmets to weed out counterfeit and unsafe products. Protec is home to Vietnam's first and, until recently, only lab of this type. ¶18. Protec also measured 5,000 Vietnamese heads, adult and children, in order to develop Vietnamese-specific head forms, as the standard helmet shape predominately used in the U.S. did not provide an optimal level of protection. The result has been the creation of an Asian 'tropical' helmet that fits local heads perfectly. Realizing that many Vietnamese disliked wearing helmets in the summer heat, Protec designed its tropical helmets with ventilation slits to allow air to circulate, improving comfort and increasing the likelihood that motorbike users consistently wear the helmets. ¶19. In addition to its work on improving the safety of Vietnamese roads, Protec also goes to great lengths to provide excellent working conditions and benefits for its employees. Protec has made a concerted effort to hire and train disabled and wheelchair-bound employees from the local community to work in the company's helmet production facility near Hanoi. Protec has modified the factory to be wheelchair accessible, including assembly lines, and has received numerous awards from the Government of Vietnam recognizing the company's safe and healthy workplace. The company currently employs 23 such workers and provides all of them with high-quality wheelchairs for use in the factory and at home. Protec recently provided one employee with a particularly acute disability with a motorized wheelchair valued at over $8,000. All Protec employees benefit from free meals, 7-hour workdays and health benefits. ¶20. Protec has made a very positive economic impact on the local community also, particularly among the families of the company's disabled employees. It is estimated that Protec's 200 employees directly support 1,000 other locals. ¶21. Protec also focuses on the environment and has made a determined effort to recycle all of the excess plastic from imperfectly produced helmets, while also recycling the water used in the helmet production process. ¶22. As a 100% U.S. enterprise, Protec strictly adheres to U.S. law, but just as importantly, teaches its staff the importance of U.S. values. Protec has made great strides in cultivating a new way of thinking among its young work force and its suppliers with regard to the common local practice of handing out "gifts" and "commissions" (i.e. bribes). Protec's regulations and internal policies require employees to refuse bribes and the company has convinced its suppliers to give the company a more substantial discount rather than hand out "commissions" and "gifts" to Protec employees. ¶23. This cable was coordinated with ConGen HCMC. PALMER