AsiaLIFE Media Vol. 102
Baby fish FLOOD DEFENCES Timo bank
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS PUBLISHING HOUSE
D AY IN THE LIFE
Sustainability Officer
NGUYEN THI BICH NGOC By Monica Majors.
18 AsiaLIFE HCMC
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estled in an archipelago 230 kilometres south of Ho Chi Minh City is the quaint group of 16 islands known as Con Dao. A highlight for beach-goers and nature lovers, only the main island of Con Son is inhabited. As of late, it has popped up internationally as a must-see beach spot among the world’s best, but locally there have been a slew of news reports that the normally pristine beaches are littered with garbage. There are potential agreements with the government to turn the area into a spiritual and wellness destination, and 80 percent of the area falls within a national park and/or marine protected area (only one of four in the country). As the fishing industry continues to struggle, many parts of the country’s coastline must find alternative sources of income. Tourism usually comes to the rescue, and that is precisely the case here. In 2010 Six Senses Con Dao opened on an idyllic beach. Well known for its attention to five-star service and sustainability, it was built with a minimal footprint, also using reclaimed teak wood throughout much of the public spaces. An organic garden stretches through the centre of the resort, branching throughout with chili plants and coconut trees. Lemongrass, grown atop the roof of By the Beach restaurant, is used to make straws as an alternative to plastic. The hotel has its own strict set of benchmarking statistics for waste, water and energy consumption which are monitored, collected and reported monthly to the brand’s Vice President of Sustainability. Included in the metrics, each hotel is required to support a number of local initiatives, financially supported by 0.05 percent of all room revenue. So who sits at the helm of controlling these initiatives? An on-site Sustainability Officer was hired for the task, and we couldn’t be more envious of her work. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc walks us through an average day of how she thinks globally, but acts locally. When I first met Ngoc it was just after midnight and we were climbing into a speed boat about to embark to neighbouring Bay Canh island where green sea turtles return annually to lay their eggs. High tide lapped against the side of the boat as Ngoc gently guided guests aboard. We zoomed forward and the night air came alive with the smell of salt and the anticipation of turtles. Ngoc was very much a key element of this atmosphere, and though this was her 29th guided excursion, it was obvious that this remains a highlight for her. On shore, her safety briefing included ample facts and figures about the life of these prehistoric reptiles, knowledge acquired during her two years studying environmental sciences at the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi plus her one year exchange programme in Thessaloniki, Greece. “When I had to choose a major, environmental issues were increasingly evident and surrounded
me, which motivated me a lot,” she says. “The courses at my university were very interesting. They fully covered biology, physics, chemistry, math and IT, including a lot of field trips for study application. When I graduated and searched for a job related to the environment I had not considered hotels. The opening with Six Senses Con Dao intrigued me, and the interviewer was very passionate. I am from Phu Tho a small province near Hanoi. Con Dao is a place I did not know. I was surprised such a place and job existed, and I had to learn a lot about working in hospitality.” Sustainability is one of those fields where you can’t hang up your hat and go home with a different set of ethics. You must live and breathe it in and out of work, which Ngoc certainly does. “The first thing I do when I wake up is drink a lot of water,” she says. “Then I read the news to see what’s happening around me, both here in Vietnam and overseas. While it’s not always nice, it’s important to be informed. Sustainability works on three blocks: people, place, profit. When one of those pieces is out of balance, the entire pyramid can fall. Sustainability works to keep them in balance, and so much of the news gives a glimpse of what needs to be remedied.” When she’s briefed in the world’s happenings, Ngoc attends the daily briefing at the resort so as to be integrated into the daily operations. “All the resort’s waste is sent to a recycling area, and is recorded by the person who disposes of it. I must check this daily for our monthly reports. Food waste is also recorded at our [staff] canteen. If the number goes higher than our target there I must remind our [staff], because we don’t want edible food to be wasted.” Throughout the day, Ngoc’s work places her alongside guests and staff alike. She works closely with the engineering and culinary teams to ensure any and all waste is minimised, composted or reused, and recently helped in the construction of a beach bar made entirely of upcycled wine bottles. She can also regularly be spotted assisting the gardeners as they unwind the irrigation lines used to drip grey water around the resort’s coconut palm trees Her biggest challenge? “Speaking up and convincing people to change their ways to be more environmentally friendly. It’s the most important thing to do, so I offer training to staff and help conduct English classes with children in town.” Ngoc and the resort also regularly lead beach cleanups with guests and the local community. She says it, “sheds light on where our garbage goes. Most of us don’t think about that after we throw it away. We think our country is beautiful, but then we see whole beaches covered in plastic.” Ngoc had been at work for nearly 16 hours and was ready to do it all over again later that day. To her, I say, “Keep tackling that trash pile, Ngoc. We need more like you.”
POKEMON GO GO GO! Every phone snatcher’s dream has come true. The popular mobile game arrived in Vietnam last month and immediately saw players trekking out across Saigon to track, capture, train and battle virtual Pokemon monsters via the game’s augmented reality interface. The app has reportedly been downloaded over 100 million times worldwide, although despite positive reviews, it has not all been smooth sailing for wannabe wranglers of imaginary friends. Police in Missouri, USA, were on the hunt for four armed robbers in July who had been using the app to lure victims to isolated locations before stealing their belongings.
OLYMPIC GLORY A 41-year-old army colonel made history by taking Vietnam’s first ever Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016. Hoang Xuan Vinh won the men’s 10-metre air pistol event, seeing off tough competition from Felipe Wu of host country Brazil. “I’m very lucky,” said Vinh immediately after the showdown. “It’s the first gold medal in Vietnam’s history. I feel very lucky, thank you everybody.” His achievement ends a 64year wait since Vietnam first competed at the Olympics in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. All eyes are now on Vietnam’s Paralympic team to see if they can match Vinh’s feat and take the first gold medal at the event in September.
INTERNET FIXED, APPARENTLY! The Asia America Gateway (AAG), the submarine cable system that provides Vietnam with high speed internet, has been repaired after intensive work after the cable broke back in August. Whenever the AAG experiences issues, which seems to be quite often. To be fair, the cable system is 20,000-kilometers long, connecting Southeast Asia with the U.S. mainland across the Pacific Ocean via Guam and Hawaii. Internet service providers say that they have strategies in place to combat any interruptions the AAG may cause. Although complaints of plodding internet speeds still abound. This is the third AAG problem to occur this year.
ENCOURAGING ENTREPRENEURSHIP Tom Kosnik, a professor from America, and co-author of a book named “Gear Up - Test Your Business Model Potential and Plan Your Path To Success” has been meeting with Vietnamese young people to discuss the changing entrepreneur landscape of Vietnam. The book is designed to be visually stimulating, as well as highly informative for young Vietnamese that have passionate ambition to start their own company. “Vietnam is the country I do everything for free,” he shared [Tuoi Tre News]. He has been overwhelmed and impressed by the young people in Vietnam spending a lot of their time on community development and hopes to help encourage more of the behaviour while travelling South East Asia. AsiaLIFE HCMC 19