106 poor families received financial support from SUPA – a EU-funded project

The first pilot pangasius batch that was raised and harvested in a model farm under the EU-funded project – “Establishing a Sustainable Pangasius Supply Chain in Vietnam” (SUPA) – was sold to give financial support to 106 poor families in Tan Phu Ward with the approval of the European Union.

This is an unexpected significant achievement of the project after 2 years of construction and 6 months in operation of the model farm. It is located at the study site of Can Tho University to serve research, placement, experiment, and professional training, as well as demonstrate new technologies before applying in pangasius farms and households.

Speaking at the event, Mr Nguyen Van Tam (Chairman) was on behalf of Tan Phu’s People Committee, acknowledged the European Union, SUPA project, and Can Tho University for the contribution, kindness, and humanity to help the poor in the project site, especially on the occasion of upcoming Tet holiday.

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The pictures at donated event

Participating in this event were representatives of Tan Phu ward, Can Tho University, and SUPA project. On behalf of Tan Phu ward, Mr. Nguyen Van Tam – Chairman, Mr. Pham Hung Thong – Party committee secretary, and representatives of the organizations and unions of Tan Phu ward participated in the event. Dr. Tran Ngoc Hai and Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long – Vice dean of College of Aquaculture and Fisheries of Can Tho University, Dr. Pham Thanh Liem – Deputy Chairman of Freshwater Aquaculture Department, Dr. Nguyen Van Trieu – Director of Centre of High-tech Aquaculture, were representatives of Can Tho University. Importantly, Mr. Le Xuan Thinh, Deputy director of VNCPC/ Project manager of SUPA and 106 poor households presented.

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The speech of Tan Phu’s chairman

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Representatives of the poor and beneficial households

To close the event, Tan Phu’s People Committee highlighted contribution of SUPA and Can Tho University by giving a thankful certificate. Hopefully, the project will be successful and generate more meaningful activities for local people in Mekong Delta region.

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Can Tho University and SUPA received the certificate from Tan Phu’s People Committee

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Representatives from all participated organizations

 

Source: VNCPC Admin

VNCPC – A key factor in promoting application of resource efficient and cleaner production across Vietnam

In order to contribute to sustainable industrial development in the period of industrialization of Vietnam, 1998, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam signed a MOU to implement projects “Vietnam Clean Production Centre” – VNCPC and “Promoting new services on cleaner production in Vietnam through VNCPC” with the financial support of State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

The mission of VNCPC is to disseminate and promote the application of “Cleaner Production” (CP) concept into practical industries of Vietnam. In the projects, Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam assigned Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) to be leading partner and School of Environmental Science and Technology (INEST) to be implementing partner.

Throughout 20 years of operation, VNCPC has trained and nudged a network of CP experts, offered capacity building and technical support to more than 1000 factories. In addition, VNCPC in close collaboration with authorities under Ministry of Resources and Environment of Vietnam and Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam has raised awareness on CP in industry, maintained National Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and provided support to enterprises to achieve their objectives that were designed in the framework of projects in which they participated, especially the objectives relating to Cleaner Production Strategy in industry towards 2020.

In 2015, UNIDO and Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam placed confidence in VNCPC to be consulting firm in Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) within the project “Implementation of Eco-Industrial Park Initiative for Sustainable industrial zones in Vietnam” funded by Global Environment Fund and State Secretariat for Economic Affairs from 2015 to 2017. The role of VNCPC is to provide capacity building on RECP and RECP assessment instruction to enterprises in three industrial zones: Khanh Phu (Ninh Binh), Hoa Khanh (Da Nang) and Tra Noc 1&2 (Can Tho).

To carry out the mission, VNCPC has examined every enterprise’s condition then applied CP and RECP that have been summarized from practical demonstrations as well as the integration of CP and Energy Efficiency, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Consumption and Production, Sustainable Product Innovation lessons learnt from Vietnam and RECPnet by UNIDO-UNEP.

RECP programs that have been deployed in 23 enterprises from January to August 2016 have resulted in initial significant achievements in improving energy, water and material efficiency, which has contributed to bring about economic benefits and environmental impacts minimization.

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 VNCPC expert was conducting RECP assessment at company

Table on compact results of RECP program at enterprises in 3 target industrial zones of the project

TT KCN

 

Activities Solution

 

Khanh Phu Industrial Park,

Ninh Binh

 

Hoa Khanh Industrial Park,

Da Nang

 

Tra Noc I & II Industrial Park,

Can Tho

 

1 Number of company

7

6

10

2 Number of trained staff

33

35

39

3 Number of RECP options

125

92

185

4 Number of investment project

5

10

8

5 Number of in progress project

2

8

4

6 Economic Benefits

(Exchange rate 1USD = 22,300 VND)

Save 76.816 USD per year because of reduce coal, gas, water, electric energy consumption rate, 72,45% saving from electric energy. Save 279.597 USD per year because of reduce coal, fire wood, materials, electric energy consumption rate,63% saving  from electric energy. Save 376.326 USD per year because of reduce water and electric energy consumption rate, 84% saving from electrical energy.
7 Environmental Benefits Reduce COemission: 726 ton per year Reduce COemission:    1.625 ton per year Reduce COemission:    2.458 ton per years

According to VNCPC experts, loss of energy in productions at the enterprises is quite big. To address this, the enterprises should set high priority to implement solutions in regards of management and technology and machines innovation investment. These solutions are able to contribute to not only cut down production costs but also reduce environmental burdens and improve labors’ working conditions.

On the other hand, a good sign is that some of the enterprises have showed their commitments through actively investing in technology innovation towards cleaner production, which is a key to the success of the project.

By the practice of RECP assessment at the industrial zones, the enterprises are not only able to recognize their potentials to enhance production performance and environment protection but also provide base information of waste and exchange opportunities, circulating, recycling and reusing of waste. This is a good foundation for the development of eco-industrial zone models that are compatible with local natural and economic conditions and technical levels.

Industrial zones are considered as areas with variety of advantages for RECP replication into industry, helping disseminate about benefits of this approach and gradually enhance competitiveness of enterprises specifically and industrial zones generally. The approach, also, offers an opportunity to make a transition from conventional model of industrial zones to the eco-industrial zone model, which ensures sustainable economic growth of Vietnam industrial zones without compromising the quality of environment and society.

On the occasion of 50 years’ anniversary of UNIDO, VNCPC would like to express our gratitude to UNIDO for its remarkable cooperation with INEST, HUST throughout the mentioned projects and empowering VNCPC on our achievements today.

Ass.Prof Tran Van Nhan – Director of VNCPC Co.Ltd

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Theo Admin vncpc.org

Davos Declaration on the Promotion of Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) in Developing and Transition Countries Adopted

Davos, 12-16 October 2015 – Participants of the Global Network Conference on Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production, held from 12 to 16 October 2015, and organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), adopted the Davos Declaration on the Promotion of Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) in Developing and Transition Countries.

davos-big

 

The declaration calls for the promotion, mainstreaming and scaling up of RECP in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It furthermore calls for the strengthening of the Global Network for Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECPnet), and encourages government, business, financial institutions, academia and civil society to join with RECPnet in its efforts to advance sustainable development through a rapid and universal uptake of RECP.

The week-long conference showcased 20 years of delivering RECP services to industry around the world and addressed topics including low-carbon production, sound chemicals management, water resources, eco-industrial parks, waste management and gender mainstreaming. In addition to reviewing the current state of RECP, the conference identified emerging thematic areas and potential partnerships amongst development actors at the national, regional and global levels.

The conference attracted around 200 participants from over 60 countries, ranging from senior government officials, leading international RECP practitioners, representatives of development financial institutions, as well as RECP experts from research institutions and academia.

Amongst the conference participants were Janez Potocnik, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel and Former European Commissioner for the Environment; Mariano Castro, Vice-Minister for Environmental Management, Peru; Bruno Oberle, Director of the Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland; Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions; Helge Wendeberg, Director General, Water Management and Resource Conservation, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany; Jutta Emig, Unit Head, International Chemical Safety and Sustainable Chemistry, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany; Walker Smith, Director, Office of Global Affairs and Policy, United States Environmental Protection Agency; and Viera Feckova, Program Manager Europe and Central Asia, International Finance Corporation.

The conference also resulted in the approval of an operational strategy for RECPnet in the post- 2015 period.

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Petra Schwager
ndustrial Development Officer
Industrial Resource Efficiency Unit
[email protected]

(Source: recpnet.org)

VNCPC Admin

Promoting sustainable pangasius market in Europe

In order to provide opportunities for the farmers, production and processing enterprises to learn about foreign fish market, the SUPA project ” Establishing a Sustainable Pangasius Supply Chain in Viet Nam” continues to support business delegation to participate in activities at the global seafood fair from May the 21st – 23 rd, 2015 in Brussels (Belgium).

The delegation includes representatives from organizations involving in the project: Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre (VNCPC), Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), World Wildlife Fund in Vietnam (WWF- VN) and World Wildlife Fund in Austria (WWF- AT). In addition, there are representatives from 6 farming and processing enterprises and 1 representative from the farming cooperative in An Giang province.

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 The project partners are having discussion with pangasius importers in Europe

In 2014, the project also created favorable conditions for the business delegation to participate in the Fair, which helps them have a lot of new customers from Europe and some other countries. When participating in the event, the representatives from enterprises had chance to visit some supermarkets in Belgium to learn about the market and compare Vietnamese catfish products with other products under the guidance of foreign experts. Especially, one company has signed contract directly with a supermarket. This is the first time that a Vietnamese pangasius company has direct sale with a supermarkets without intermediate importers.

In this Fair, the enterprises have chance to see by their own eyes the fishery products of other countries in the world, the farming model with high quality together with all kinds of advanced machines and support equipment. Besides, the experience sharing and market connectivity also brought an added value for them. The SUPA project rented a fair booth to help promote information and it’s a destination for the dealers, importers and businesses enterprises to meet each other and exchange their experiences. In this booth, there are catalogues bag, brochures, and flyers for delivery, together with business certifications accompanied by CD disc about pangasius production and processing toward sustainable development, environmental friendliness.

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Pangasius processing company is negotiating with the client

Attending the Fair, SUPA project, together with other partners like Center for the Promotion of Imports from the developing countries – CBI (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands), VASEP and Directorate of Fisheries (MARD) held a Forum with title “International Business Forum to promote sustainable export for Vietnamese catfish”. Because it was taking place during the Fair time, the Forums drew great attention from international organizations such as WWF, the seafood certification agencies, importers and retailers from the Netherlands, Britain, France, Vietnamese catfish production and processing companies, the press agencies of Vietnam in Europe such as Vietnam Television, Vietnam News Agency. At this forum, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Deputy Director (General Directorate of Fisheries) has introduced the status quo of pangasius production and processing industry, the basic issues that need to be improved towards sustainable development, especially it’s the introduction of Decree No.36 for controlling and making transparency of information and improving the quality of Vietnamese catfish. Hereby, the importers, the retailers have better understanding about the commitment of Vietnamese Government for a sustainable catfish production in specific and seafood production in general.

Admin VNCPC

Young Vietnamese keen on adopting, sharing green lifestyle

A number of young Vietnamese joined a green tour on Saturday to Dong Nai Province, which neighbors Ho Chi Minh City, as one of GetGreen Vietnam’s activities to promote a green lifestyle and sustainable consumption.

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The group went to Kingfisher Nest Tourism Complex in Vinh Cuu District

GetGreen Vietnam is a project promoting sustainable consumption in the country which focuses on sustainable living and working for middle-income consumers in urban areas, according to its website.

Like its sister project SPIN (Sustainable Product Innovation), GetGreen Vietnam is also co-funded by the SWITCH-Asia Program of the European Union and implemented by the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology, Vietnam Cleaner Production Center, and the Asian Institute of Technology in Vietnam.

The project is aimed at developing consumption groups which are aged from 18 to 45 and include students or office workers in a sustainable consumer community and at launching campaigns to promote environmental protection and combat climate change.

The project costs a total of €1.4 million, of which 80 percent is funded by the SWITCH-Asia Program of the European Union, and 20 percent comes as corresponding funds from the project’s partners, its website added.

Its implementation time is three years from April 2012.

A social network called “Song Xanh” (Green Living) is selected as GetGreen Vietnam’s partner.

Each group joins six get-togethers a week, which are centered on two topics: urban farming, recycling, saving energy, smart traffic, green offices and smart bathrooms/kitchens.

The activities aim to bring about changes among the members’ behavior and lifestyle before they themselves help change others.

Late last month, the members had enjoyable, beneficial urban farming experiences at Saigon Garden, which is located on the rooftop of the Saigontourist Hotel in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Apart from seeing for themselves organic planting methods, the youths also adopted the model at their own homes.

Nguyen Le Toan, who loves gardening, shared the experiences taught him how to safely grow aromatic herbs and fruits on his home’s terrace.

They also took great delight in learning how to process food leftovers, such as turning remaining rice into mouth-watering fried rice, or leftover chunks of chicken into sizzling porridge.

“Discarded leftovers account for up to 30 percent of the total amount of food which we buy and spend time processing, while we can easily make use of them,” the members said.

They also learn to make the best of natural, environmentally- and people-friendly detergents such as lemons, salt and coconut oil to wipe out stains instead of using conventional chemical products.

The members are also interested in whether turning off their bike engine while waiting for red lights to turn green is beneficial regarding energy conservation and emission cut, among other various traffic issues.

Nguyen My, director of MMSoft, said she will coordinate with the social network “Song Xanh” to build a green corporate culture and lifestyle.

MMSoft is an IT consulting company where several of GetGreen Vietnam’s sessions were held.

Bui Viet Ha, chair of “Song Xanh,” revealed that after the GetGreen Vietnam project ends in April 2015, his social network will continue what the project is doing now.

Source: Talkvietnam.com