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

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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 CO2 emission: 726 ton per year Reduce CO2 emission:    1.625 ton per year Reduce CO2 emission:    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

UNIDO celebrates its 50th anniversary

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Did you know that in Viet Nam, the net flow of foreign direct investment increased from USD1billion in 2003 to USD10 billion in 2008, and that by 2015 reached USD23 billion?  Or that the total value of exports rose from USD2 billion in 1990 to USD72 billion in 2010, to reach USD162 billion in 2015? These impressive figures highlight the country’s robust economic success, providing a boost to the economy and employment.

These accomplishments are largely due to the reforms undertaken by Viet Nam since Doi Moi in 1986 which liberalized the economy, attracted foreign investment, fostered exports and reduced poverty. To prepare for reform, Viet Nam received extensive technical assistance from the international community, including from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), well before 1986 and, more precisely, since 1978.

For more than 35 years, UNIDO has been sharing international best practices to help Viet Nam develop inclusive and sustainable industry. With more than USD100 million in expenditure, UNIDO’s technical cooperation activities have been carried out across a broad range of fields, including support to the private sector and technical and industrial research organizations, facilitation of technology transfer, trade capacity-building, human resource development, environmental protection, energy efficiency, investment promotion and responsible business practices.

The aim of UNIDO’s programme is to assist the Government in achieving sustainable and equitable social and economic development. Multi-dimensional partnerships have been developed with Viet Nam’s ministries in charge of industry, trade, planning, investment, agriculture, science and technology, and the environment, and with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, business associations, universities and UNIDO’s centres.

UNIDO has focused its assistance on the preparation and implementation of industrial and trade development strategies and policies, for example industrial sector surveys, industrial sub-sector policies, foreign and domestic investment policies and legislation. UNIDO has also improved the capacity of the General Statistical Office. Another aim has been to foster the development of local suppliers of professional services for industrial development, and strengthen the capacity of every kind of business association.

The mechanisms for technology transfer differ considerably between centrally-planned economies and market economies. In Viet Nam, UNIDO has acted as a catalyst, facilitator and initiator of the technology transfer process. Furthermore, UNIDO has facilitated contact between Vietnamese and foreign enterprises through technical exhibitions, seminars, investment promotion, and information networks.

On environmental issues, one priority area for UNIDO has been cleaner production and energy efficiency. UNIDO has supported country endeavours through policy advice, information on the availability and choice of clean technology, and promotional programmes, as well as environment and energy audits.

Human capital investments are prominent in virtually all the success stories of East Asia. Educational expenditure is fundamental but the private sector’s participation is also important. UNIDO-supported services can be classified in three categories: (i) assistance in preparing strategies, policies and plans for industrial human resource development; (ii) strengthening of institutional capacity for industrial human resource development (training of trainers); and (iii) training geared directly to groups of enterprises or industrial sub-sectors.

UNIDO has achieved outstanding project results in Viet Nam, and I would like to highlight just a few of them:

  • The UNIDO Viet Nam Cleaner Production Centre, which started its activities at the end of 1998, has served as a major driver of Viet Nam’s sustainable industrial production pathway.
  • UNIDO has supported Viet Nam’s pre-ratification assessment of the Minamata Convention to control mercury in products and avoid unnecessary health hazards to people and the environment.
  • To help the country address the challenge of reducing energy intensity, UNIDO has developed the first-ever comprehensive plan to institute measures for improving industrial energy-efficiency and conservation.
  • Viet Nam became the WTO’s 150th member in 2007, and since then UNIDO has helped Viet Nam to conform to international standards and win access to markets. Product quality and standard issues are one of the biggest challenges for Viet Nam’s international economic i
  • For over 15 years, UNIDO has been privileged to partner with the Government in the field of business registration reform. UNIDO’s assistance has addressed obstacles faced by entrepreneurs in completing start-up registration procedures. In particular, it helped with the implementation of the Enterprise Laws of 2005 and 2014 and the simplification of registration procedures. In 2010, the Agency for Business Registration was established and, in the same year, the National Business Registration System was launched. The data of 574,535 existing enterprises has been transferred and, as of December 2015, 477,235 new enterprises had been registered. The statutory time-limit for business registration has been reduced from 15 to just three days.

The recently agreed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presents us with global and ambitious goals which address all three dimensions of sustainable development − economic, environmental and social. These goals and targets are also complemented by the Paris Agreement, adopted by 195 countries last December. This agreement – the first ever universal, legally binding global climate deal − commits us to limiting global temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Sustainable Development Goal 9 of the 2030 Agenda recognizes the relevance of inclusive and sustainable industrialization for poverty eradication, and echoes UNIDO’s mandate of inclusive and sustainable industrial development. With regard to Viet Nam, UNIDO sees two major issues for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 9. Firstly, how can the recent trade liberalization and economic and productive restructuring benefit Vietnamese companies? Secondly, how can industrial policy and strategies be re-formulated to take account of national priorities, as well as of global threats and opportunities, including the building of linkages among industrial sectors to increase the manufacturing value added of existing products and to enter new and more dynamic sectors.

The current global setting is far different from that of the 1990s. Viet Nam is now part of a bigger game, from which it has passed the point of no return with the signing of key trade deals in 2015.  The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement holds considerable potential. Viet Nam could be the greatest beneficiary of the 13-nation deal, with a boost of Vietnam’s gross domestic product by as much as 8 per cent over the next two decades. The signing of another free trade agreement with the European Union will eliminate 99 per cent of tariffs on traded goods over a 10-year period.

Viet Nam is also likely to be a major partner of the new ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).The creation of the AEC, together with Viet Nam’s rise as an industrial and technological production centre, are expected to support higher levels of intra-bloc trade and investment.

In this new context, UNIDO will continue to work with Viet Nam to promote restructuring and modernization to enhance quality and competitiveness. We will focus on key industries and those industries having comparative advantages and strategic significance for fast, effective and sustainable development and the greater independence and self-reliance of the economy.

UNIDO is keen to support Viet Nam’s inclusive and sustainable industrial development strategy, and believes that, by 2035, Viet Nam’s economy will be inclusive, with a focus on women and youth, and with specialized industries meeting international standards in terms of technology and product quality, participating in the global value chain, using energy efficiently, and competing fairly in integrated global markets.

 

LI Yong

UNIDO Director General

Source: UNIDO Vietnam

Promoting sustainable pangasius market in Europe

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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

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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

Sustainable Pangasius supply chain in Vietnam

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The EU co-funded project (SUPA) has being implemented by Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre (VNCPC), along with project’s partners: WWF Vietnam, WWF Austria and Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), aimed to promote sustainable and environmentally friendly Pangasius production in Viet Nam.