Environment Policy and Enterprise Sustainable Development

However, enterprises are striving to seek a systematic method in order to carry out commitments on environment management in response to pressure from the law and the public as well as “green Marketing” opportunities. In fact, many organizations and institutions have composed their own environment policy and initially deployed the environment inspection work. However, they admitted to meet many difficulties in bringing the policy into life.

 

An environment policy offers commitments of this enterprise on issues relating to environment management. For many cases, enterprises offer the general policy before promoting specific activities and will adjust them based on data of impacts as well as implementation results. In another way, an environment policy will be offered only after having had specific activities. Some enterprises deploy environment policy at the later period if they recognize that environment activities can be compensated with sufficient sources which in general may be ensured by a logical policy.

 

The environment policy for business include attitudes of enterprises to environment; enterprises’ comprehensive targets on environment; commitment of enterprises to the supervision and inspection over environment; pledge to meet and complete the environmental target; protection of natural resources; reduction of influences from products, services as well as treatment progress to the environment; commitment to ensure a working environment without toxic substances; regular contact to social organizations and local authorities for environmental issues; training and raising awareness of staff in environment management, along with others on the fields of energy, wastewater, cultivation land and water source management. 

 

However, the implementation of these commitments is a long and hard process, especially internal difficulties. Enterprises must think carefully of necessary resources, difficulties and challenges in integrating in the corporate management mechanism. At present, there have been more and more complaints against enterprises who apply environment policy for the marketing purpose. On the other hand, many policies show its pragmatism instead of environmental commitments. Anyway, the environment policy should make enterprises more responsible to the society and plays role of a foundation for environment improvement, responsibility and activities in each enterprise rather than show where an environmental commitment should be limited.    

Hoang Danh Son, Head of the Environment General Department’s Bureau on Policy, said that enterprises should often update involved information from the government because the channel will have policies to help enterprises to adapt with the society and world’s changes amid the global integration, particularly after Viet Nam’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) three years ago. For example, agricultural and industrial products of some countries were recently returned or revoked due to the weak quality or impacts to the environment and the public’s health. The present trend among enterprises is gradually applying minimum international standards on environment protection and safety in hygiene from materials to the final products in order to raise the quality of products and trademark. Even, the finished products are possible to be recycled or ruined without polluting environment. Besides the internal laws related to environment imposed to enterprises, the government also plays an important role in creating a pure competitive environment and mechanisms which encourage the application of suitable and environmental-friendly production standards; environmental services and technologies in ensuring the products’ safety and hygiene.

 

Viet Nam signed and approved the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. One of economic impacts to enterprises is the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), one of the "flexibility" mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol. Under the CDM, developed countries have to reduce their emissions (carbon dioxide) an average of 5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. In order to realize the target, developed nations (mostly in the European Union) can invest emission reduction works in developing countries and get credits from such works’ emission reduction or buy credits from enterprises who conduct these works. This is a mechanism to support economically and transfer clean technologies to developing countries. Currently, the clean development scheme and 2 per cent of tax for each transaction under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) (the percentage rate paid to the world environment fund) have been receiving attention of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and enterprisers. If enterprises get information on CDM carefully, it will not only benefit enterprises financially but also help to advertise product trademarks. This will be useful for all enterprises, the society, the world and environment.     

 Do Ngoc