Cleaner Production for Sustainable Development

Cleaner production in industry not only helps companies improve production efficiency, reuse valuable waste products and finished products, and create a better image, but also helps protect the work environment and improve worker health.

 

During global integration, cleaner production in industry has become one of Vietnam’s important strategies in easing environmental pollution. Since 2005, cleaner production in industry (CPI), a component of the Vietnam - Denmark development cooperation on environment (DCE) programme organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, aims to build national cleaner production in industry and development with an institutional or individual stakeholder network for speeding up cleaner production inside and outside industry. The project’s objectives are to enable 47 Vietnamese businesses to access and participate in technical performance projects. Up to now, when the Component will expire in less than six months, the number of businesses participating in the project has exceeded its initial target.

 

According to the CPI Component Director Dang Tung, the CPI Component has always been one of the components excellently completing objectives and tasks put forth in the framework document, the greatest success since the Component was launched in 2006 is to raise the level and awareness of resident and business communities. Along with raising awareness is the deployment of performance projects. Until June, 2011, 42 businesses have completed the second phase of their performance projects. By the end of this year, the number of businesses participating in performance projects will be 61, of which 15 businesses will complete the first phase and 46 businesses will complete the second phase. On average, these businesses have saved between 10-30 percent of raw material inputs such as electricity, coal, water and oil.

 

In addition, the Component actively encourages target provinces to speed up communication programmes to increase companies applying cleaner production. Up to now, communication activities have been well implemented in target provinces Thai Nguyen, Ben Tre, Quang Nam and Phu Tho. Fifty other provinces have also accessed CPI through seminars and training courses. For centrally run systems, CPI has provided a lot of support for the formation of the Environment and Cleaner Production Centre under the Technical Safety and Environment Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade.

 

Regarding communication activities, CPI continues to be updated on the cleaner production strategy website (www.sxsh.vn) which has attracted about 26,000 visitors. This website in combination with other media like newspapers and magazines has created a strong effect for cleaner production.

 

Disbursement progress is considered an important factor in the success of any project. Accordingly, the budget for the CPI Component in 2011 is 7.1 million Danish kroner. For the first six months in 2011, 99 percent of that amount was disbursed. Duong Quang Hung, a representative of the Royal Danish Embassy said, “The CPI Component has the best disbursement progress compared to other components within the Denmark - Vietnam Development Cooperation on Environment Programme. This is the most important factor for the success of the Component when it is implemented.”

 

One of the most important achievements of the Component, highly appreciated by donors, is the Component working with the Science and Technology Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to compile a strategy, to submit to the Prime Minister for approval at Decision 1419/QD-TTg in September 2009, for cleaner production in industry until 2020. Inheriting the results of the CPI Component, the cleaner production strategy will be implemented in all provinces in the country, without any limit to provinces/cities or businesses to access cleaner production, as it aims to spread the cleaner production model to all enterprises and provinces/cities. One of the most important parts of this strategy is to build a consultant workforce for centres.

 

According to the targets set for 2020, at least 50 percent of Vietnamese companies will participate in cleaner production. Participants will save from 8 - 13 percent of energy and input materials; 90 percent of Departments of Industry and Trade will have responsible officials trained to guide industrial production units to apply cleaner production.

 

To achieve these goals, the strategy will be implemented from now to 2020, with five projects: Raising awareness and capability to apply cleaner production in industry methods; Building and putting into place a database and a website related to cleaner production in industry; Providing technical assistance to industrial production facilities that apply cleaner production in industry methods; Building a network of CPI support organizations; and Putting in place appropriate financing mechanisms and policies to promote the application of CPI methods.

 

Mr Nguyen Huy Hoan, Deputy Director of Science and Technology Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Head of CPI Steering Committee, said companies can gradually apply CPI steps, depending on their scale and capability. Like participating in the CPI Component, companies have to spend initial expenses to carry out some start-up measures to show their investment commitment. Then, they will submit their solutions and the Steering Committee will have supporting solutions. At this point of time, they will still receive funds from Denmark. In late 2011, when the CPI Component is terminated, selected performance projects will receive funds from the State Budget of Vietnam.