Raising Production Efficiency via Cleaner Production in Metal Finishing

Raising Production Efficiency via Cleaner Production in Metal Finishing

In an effort to make enterprises fully aware of clean production in industry and share experience with them, the Vietnam Clean Production Centre under Hanoi Technology University held a seminar entitled "Cleaner Production in Metal Finishing" on November 9, 2004 in Hanoi.

Currently, Vietnamese enterprises are unaware of the efficiency of cleaner production for industries. The main reason is that the environment, for them, remains a trivial matter. Enterprises pay scant attention to adopting environmentally friendly solutions to enhance their production efficiency and competitiveness.

Thanks to the sponsorship of the Swiss Government, the cleaner production project implemented by the Vietnam Clean Production Centre since July 2003 targets to help enterprises reduce production costs while at the same time manifesting cleaner production methods applicable to the metal industry.

At the seminar, the project's chief advisor Heinz Leuenberger stressed: "Cleaner production is a long-term strategy and all-out efforts should be made for success". He said the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) would help Vietnamese enterprises with improved designs for plants in a bid to minimise environmental pollution and improve technology for production.

The project's vice director Ngo Thi Nga said only four enterprises have so far joined the project at the initial stage, but good results have been achieved. As a result of cleaner production measures, these enterprises have significantly reduced their consumption rate of energy, chemical substances, water and other resources.

Reports from enterprises show that total economic benefit the enterprises gained after more than one year of participation in the project is satisfying. For example, the Export Engineering Services Joint Stock Company initially invested VND60 million (US$3,821) into the project, and has to date benefited a total of VND512.252 million (US$32,627). The involved enterprises are expected to achieve further success if they continue to actively adopt the project’s strategies

Cleaner production is an effective instrument for environmental management. Notwithstanding, Vietnamese enterprises remain unwilling to invest in the required technology due to inadequate capital and a limited understanding of the concepts of cleaner production. The participants at the seminar agreed that raising awareness plays a very important role in the implementation of the programme and the project management board should organise regional programmes. Ms Nga reported the project management board's plan to attract more enterprises to the programme and hold larger scale programmes in the coming time.

• Nguyen Thoa