A rice field in Dong Thap province. Businesses are starting to develop a circular economic value chain for their products. (Photo: VNA) The company has a sustainability programme based on the 4Rs (reduce water,energy and chemical; reuse water and energy; recycle raw material; and respectethical labour practices), she said.
“By using the latest technological advances in the production chain, not usingharmful chemicals, implementing energy saving programmes, and reducingemissions, we are able to make products that are sustainable and consumer- andenvironment-friendly.
“In the past the company had to use 40 litres of water to produce a pair ofjeans. Today, with modern machinery and technology, we need only 4% of that tomake a similar product.”
Sustainable production also enables her company to “create a better workingenvironment for employees, meet the rising demand of and gain credibility withcustomers, especially high-end brands, improve competitiveness and get moreorders,’’ she said.
In 2022, though the textile and garment industry was mired in difficulties dueto a lack of export orders, PPJ achieved growth of 20%, she added.
Dairy giant Vinamilk has invested more than 3 trillion VND (128 million USD) inits three ecological dairy farm chain, Green Farm, which has embraced thecircular economy, regenerative agriculture and technologies to minimise itsenvironmental footprint and emissions.
Vinamilk has said it plans to make its 13 other farms also green in the nearfuture.
Other businesses are starting to deploy circular economic value chains fortheir products.
Thanh Binh Co., Ltd. in Dong Thap province, for instance, uses the straw leftafter harvesting rice to grow straw mushrooms, rice husk to make pellets to beused as fuel for export and rice bran to make cooking oil and animal feed.
The fisheries sector too had seen many sustainable programmes, Trương Đình Hòe,general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters andProducers, said.
Kien Giang province has approved a sustainable fisheries development project inHon Dat district on an area of around 5,500ha to be implemented over the nextthree years.
Businesses in Ca Mau Province are promoting high-value aquaculture using theshrimp-forest farming model, which does not use drugs or chemicals, and helpsprotect forests.
The province has more than 27,500ha of shrimp-mangrove forests, of which19,000ha meet international quality standards (Naturland, EU Organic, CanadaOrganic, Selva Shrimp, ASC, BAP...).
“Their products are popular in many markets,” Hoe said.
But certain issues are preventing many firms from going green.
Lien listed the high cost of investment in technology and equipment and needfor qualified technical personnel hurdles to achieving sustainability.
But Hoe said: “The development of agricultural production towards green economyis an inevitable trend that must be followed sooner or later. Therefore, wemust convince and mobilise farmers and enterprises to embrace the greeneconomy.”
Inevitable trend
Speaking at the Vietnam Export Promotion Forum late last year, Minister ofIndustry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said green growth and circular economy werebecoming global trends as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissionsand achieve carbon neutrality.
Major import markets were imposing high taxes on products with large"carbon footprints" and many developed economies had set strictenvironmental regulations for imports, he said.
So exporting countries like Vietnam needed to change their mindset and pay moreattention to the "greenness" of their supply chain and trade, headded.
Jean-Jacques Bouflet , vice chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce inVietnam, said Vietnam had taken advantage of free trade agreements to diversifyand increase exports.
The trade deals, especially the EU-Vietnam FTA, have commitments both in terms of tradeand social responsibility for sustainability, including the creation ofenvironment-friendly products, he said.
“Consumers around the world, particularly in Europe, are focusing more and moreon values that go beyond product quality such as green and sustainablemanufacturing processes,” he said.
Therefore, Vietnam’s exporters would have to restructure to meet the socialresponsibility and environmental standards, he said.
Bartosz Cieleszynski, deputy head of the trade section, EU Delegation toVietnam, said: “The results of the EVFTA are already very significant. Withwidespread coverage of full dismantling of nearly all tariffs for 71% ofVietnamese exports to the EU and 65% of the EU’s exports to Vietnam, theadvantage of market access is unquestionable.”
“On one hand, such tariff elimination promotes two-way trade. On the other, andmore importantly, the full elimination of tariffs together with commitments inthe chapter of Trade and Sustainable Development should enable stronger tradeflows of green products.”
Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Hong Quan, director of the Institute for Circular EconomyDevelopment at the Vietnam National University - HCM City, said a survey doneby McKinsey found that 63% of consumers consider the sustainability of brandswhen making purchase decisions.
According to a Nielsen market report, the global market for “green” products isgrowing faster and more profitable than its “brown” counterparts, he said./.
VNA
