The cumulative CO2 emissions by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the southern provinces of Vietnam has reduced by 740,000 tonnes over the past five years.

The figure was announced at a Nov. 25 seminar to review outcomes of a five-year project titled “Promoting Energy Conservation in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” (PECSME) which has been carried out in the southern region of Vietnam from 2006.

The project is a joint effort of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other Vietnamese counterparts with a total capital of 28.7 million USD, covering five major sectors, including brick, ceramic, paper and pulp, garment and textile and food processing, said PECSME Director Nguyen Ba Vinh

Over the past five years, the project has helped cut energy costs by 50 percent at brick making factories, 40 percent for ceramic producers and 30 percent in the remaining three sectors, according to PECSME.

The use of energy efficiency equipment also improved productivity and product quality. As a result, the project’s beneficiaries saw their profit increased by two to three fold as compared with those did not use energy efficient facilities, the organising board said.

In social aspect, 10,000 workers at the Binh Duong industrial zone have seen their working conditions improved.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, the project is expected to help reduce over 2.4 million tonnes of CO2 by 2015./.