Various small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have learned a lot about sustainable green practices via a recently-concluded multilateral project.

Launched by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the project benefited SMEs across the cities and provinces including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Dong Nai, among others.

Most of them are active in construction, processing, mining, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, banking, telecommunications, garment, footwear and waste recycling.

The project assisted them in creating network to cope with climate change and using natural resources effectively.

Experts provided business owners with necessary tools to assess product life cycles and audit the waste and energy sources available, helping them produce more environmentally-friendly products at lower costs.
 
Vietnam has so far recorded nearly 544,000 enterprises, with 97 percent of them working on small and medium scales. The SMEs not only contribute more than 40 percent to the country’s gross domestic product but generate over 1 million jobs each year.-VNA