Saving energy for a greener future
By Van Nam in HCMC
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| : A poor family has dinner under the candlelight. Saving energy among the business community is imperative to help avoid power shortage in the country - Photo: Le Toan |
From the economic angle, many people must have thought is trivial when the bank HSBC Vietnam targets to cut 8% of energy use, 11% of water, 10% of wastes and 6% of exhaust fumes discharged to the environment from now to 2011 via many programs. It is easy to understand the onlooker’s perception as HSBC is a service provider, not an industrial production unit, with the cost of electricity, water or other materials being not a big factor. However, the bank has sent a message, and a valuable one at that: Protecting the environment.
The message HSBC as well as many foreign-invested enterprises, or FIEs, are silently spreading is also the main the topic of the Saigon Times Top 40 Award.
Entering the eighth year with the theme of “Saigon Times Top 40 Award - Green Values 2010”, the two English-language publications of the Saigon Times Group, namely The Saigon Times Daily and The Saigon Times Weekly, continue their mandate to honor FIEs who make practical contributions to economic development, and offer ideas and specific actions for sustainable development of the community and a greener future.
First launched in 2003 as a non-profit endeavor, the award during the first years set up such criteria for FIEs as realizing investment commitments and not polluting the environment. Later, the award has encouraged FIEs to implement environment protection activities, develop the economy and call for them to carry out solutions for energy saving.
This is practical for both enterprises and the economy as the energy sources currently are running dry. As it is widely known, power shortage is now a big problem for State management agencies and all economic sectors. In this eighth award, the Saigon Times Top 40 Award-Green Values 2010 will honor 40 outstanding FIEs with the same purpose.
Under the 2010 criteria, enterprises to be considered for the selection must have effective energy saving practices in production, have not been fined for causing serious damages to the environment within the past five years (from January 1st, 2006), and realized their investment commitments.
Furthermore, the 2010 award also honors those enterprises that have policies of good treatment towards their workers, or at least have no serious labor disputes within the past five years.
Environmental violations have become so popular among business and production that the society needs to sound an alarm.
According to the 2009 national environment report of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, over 170 industrial parks (IPs) in the country discharge over one million cubic meters of wastewater into the environment daily with 70% of which untreated. The water quality in affected areas, especially in the basins of the Dong Nai, Cau, Nhue, and Day rivers, has come down sharply. In addition, many enterprises still use outdated production technologies and have yet to invest in exhaust gas treatment systems.
The World Bank calculates that Vietnam may incur a loss of up to 5.5% of GDP (gross domestic product) due to environment pollution each year. Therefore, as Vietnam reached a GDP of US$76 billion in 2008, the nation lost around US$4.2 billion. Besides, the country also has to spend around US$780 million yearly on community health problems aggravated by pollution-induced diseases, also according to the global lender.
Given the above alarming figures, the Saigon Times Top 40 Award is an endeavor engaging FIEs to seek effective solutions for environment protection, beginning with even odd jobs to save energy and better production.
Concerning contribution of FIEs to environment protection in HCMC, Ngo Anh Tuan, deputy head of the city’s Industrial and Export Processing Zones Authority (Hepza), says most IPs are making great efforts to reduce negative impacts to the environment. “They know that sustainable development of a business must also deliver satisfaction to the community, from a factory worker to a consumer,” Tuan says.
The Saigon Times Daily
The Saigon Times Group will introduce ‘green ideas’ of enterprises on its publications from August to October. The award ceremony of the Saigon Times Top 40 Award-Green Values 2010 is expected to take place in February, 2011 in HCMC. Enterprises with interest can access more information and download registration form from here.