The Philippine-based non-profit organisation, Assist Asia, has launched the Conservation Project on Environmental Resources in Viet Nam (Conserv), a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project co-financed by sport and lifestyle company Puma and Deg, a member of the KfW banking Group, and implemented by Assist Asia.
The main work of the 17-month project is to contribute to Viet Nam’s sustainable development by increasing resource efficiency and waste management in textile, garment and leather factories through awareness-raising and capacity-building.
The Stakeholder Forums will initiate a public awareness campaign and present an overview of the project benefits for participating companies.
The project is expected to help factories reduce greenhouse gas emissions, secure availability of natural resources and minimise risks from waste and pollution.
Top executives from the textile-garment-leather (TGL) sector and industry experts are invited to participate in the forum.
Industries in developing countries have significant potential to reduce energy and pollution intensity as well as materials per unit of industrial output.
This brings about a reduction of the overall ecological footprint while at the same time improves productivity and competitiveness.
“Like many emerging economies, the challenges for Viet Nam in the forthcoming years will be to strike a balance between economic growth, social equity and concerns for the environment,” according to a press release from Assist Asia.
“Moreover, as Viet Nam’s efforts to attract foreign direct investment intensifies, the need to create links between development and environmental protection becomes an imperative.”
Industrial activity in Viet Nam has grown by 14 per cent per year, with some sectors as much as 100 per cent in recent years.
Viet Nam’s opportunities for economic efficiency and environmental protection in these sectors include industrial modernisation, improvement of productivity in operations, replacement of obsolete technology and improved work practices.
Major industry sectors that contribute to environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions in Viet Nam include the textile, garment and leather industries.
These sectors have great potential to conserve resources such as water and energy and to optimise the use of these resources through the implementation of resource-efficiency practices, benchmarking international frameworks from UNDP/UNIDO and ISO standards like ISO 50000, among others.
Through this PPP project between Deg and Puma, TGL manufacturers, including Puma’s suppliers, will be supported to achieve the objectives of sustainability: production efficiency, environmental management and human development.
Assist Asia said the developmental goal of the PPP project was to improve the country’s alignment with international standards and practices on environmentally sound production of TGL industries in Viet Nam.
