Factories and industrial parks are called upon to go green

The seminar “Green Innovation in Factories and Industrial Parks: Following the Trend for Sustainable Development” organized by Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) and BambuUP Innovation Platform aimed to help enterprises, industrial parks and factories adapt to new market and consumer trends, access and apply green transformation technologies seamlessly and effectively, and save time and resources in building sustainable production strategies.

A panel discussion at the seminar “Green Innovation in Factories and Industrial Parks: Following the Trend for Sustainable Development” in Ho Chi Minh City on August 8. (Photo courtesy of ITPC)

Nguyen Huong Quynh, director of BambuUP, said that by 2030, businesses will operate in a fragile, turbulent, non-linear and incomprehensible (BANI) world, reflecting an unstable environment that poses challenges for businesses.

She also spoke about the growing market and societal demand for sustainable development, stating that businesses need to embrace the green transformation to survive and thrive.

She listed ten global megatrends, including technological advances, demographic changes, the future of work, climate change, global climate action, and renewable energy and electric vehicles, adding that three of them relate to climate sustainability.

Green transformation must become an urgent strategy for manufacturing enterprises to improve their competitiveness, attract green investment and ensure sustainable development in the unpredictable world of BANI.

She added that the global green technology and sustainability market will be valued at $28.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow by 29.5% annually to reach $134.9 billion by 2030.

She also spoke about five popular trends in green manufacturing: optimizing energy consumption, manufacturing products using sustainable components, minimizing waste generation and recycling it, increasing the use of smart technologies in manufacturing, and lean manufacturing.

She warned that at a time when environmental issues around the world are paramount, companies that do not switch to ecological production will completely lose their competitive advantage within two to three years.

The government has introduced a policy promoting green and sustainable development, offering support to businesses, she added.

Tran Thien Long, permanent vice-chairman of the Vietnam Industrial Real Estate Association, said his association recently received five business delegations looking for eco-friendly industrial parks where they could set up factories.

He added that as the demand for sustainable development grows, new industrial parks must adopt green models from the outset, and existing ones must quickly transition to a green transformation.

He also touched upon the challenges faced by companies in their transformation process, including lack of financing, knowledge and capacity, and difficulties in integrating ESG factors into existing models.

He called on the government to introduce more support policies to help businesses become greener.

He said enterprises need to assess the impact of green transformation trends and carbon taxes, monitor environmental regulations, use technologies and participate in green projects, and familiarize themselves with methods for calculating greenhouse gas emissions.

In his presentation, Tran Anh Dong, Director of CAS-Energy, highlighted the important role of eco-industrial parks in Vietnam.

He drew attention to the difficulties faced by manufacturing enterprises in the green transformation process, such as finance, resources and support policies, especially at the initial and operational stages.

He referred to solutions such as REGreen Factory, which can help companies integrate renewable energy and optimize costs, while also meeting ESG and CSR standards and increasing their competitiveness in export markets.

Another topic covered at the seminar was the transformation of green production into carbon credits.

Vu Trung Kien, carbon credit expert, director of NRG – Tan Nguyen JSC and SETS (Smart Emissions Trading System) project manager, said: “From 2021, the demand for carbon credits has increased dramatically and is forecasted to be between 8,000 and 13,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2e) per year.

Supply is also expected to increase by around 8,000 MTCO2e per year to meet growing demand.

A greenhouse gas inventory is the first step for companies to assess their emissions and develop an action plan to reduce them.

Green technologies effectively reduce emissions, and green finance helps businesses invest in these technologies, thus creating a circle of sustainable development, he added.

The event also included panel discussions on solutions for factories and industrial parks in the south of the country to help them overcome the difficulties of going green. Experiences from successful models were shared and practical technological solutions were proposed.

Companies participating in the event could count on direct consultations with specialists.

Ho Thi Quyen, deputy director of ITPC, said that one should seize the opportunities and benefits of green finance with the mindset and plan to transition from the traditional model to a green one.

ITPC will continue to organize more seminars and trainings to help companies make the green transformation, she added./.