Eco-industrial Park – a sustainable approach for Vietnam’s industrial development

The Project "Implementation of Eco-industrial park (EIP) initiative for sustainable industrial zones in Vietnam" has been jointly implemented by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) since 2014. The EIP initiative in Viet Nam was the first project co-funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research through the Global Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) Programme.

The EIP Initiative focused on increasing the transfer, deployment and diffusion of clean technologies and practices for the minimization of hazardous waste, Green House Gas emissions, as well as water pollutants and the sound management of chemicals in the pilot industrial zones of Viet Nam. They are Khanh Phu & Gian Khau (Ninh Binh), Hoa Khanh (Da Nang) and Tra Noc 1&2 (Can Tho). The Project's technologies have helped the pilot companies optimize their inputs of raw material, energy, and water as well as ensure chemical safety and waste management.

The Project's solutions for resource efficient and cleaner production have led to a total avoided annual demand of over 22.000 MWh of electricity, over 600,000 m3 of freshwater, over 140 TJ of fossil fuel and nearly 3600 tons of chemicals and waste. These solutions also led to a decrease of 32 kt of CO2 every year.

The Director General of Department for Local and Regional Economy, Ministry of Planning and Investment Mr Tran Duy Dong, who is also the National Project Director highly appreciated the Project's significant outcomes and impacts which are shared at the workshop held in Hanoi on 12 June 2019. He said: "Implementation of the EIP Initiative led to the issuance of Decree No.82/2018/ND-CP ("Decree 82") of the Government of Vietnam dated 22 May 2018 to regulate the management of industrial zones (IZ) and economic zones (EZ) in Vietnam. The Decree took effect since July 2018. The Decree is a national EIP guidelines to operationalize the development of EIPs in Vietnam and its institutional framework in more than 300 industrial zones across the country."

The Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Ms Beatrice Maser Mallor reinforced that the Government of Switzerland has voiced its commitment to support Vietnam in its transformation to a greener economy. The Ambassador said: "The Eco-Industrial Park program is one of the flagship programs in Switzerland's economic cooperation and development agenda. Its main objective is to demonstrate the viability and benefits of sustainable industrial parks for industrial development."

Further, the Ambassador commended the MPI, UNIDO and other involved stakeholders for the significant results that have been achieved during the project implementation, all contributing to an improved socio-economic development of Vietnam.

For his part, the UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Mr Kamal Malhotra confirmed: "This project fits very well within the UN's One Strategic Plan 2017-2021, especially in prioritising 2 out of the 4 main areas of the UN work in Viet Nam: climate resilience and environmental sustainability and fostering prosperity and partnership for an inclusive and sustainable economic growth model.

"This project provides a vivid illustration of what aspects of a circular economy will entail, about which the Government of Viet Nam is keen to learn from the UN and other development partners in order to identify strategic priorities for its socio-economic development over the 2021-2030 period. For this medium-term vision, the Government is placing high ambition on achieving "dual targets": sustaining a high growth rate and protecting the environment."

UNIDO Country Representative Ms Le Thanh Thao highlighted the transformation of conventional industrial parks into the eco-industrial parks presents an effective opportunity to attain inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Vietnam.

Ms Thao said: "The EIP Initiative constitutes another step forward in the road of UNIDO's supports to Vietnam in resource efficient and cleaner production in industry over the past 20 years. I believe that our achievements today will create a firm foundation for the replication of the EIP model across Vietnam in the coming years, thus contributing to protecting the environment, gaining sustainable industry and attracting high quality investment, especially from the private sector, as well as increasing Vietnam's competitiveness."

On behalf of UNIDO, Ms Thao thanked the Government of Vietnam, Ministry of Planning and Investment as the project partner and other relevant ministries and agencies for making the Project a success. She also commended the Global Environment Facility and the Government of Switzerland for their funding. UNIDO will continue to work with the Government of Vietnam to implement the Global Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production Programme, funded by the Government of Switzerland.

In the coming years, discussion and planning of the implementation of industrial symbiosis solutions, proposed by the EIP Project will be continued. These work prove the sustainability of the Project's interventions and impacts. Such industrial symbiosis solutions focus on the reuse of wastewater and waste materials of one company as an input to another company; the recovery of waste heat and the improvement of the efficiency of waste collection; and the mutual utilization of water boilers as well as share of transport and other services for workers.

The Project provided training for more than 3,100 decision-makers and technicians. The training aimed to create a common understanding of EIPs; to share international good practices and their application in the Vietnamese context; to learn EIP resources and tools available; and to understand and learn about the opportunities as well as associated challenges in applying and replicating the EIP concept in Vietnam.

The Project also supported the Ministry of Planning and Investment in developing policies and guidelines to facilitate the transformation of industrial zones into EIPs. They include guidelines on how to access green financing, what to do to prevent, prepare and respond to environmental accidents and many others.

Note to editors:

Eco-industrial parks

One of UNIDO's contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals is through its facilitation of eco-industrial parks.

An eco-industrial park is a community of businesses located on a common property in which businesses seek to achieve enhanced environmental, economic and social performance through collaboration in managing environmental and resource issues. This is known as industrial symbiosis, which is a means by which companies can gain a competitive advantage through the physical exchange of materials, energy, water and by-products, thereby fostering inclusive and sustainable development.

For more information: https://bit.ly/2Td6QWz

Eco-Industrial Parks in Vietnam

For further information of the Project: https://eipvn.org/

Publication produced under the project: https://bit.ly/2WgeSeM