FDI enterprises start the green transformation process

Green and sustainable development is a direction that many businesses are interested in to meet the increasingly strict requirements of large export markets, while maximizing profits. Enterprises with foreign direct investment (FDI) are pioneers in this journey.

Important steps forward

Chong Chee Keong, Managing Director of industrial real estate of Frasers Property Vietnam, said that the implementation has achieved important progress. Up to now, BDIP Industrial Park (Phu Tan Ward, Thu Dau Mot City) is on the path to LEED certification with some features of greening the Industrial Park, customer-centric approach, focus on labor productivity and ensure a healthy working environment for employees. Currently, BDIP Industrial Park has completed phase 1 and the occupancy rate has reached 100%, and is implementing phase 2 to meet the increasing needs of customers that want to rent factories.

“Not only outstanding in structure and design, the factories in BDIP Industrial Park also prioritizes the use of environmentally friendly materials and green, clean, renewable construction technology such as insulating paint and solar roofing... Customers can even freely create and design office space right in the factory area with an open window system that brings natural light and ventilation," Chong shared.

Many enterprises in Binh Duong are aiming for green production and sustainable development. In photo:  Modern production line at Kolon Company, Bau Bang Industrial Park.

It is known that the LED lighting system was installed to illuminate the entire industrial park area. In addition, the application of modern Inverter technology in the industrial park wastewater treatment plant, helps save 177 MWh annually - equivalent to planting 2,000 trees within 10 years, reducing 138 tons of CO2 per year and replacing 16 tons of coal burned every year. Electric vehicle charging stations were installed to meet the demand and encourage more people to use environmentally friendly electric vehicles when traveling to the Industrial Park. BDIP Industrial Park also installs integrated functional pillars that have the function of replacing street lights by using solar power. This functional pillar can also measure air quality and display real-time notifications to create a healthier and safer environment in the industrial park.

Dr. Pham Tuan Anh, Director of Binh Duong Smart City Office, affirmed that increasing investment in digitalization and step by step digital transformation also significantly contributes to improving the use of business resources, increasing productivity, increasing ability to analyze and process information, reducing costs, and encouraging division of labor. Binh Duong's promotion of digital transformation, building an innovation ecosystem, and flexible development between the digital economy and green economy is the development of green industry, clean energy, and renewable energy accompanied by environment protection. Quickly shift industrial and manufacturing sectors that use a lot of resources and have little added value to use high technology that is environmentally friendly and has high added value.

Greening production

A large food processing and packaging solutions provider from Sweden, Tetra Pak (VSIP 2) has devoted a lot of effort to sustainable development in recent years. The company has so far reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its operations by 39%, with 84% of its energy usage coming from renewable energy sources. This will help Tetra Pak move closer to its target of net zero emissions across its operations by 2030. Additionally, the sale of 8.8 billion plant-based packaging and 11.9 billion lids saved 131 tons of CO2.

Adolfo Orive, President and CEO of Tetra Pak, said that in Vietnam, Tetra Pak's sustainability initiatives have achieved significant achievements in three main areas: protecting food, promoting the circular economy and combating climate change. The investment of 1.2 million euros in Dong Tien Paper Company has helped Dong Tien improve the quality of recycled materials and double recycling capacity, nearly 17,000 tons/year. Furthermore, 339 tons of paper cartons were collected for recycling thanks to a cooperation initiative with Vietnam Packaging Recycling Alliance (PRO Vietnam) to encourage collection activities through a southern regional purchasing model. The company also successfully installed solar panels on a 5,900m2 roof area of Tetra Pak Binh Duong packaging factory, helping to reduce 700 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

At the celebration of completing the commitment to plant 50,000 trees at the LEGO factory, Preben Elnef, General Director of LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam, said that the group had completed planting 50,000 trees at the factory area after starting this activity from September 2022. With the number of new trees planted being twice as many as the number of trees removed to build the factory, the project planted 7 different types of trees originating from Vietnam, biodiversity could develop smoothly in the long term. This tree planting project is supported by Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture Company (VSIP).

“The LEGO factory in Binh Duong is designed to become the group's most sustainable factory so far, contributing to realizing sustainable development goals. The factory installs solar panels on the roof and a solar farm will be built on neighboring land. Energy from these two sources will meet the total annual energy needs of the plant. The factory will use the most advanced energy-efficient manufacturing equipment, and buildings and production processes are designed to minimize energy use,” said Preben Elnef, General Manager of Vietnam LEGO Manufacturing.

Reported by Tieu My - Translated by Ngoc Huynh