All Vietnamese enterprises wish to access GCT to apply technology and equipment innovation for cleaner production. This was expressed by all directors and representatives of enterprises participating in the workshop organized on November 3, 2011 by Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Enviroment (VACNE) in collaboration with the Vietnam Cleaner Production Center (VCPC) and the Green Credit Trust Fund (GCT - Switzerland) in Hanoi.
Chairmanship of the workshop
Participating in the workshop, beside the leaderships of VACNE, VCPC, and GCT, representatives of some VACNE's member enterprises, and enterprise partners closely related to VACNE's service and consultancy members, there were also many representatives of the press and media who came to make the news. That this activity not only relates to the environment but also is practical for enterprises which aim for more economic and efficient production.
After hearing about cleaner production strategy in industry, some technologies and equipment for cleaner production, and financial supporting mechanism of GCT for the projects on technology and equipment innovation towards cleaner production, the participants had a lively discussion expressing their desire to have access to sustainable production as soon as possible. For enterprises, the application of cleaner technology and equipment not only contributes positively to environmental protection for the community but is also beneficial to enterprises in terms of saving money and promoting trade names due to reducing energy and materials use, and protecting workers health.
Ass. Prof. Dr. Ngo Thi Nga, VCPC's Vice Director states that through Vietnamese commercial banks (like ACB, Techcombank, and VIB), GCT is willing to give financial assistance (for 2-5 years) for cleaner technology investment projects with the total credit amount of 10,000 to 500,000 USD and to reimburse 15 - 25% of the total credit immediately after project approval if the concerned enterprise achieves environmental improvements by 30-50% of its previous results. In Vietnam, 13 projects have been technically approved, 6 projects have received credits, and 1 project has received reimbursement completely.
VACNE's President Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Sinh highly appreciated the GCT's goodwill in supporting environmental protection activities in Vietnam as well as the interest of scientists, enterprises, and journalists in this event. He said that the full participation and the live discussion among delegates, especially direct and open contacts between enterprises' leaderships and the GCT's representative showed a great success of the workshop.