Interest rates to stay at record highs in coming months (23/5)
23/05/2011 - 9 Lượt xem
The city of Can Tho has five planned Industrial Zones which are under operation, with more than 9,000 businesses and industrial production units operating in and out of the IZs. Over the last 10 years, Can Tho has been among the leading localities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta regarding industrial production value. Nguyen Ngoc Minh- Director of the Can Tho Industry and Trade Department said that most of the firms in Can Tho are small and medium sized businesses. Although the province's industrial production value is high, the province consumes a large amount of fuel and energy due to outdated technology resulting in increased product prices. In addition, the city is facing environmental pollution caused by a huge amount of industrial waste discharged into the environment.
To solve the contradiction of environment pollution and industrial development, in 2010, the Cleaner Production in Industry Component under the Ministry of Industry and Trade cooperated with the Can Tho Industry and Trade Department to implement activities in the component to local businesses. Communication campaigns were implemented to raise the business awareness on cleaner production. Bui Thi Nga- Head of Technique, Safety and Environment Office of the Can Tho Industry and Trade Department said that after two seminars, two training courses, study tours and five communication campaigns among nine districts in the province were implemented, the awareness of local businesses has been remarkably improved. Through communication campaigns, businesses understand that cleaner production measures are simple and can be applied at each stage of production line in any hour.
"I used to think that cleaner production was a set of complicated measures that were applied to protect the environment. After attending two MOIT seminars, I realized that cleaner production measures are simple and can be applied easily and most importantly can bring more economic profits. For example, people often think that the water loss from a dripping water tap isn't much. However they don't know that the water loss from the dripping water tap is much higher if counted over a month. Solving this problem is cleaner production", said Huynh Van Hai, technical officer of the Can Tho Chemical and Fertilizer Company.
"I used to think that that it wasn't so easy to apply cleaner production measures in production. After attending training courses on cleaner production, I realized that it is simple to apply cleaner production measures within the scope of a business. In my opinion, raising the awareness of staff members are the most important thing, added Cao Minh Tri, vice head of Technical Office of the Southern Fishery Industries Limited Company.
As Can Tho is located closely with a CPI project target province of Ben Tre, many businesses in Can Tho have learnt experience of role models in cleaner production application in this province. Hence, they started accessing cleaner production. Mai Trong Nhan, vice director of the Can Tho Beer and Beverage Company said that the company has decided to apply cleaner production after its staff members attended training courses and study tours. As the percentage of power consumption and water loss volume in the company is higher than other beer and beverage companies ranging from 10-30 percent, the company has decided to apply simple cleaner production measures. For example, incandescent bulbs are replaced by compact lamps, broken water taps are replaced by new ones, attention is paid to raising awareness on energy saving for staff members, the maintenance of equipment is careful done to avoid heat loss. These simple measures have helped us reduce water loss comparable to other companies.
"We have three reasons for applying cleaner production measures. Firstly, product prices can be reduced due to the decline in input material and power costs. Secondly, our staff members' awareness will be enhanced. Thirdly, our company want to express our social responsibility in environmental protection in order to raise our reputation and brand name in the market" explained Le Xuan Dinh, technical vice director of the Southern Fishery Industries Limited Company.
Although cleaner production strategy has just started running, the list of businesses in Can Tho joining in the component is longer and longer. Nguyen Ngoc Minh, director of the Can Tho Industry and Trade Department said that Can Tho will continue to implement communication campaigns through mass media, organize training courses, study tours and assess business potential in participating in CPI component in the future. It will provide mechanism and financial support for businesses to encourage them to protect the environment and develop production./.
Source: VEN.
