Illustrative image (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - The Song Hau Food Company, a rice exporter, has reduced its energyconsumption by 983,764 kWh in the past four years, saving 62,615 USD.
Anofficial of its parent company, Vinafood 2, said reduced energy costs helpsreduce greenhouse gas emissions and enables cleaner rice production.
Theresult was achieved under a project applying efficient, cleaner productionmethods, said Pham Van To, deputy manager of Vinafood 2’s Technical andConstruction Department.
Hesaid that in rice processing, electricity costs usually account for 20 to 35 percentof total production costs.
Energyis usually one of the highest costs a company faces. If it can reduce energyconsumption by just a few percent, it can make a significant savings along withcontributing to greenhouse gas reduction, he said.
In2013, the corporation had approached the Resource Efficient and CleanerProduction Programme (RECP), a UNIDO-UNEP joint programme financed by the SwissState Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by Sofies (aconsultancy in Switzerland) and the Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre Co Ltd(VNCPC).
Apilot project was implemented in two member enterprises, Song Hau Food Companyand An Giang Food and Foodstuff Company in 2013, and expanded to six othermember companies in March last year.
Tran Van Nhan, Director of VNCPC, said the rice industry’s export achievements ofthe past years came at the cost of adverse impacts on the environment duringproduction and processing.
Fromthe entire rice value chain, the project chose to pilot the processing phase,since this has the largest impact on the environment, he said.
“Werealise that there is a great potential to turn waste resulting from ricemilling into biomass energy, which significantly contributes to reducingclimate change.”
Inaddition, with energy costs accounting for 35-40 percent of rice productioncosts, “if we can save a part of the largest expenditure, it will significantlyhelp businesses reduce production costs and increase profits and competitiveness,”he said.
Throughmany activities - including cleaner production audits at participatingcompanies, supporting companies in identifying cleaner production technologiesand application strategies and training - the project has helped firms improvetheir energy efficiency.
Ithas also suggested measures to turn waste into biomass energy.
Dr.Martin Fritsch of Sofies said Vietnam was a leading rice exporter, focusing onlarge volumes. It was facing quality challenges that weakened its competitiveness.
Thesector needs to effect changes to meet an increase in demand for higher qualityrice by creating incentives for rice farmers and millers to adopt sustainableproduction practices, he said.
Thiswould also help to avoid continuous degradation of natural resources, such assoil and water, he said.
Theproject aims to promote efficient use of natural resources, includingmaterials, water and energy and minimise waste and emissions, including thosedischarged into the water, air and land.
Delegatesat a recent conference titled “Towards a Sustainable Agro-Industrial Ecosystemin the Mekong Delta in Vietnam-Focus on the Rice Value Chain,” said the projectwill enter its "mainstreaming phase" this year.
Abroader collaboration between all stakeholders was necessary to align interestsalong the value chain and to achieve a “sustainable mainstreaming effect forthe Vietnamese rice sector,” they added.-VNA
Anofficial of its parent company, Vinafood 2, said reduced energy costs helpsreduce greenhouse gas emissions and enables cleaner rice production.
Theresult was achieved under a project applying efficient, cleaner productionmethods, said Pham Van To, deputy manager of Vinafood 2’s Technical andConstruction Department.
Hesaid that in rice processing, electricity costs usually account for 20 to 35 percentof total production costs.
Energyis usually one of the highest costs a company faces. If it can reduce energyconsumption by just a few percent, it can make a significant savings along withcontributing to greenhouse gas reduction, he said.
In2013, the corporation had approached the Resource Efficient and CleanerProduction Programme (RECP), a UNIDO-UNEP joint programme financed by the SwissState Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by Sofies (aconsultancy in Switzerland) and the Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre Co Ltd(VNCPC).
Apilot project was implemented in two member enterprises, Song Hau Food Companyand An Giang Food and Foodstuff Company in 2013, and expanded to six othermember companies in March last year.
Tran Van Nhan, Director of VNCPC, said the rice industry’s export achievements ofthe past years came at the cost of adverse impacts on the environment duringproduction and processing.
Fromthe entire rice value chain, the project chose to pilot the processing phase,since this has the largest impact on the environment, he said.
“Werealise that there is a great potential to turn waste resulting from ricemilling into biomass energy, which significantly contributes to reducingclimate change.”
Inaddition, with energy costs accounting for 35-40 percent of rice productioncosts, “if we can save a part of the largest expenditure, it will significantlyhelp businesses reduce production costs and increase profits and competitiveness,”he said.
Throughmany activities - including cleaner production audits at participatingcompanies, supporting companies in identifying cleaner production technologiesand application strategies and training - the project has helped firms improvetheir energy efficiency.
Ithas also suggested measures to turn waste into biomass energy.
Dr.Martin Fritsch of Sofies said Vietnam was a leading rice exporter, focusing onlarge volumes. It was facing quality challenges that weakened its competitiveness.
Thesector needs to effect changes to meet an increase in demand for higher qualityrice by creating incentives for rice farmers and millers to adopt sustainableproduction practices, he said.
Thiswould also help to avoid continuous degradation of natural resources, such assoil and water, he said.
Theproject aims to promote efficient use of natural resources, includingmaterials, water and energy and minimise waste and emissions, including thosedischarged into the water, air and land.
Delegatesat a recent conference titled “Towards a Sustainable Agro-Industrial Ecosystemin the Mekong Delta in Vietnam-Focus on the Rice Value Chain,” said the projectwill enter its "mainstreaming phase" this year.
Abroader collaboration between all stakeholders was necessary to align interestsalong the value chain and to achieve a “sustainable mainstreaming effect forthe Vietnamese rice sector,” they added.-VNA
VNA
