It is these industry leaders who are driving a movement as theylook for a partner that matches their same sustainable outlook and goals.
As a result, local businesses in Vietnam, and industrial parkdevelopers in particular, are transforming their business model as well asadapting to international standards to attract these “eagles”. Although it canbe tricky for industrial parks to balance profitability, concern forenvironment, and social commitments, there are still multiple ways they can doto stay sustainable.
In 2020, the “Eco-industrial Park Intervention in Vietnam –Perspective from the Global Eco-Industrial Parks Programme” project waslaunched in Ho Chi Minh City by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and theUnited Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
At the workshop,five industrial parks across the country were chosen to implementeco-industrial park initiatives. The project will be carried out in a period ofthree years with an aim to establish a more sustainable industrial park modeland pave the way to the replication of this model across Vietnam in thefuture.
One of the five pilot industrial parks is DEEP C Hai Phong I (alsoknown as Dinh Vu Industrial Zone), the first footprint of DEEP C group in Vietnam. The industrial park cluster has gained a reputation as the onlyEuropean-managed industrial park in Vietnam, with compatible European qualityin all business aspects, from general infrastructures, utilities supply to parkoperations. Located in Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh province, DEEP CIndustrial Zones is the northern representative of the project.
Long before the recent selection, DEEP C implemented theirenvironmental sustainability strategy on four pillars: power, water, waste, andgreen zone. The main goal is taking the complexity out of investing in Vietnam while achieving common sustainability goals with investors. Overall, thestrategy is to drive economic growth in a sustainable manner for DEEP C,investors and local community.
Dependingon the nature of each industrial park, the developers can adopt differentpractices to stay sustainable. For DEEP C, they are the first industrial parkto make a road from recycled plastics and a smart electricity grid possible inVietnam. The recycled plastics road currently lies in DEEP C Hai Phong IIIndustrial Park in Hai Phong. More asphalt roads using recycled plastic will bestretched out all over DEEP C Industrial Zones as an innovative solution toaddress plastics waste and advance circular economy in Vietnam.
The group is now working on the generation of renewable energyfrom rooftop solar panel and wind turbine. By 2030, it aims to supply 50 percent of energy demand within its industrial park. Sustainability is alsopresent in reusing of treated wastewater for various industrial purposes suchas cooling tower of tenants, preserving mangrove forest along our port area asa natural buffering.
Construction work comply with strict standards on safety andenvironment before, during and after construction such as innovation (road madefrom plastics), sustainable sourcing of materials (containers), sustainablesites, energy efficiency (optimising solar and wind energy), indoor environmentquality and water efficiency. In the years to come, DEEP C’s ready-builtfactories will be designed in the most nature-friendly way possible with LEEDstandards.
“We believe that eco-industrial park is the future of theindustry and are happy to raise the standards for developing infrastructuresinside industrial park and spread the benefits of eco manufacturing," saidKoen Soenens, General Sales and Marketing Director at DEEP C Industrial Zones.
"Sure it’s good for the environment, but it’s also good forthe image, the quality of working and living, and it’s cost-saving for themaintenance and operations.”
DEEP C Industrial Zones launched its base in Hai Phong City, Vietnam in 1997 with the development project of Dinh Vu Industrial Zone(nowadays known as DEEP C Hải Phòng I), a collaboration between Belgian groupRent-A-Port and Hai Phong People’s Committee.
Over the past 23 years, DEEP C has evolved to be one of thelargest industrial park developers in Vietnam with five sub-zones covering3,400 ha of industrial land, forming an industrial cluster in Hai Phong City andQuang Ninh province – the most dynamic growing region in the northern region.
Todate, DEEP C Industrial Zones are home to 120 projects with a total investmentof 4 billion USD, backed by multinational companies like Bridgestone, Idemitsu,Knauf, Chevron, tesa./.