Long An (VNA) - Investing in a green factory is a strategic factor in achieving sustainablegrowth, both bringing tangible benefitsto investors and enhancing their public image, experts have told a workshop.

The Green Factory workshop held last weekat the Long Hau Industrial Park inthe Mekong Delta province of Long An  to raise awarenessand share experiences in building green factories attracted the park’s tenants,business groups and the green building industry. 

Long Hau is known as a greenindustrial park geared towards businesses’ sustainable development.

According to the Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC), the organiser of theworkshop along with Long Hau Joint Stock Company, a green building trend is developing in Vietnam.

Currently, there are four ratingsystems for green building certification,LEED of USA, GREEN MARK ofSingapore, LOTUS of Vietnam and EDGE of the International Finance Corporation.

Vu Linh Quang, deputy director of ARDORSustainable Design, said green buildings offer several benefits forinvestors in terms of lower infrastructure costs,short payback period, low maintenance costs, healthy environment and increasedproductivity.

“Some investors think that greenbuildings only help marketing and sales or are only for foreign and exportenterprises.”

Le Luong Vang, a green building engineer from the RoyalHaskoningDHV Vietnam Ltd, said the cost of a green building is only 2-5 percenthigher than that of a normal building.

“Many businesses still fail to construct greenbuildings though their benefits are long-term.”

Nguyan Thanh Tam, investment promotionconsultant of the Long Hau Joint Stock Company,said the IP has attracted 160 local andforeign manufacturers.

Since it opened in2006 it has provided significantsupport to investors in building green buildings to ensure a long-term andsustainable development.

“It has set a target of having at least 22factories with green buildings by 2020.”

A foreign company in the IP, German DeutscheBekleidungswerke Limited (DBW Ltd) was thefirst-ever green factory in Vietnam obtaining LEED Platinum and LOTUScertificates.

Phung Thi Lan Phuong, HR, admin andcompliance manager at DBW Lt., said the task of building green factory hadfaced many problems caused by difficulty in getting workers with awareness ofenergy-efficient methods.

But she is confident that the greenfactory model will become the best choice for sustainable development.

The Long Hau IP has a strategiclocation in the southern key economic zone, near HCM City and served by both waterways and roads.

It is the only IP in Vietnam to achieve the Quest for Excellence Award at the International Asia Pacific Quality Award (IAPQA) bythe Asia Pacific Quality Organization (APQO) in 2010.

Its tenants include big names such as Puma,Lotte and Japan’s Tazmo.-VNA