Vinamilk employees work on a production line. Green enterprises and co-operatives will enjoy tax incentives as the Government seeks to encourage them to use environmentally-friendly technologies.

They will enjoy a low tax rate of just 10 per cent compared to 25 per cent for other companies, a tax exemption for the first four years of operation and a 50 per cent waiver for the next five, and import tax waiver on equipment and machinery used for waste treatment.

Lam Minh Triet, head of the Natural Resources and Environment Institute, a Government-run research centre, said the incentives were appropriate because green enterprises spent much money to build their own waste-treatment systems.

Mai Kieu Lien of the Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Corporation (Vinamilk) said companies needed to apply clean, non-polluting technologies if they wanted to develop sustainably.

“To penetrate demanding markets like the US, Australia, the Middle East, and Thailand, Vinamilk has installed waste-treatment systems at all of its 11 production facilities and has received ISO 14001 certification for maintaining cooking safety, hygiene and environmental standards,” he said.

After the country joined the WTO, companies had been encouraged to go green in line with the trade bloc’s regulations to raise their global competitiveness, she said.

Nguyen Van Phuoc, deputy director of HCM City’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the department had stepped up inspection and imposed stringent penalties on polluting firms.

It had even suspended the operations of some until they built waste-treatment systems, he said.

It is carrying out a programme to classify and list polluting enterprises to take focused measures to deal with offenders.

Under the “Viet Nam: Promoting Energy Conservation in Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (PECSME) ” project, which is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, UNDP and Global Environment Fund from 2006 to 2010, small - and medium-sized firms have implemented 320 energy-conservation projects, saving 120,000 tonnes of oil and cutting 526,000 tonnes of dioxide carbon emissions.

They include brick and ceramic makers who have been provided with financial assistance to invest in new technologies to improve efficiency, save energy and reduce pollution.

In 2010, the project will continue to provide firms with financial assistance and training in energy conservation to help them reduce pollution.

It will focus on five areas – ceramic, paper and brick making, food processing, and textile and garment.

VietNamNet/Vietnam News