Industrial symbiosis services help businesses optimize profits

​Symbiotic service of wastewater treatment infrastructure in Dong Nai Industrial Zones

This service is assessed to contribute to saving production costs and reducing environmental risks. However, in Dong Nai, this type of service is still very few.

Not many services yet

Mr. Le Xuan Thinh, Director of the Center for Cleaner Production in Vietnam, said that currently, some Industrial Zones in Vietnam have formed forms of industrial symbiosis such as: utility symbiosis and infrastructure sharing; by-product symbiosis and waste exchange; symbiosis of common services.

Developing industrial symbiosis services in Industrial Zones could help businesses save raw material costs and transportation costs; thereby increasing profits, increasing competitive advantages, helping to improve environmental records, reducing dependence on natural resources, improving the reputation of enterprises with customers and local communities. At the same time, it also helps the Industrial Zones step by step transit to a green ecological development model.

However, in Dong Nai Province, this type of service is still few and unclear. Is it just a symbiosis of utilities and sharing infrastructure: electricity, water, wastewater treatment. The rest, enterprises find their own sources of raw materials, human resource training units, transfer partners or process by-products and waste. Mr. Thinh said that Industrial Zones in favor of a few industries such as Nhon Trach textile and garment, Tam Phuoc and Long Thanh wood processing are convenient to deploy the form of symbiosis by-products and waste exchange. For example, furniture manufacturing enterprises can supply sawdust for plywood factories; wastewater treatment companies can supply water for textile dyeing enterprises, biogas for enterprises using biomass fuel; food processing symbiotic with production of animal feed.

Mr. Cao Viet Chuong, Director of Nhon Trach 6 Industrial Zone shared, circular economy, industrial symbiosis is an inevitable trend to help prevent pollution and towards the development of ecological Industrial Zones. Nhon Trach 6 Industrial Zone aims to transform in this direction, but there are still many barriers in terms of mechanisms and laws. For instance, Nhon Trach 6 Industrial Zone wants to reuse the surface cleaning solution of steel pipes of SeAH Vietnam Steel Co., Ltd in the Industrial Zone, but according to the regulations, this solution is classified in the group of wastewater type A, must be transferred to a unit with a processing function, then transferred to a symbiotic enterprise, which is very roundabout and expensive.

Ms. Hoang Thanh Nga, Textile Program Manager of the International Organization for Conservation of Nature in Vietnam - WWF Vietnam said that greening the production process, commitment to environmental protection and low emissions are the criteria that enterprises in the textile and garment industry must comply with when participating in international supply chains. However, most Industrial Zones do not have or lack industrial symbiosis services. Currently, there are not many models and initiatives on waste exchange, energy, water circulation between textile and garment enterprises in the same Industrial Zone and between Industrial Zones; There is no connection between Industrial Zones, enterprises and residential communities to protect the surrounding environment.

Financial and legal support are necessary

In fact, there are enterprises in Dong Nai that apply the form of industrial symbiosis, but it is not yet popular. Due to the lack of land area and expertise, large investment costs, a complete symbiosis model has not yet been formed.

Mr. Binu Jacob, General Director of Nestlé Vietnam, said that businesses are very interested in the type of symbiosis by-products and waste exchange. However, because the Industrial Zone does not have this form of symbiosis, enterprises must cooperate with individual units. For example, cooperate with an unburnt brick manufacturing company to reuse sludge and ash from coffee production; cooperate with packaging recycling company (cans) to reduce waste. Enterprises themselves reduce primary plastic through innovation and improvement of packaging; recirculating water tank Lavie type of 19 liters.

According to the representative of Amata Industrial Park, in 2021, the IP was selected by the Ministry of Planning and Investment as a pilot project to implement the Eco-Industrial Park Deployment project in Vietnam following the approach from the global eco-industrial park program. This project encourages the industrial park to complete technical and social infrastructure to connect and support enterprises to implement industrial symbiosis; encourage enterprises to cooperate with each other or with third parties to train human resources, use production inputs, reuse waste and excess energy in order to reduce costs. However, up to now, there has been no legal support or capital for Industrial Zones or enterprises to convert.

Vo Tan Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that the development of new Industrial Zones in the direction of specialization to apply industrial symbiosis forms in Dong Nai, Binh Duong or Ho Chi Minh City is difficult because of many different professions, qualifications and technological capabilities. The solution is to convert from a traditional Industrial Zone to an ecological one, and a green Industrial Zone creates opportunities for businesses to symbiotically form a circular economic system in the Industrial Zone. Through this system, investors can save production and circulation costs, and lower product costs. 

Nam Vu