VSIP gets environmental accreditation

VNRE - The Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) has been awarded the ISO 14001:2004 certificate for taking a proactive approach to managing environmental issues and implementing actions to work towards environmental sustainability.

VSIP is the first industrial park in the southern province of Binh Duong to be certified with the ISO 14001:2004 and also the first industrial park in Vietnam to be awarded the certificate by SGS Vietnam, a unit of the Swiss-based SGS SA, a world leader in inspection, verification, testing and certification.

VSIP has set its own environmental performance criteria across all levels in the organization’s operations to monitor and manage environmental pollution. Processes are in place to systematically separate and treat industrial waste and to ensure regular maintenance of the sewage treatment plant. Staff have also been trained to supervise tenants’ industrial waste treatment and discharge for conformity with the country’s laws and regulations.

To minimize noise and air pollution, VSIP has reviewed its internal traffic system to provide more and clearer road signage for smoother traffic flow to reduce traffic jams. Rain water harvesting will also be improved for use in VSIP’s on-site nursery that goes towards maintaining its landscape.

Separately, VSIP’s efforts have also been endorsed by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE), who awarded the VSIP with its Greentech Certificate.

Launched in 1996, VSIP is a bilateral cooperation project initiated by the governments of Vietnam and Singapore. It is commercially operated and has enjoyed success as a proven investment location for hundreds of multinational companies with about 394 projects to base their manufacturing and technical service operations, for the domestic and export markets.

VSIP has evolved to become an integrated township and industrial park. There are four VSIP projects in Binh Duong (Thuan An and Ben Cat districts), Bac Ninh and Haiphong with 4,845 hectares of industrial, residential and commercial land.

Out of more than 180 industrial parks in Vietnam, VSIP has been named the “Best Industrial Developer 2008” by UK’s Euromoney Liquid Real Estate magazine.

Reported by Quoc Hung - The Saigon Times Daily