HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on Tuesday kicked off a programme for advancing circular economy to protect the environment.

The programme was marked with the signing of a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in implementing a “Zero Waste to Nature” initiative between VCCI’s Việt Nam Business Council for Sustainable Development and Unilever Việt Nam, Coca-Cola Việt Nam and Dow Chemical Việt Nam.

According to VCCI, the global economy was seeing a shift from a traditional linear economy into a circular economy in which waste, instead of being disposed and causing pollution, would be recycled and “revived” in other forms of resources and involved in the production process.

Advancing circular economy would help reduce risks of resource scarcity in the future, tackle environment problems and redefine economic growth.

Nguyễn Quang Vinh, VCCI’s general secretary, said the programme aimed to raise policy recommendations for developing a secondary raw material market, introduce good practices of circular economies of companies in the world to domestic enterprises, and provide support to implementing initiatives under public-private partnership practice.

“Enhanced co-operation is necessary to build a non-emission economy, which will help create more jobs, enhance competitiveness of the private sector and grasp business opportunities worth billions of dollars the circular economy will generate,” Vinh said. “The programme will also contribute to promoting the green growth strategy of Việt Nam.”

The initiative of “Zero Waste to Nature” was the first activity of the programme which had four goals, including solving problems arising from plastic waste, developing a roadmap for promoting sustainable business models, developing circular-economy oriented value chains and raising policy recommendations for advancing circular economy.

Nguyễn Thị Bích Vân, chairwoman of Unilever Việt Nam, said that the company pledged to collect, recycle and reuse all plastic packages of its products by 2025.

Sanket Ray, general director of Coca-Cola Việt Nam, said by 2030 the company targetted to collect and recycle all plastic bottles of its sold products. — VNS