By 2030, DEEP C Group aims to supply 50 per cent of energy demand within its industrial park. — Photo courtesy of the group

HẢI PHÒNG — Việt Nam has witnessed a growth in the arrival of global high-tech brands like Pegatron, Universal Scientific Industrial, Foxconn.

This shows investors are increasingly becoming vocal about their interest in partnering with companies that take sustainability seriously.

It is these industry leaders who are driving a movement as they look for a partner that matches their same sustainable outlook and goals.

As a result, local businesses in Việt Nam, and industrial park developers in particular, are transforming their business model as well as adapting to international standards to attract these “eagles”. Although it can be tricky for industrial parks to balance profitability, concern for environment, and social commitments, there are still multiple ways they can do to stay sustainable.

In 2020, the “Eco-industrial Park Intervention in Việt Nam – Perspective from the Global Eco-Industrial Parks Programme” project was launched in HCM City by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). At the workshop, five industrial parks across the country were chosen to implement eco-industrial park initiatives. The project will be carried out in a period of three years with an aim to establish a more sustainable industrial park model and pave the way to the replication of this model across Việt Nam in the future.

One of the five pilot industrial parks is DEEP C Hải Phòng I (also known as Đình Vũ Industrial Zone), the first footprint of DEEP C group in Việt Nam. The industrial park cluster has gained a reputation as the only European-managed industrial park in Việt Nam, with compatible European quality in all business aspects, from general infrastructures, utilities supply to park operations. Located in Hải Phòng City and Quảng Ninh Province, DEEP C Industrial Zones is the northern representative of the project.

Long before the recent selection, DEEP C implemented their environmental sustainability strategy on four pillars: power, water, waste, and green zone. The main goal is taking the complexity out of investing in Việt Nam while achieving common sustainability goals with investors. Overall, the strategy is to drive economic growth in a sustainable manner for DEEP C, investors and local community.

A view of DEEP C Hải Phòng II Industrial Park in Hải Phòng. — Photo courtesy of the group

Depending on the nature of each industrial park, the developers can adopt different practices to stay sustainable. For DEEP C, they are the first industrial park to make a road from recycled plastics and a smart electricity grid possible in Việt Nam. The recycled plastics road currently lies in DEEP C Hải Phòng II Industrial Park in Hải Phòng. More asphalt roads using recycled plastic will be stretched out all over DEEP C Industrial Zones as an innovative solution to address plastics waste and advance circular economy in Việt Nam.

The group is now working on the generation of renewable energy from rooftop solar panel and wind turbine. By 2030, it aims to supply 50 per cent of energy demand within its industrial park. Sustainability is also present in reusing of treated wastewater for various industrial purposes such as cooling tower of tenants, preserving mangrove forest along our port area as a natural buffering.

Construction work comply with strict standards on safety and environment before, during and after construction such as innovation (road made from plastics), sustainable sourcing of materials (containers), sustainable sites, energy efficiency (optimising solar and wind energy), indoor environment quality and water efficiency. In the years to come, DEEP C’s ready-built factories will be designed in the most nature-friendly way possible with LEED standards.

“We believe that eco-industrial park is the future of the industry and are happy to raise the standards for developing infrastructures inside industrial park and spread the benefits of eco manufacturing," said Koen Soenens, General Sales and Marketing Director at DEEP C Industrial Zones.

"Sure it’s good for the environment, but it’s also good for the image, the quality of working and living, and it’s cost-saving for the maintenance and operations.”

DEEP C Industrial Zones launched its base in Hải Phòng City, Việt Nam in 1997 with the development project of Đình Vũ Industrial Zone (nowadays known as DEEP C Hải Phòng I), a collaboration between Belgian group Rent-A-Port and Hải Phòng People’s Committee.

Over the past 23 years, DEEP C has evolved to be one of the largest industrial park developers in Việt Nam with five sub-zones covering 3,400 ha of industrial land, forming an industrial cluster in Hả Phòng City and Quảng Ninh Province – the most dynamic growing region in North Việt Nam. To date, DEEP C Industrial Zones are home to 120+ projects with a total investment of US$4 billion, backed by multinational companies like Bridgestone, Idemitsu, Knauf, Chevron, tesa.