VIETNAM, December 30 –
HÀ NỘI – While circular economy has become a trend in developed economies, it could also be implemented to develop Việt Nam if there is an appropriate legal and policy corridor, experts said.
At last year’s COP26 climate summit, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said the country will develop and implement strong emission reduction measures to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Minimizing the amount of plastic waste that enters the environment each year is among the solutions that balance the interests of businesses and consumers, say the experts.
A circular economy is a concept first used by David Pearce and Kerry Turner in 1990 to refer to a new economic model based on the fundamental principle that everything is an input to something else.
Under the Circular Economy Mechanism, all waste output from one industry should be put into an input resource of another industry or circulated internally within a company. The circular economy adds value to businesses, reduces resource use, lowers waste treatment costs and minimizes environmental pollution.
According to Future Planet, the circular economy should be a trend for everyone because of its outstanding benefits. The first strength of the circular model is that it boosts the economy. Research conducted by Accenture shows that the circular economy could generate $4.5 trillion in additional economic output by 2030 through job creation and innovation.
According to experts, by moving to a circular model, companies use fewer raw materials and have more recycled products. This reduces your exposure to volatile commodity prices and supply chain disruptions while increasing resilience and giving you a competitive edge over traditional linear models.
Most importantly, the circular economy creates a protective shield that prevents plastic waste from going straight into the sea. The solution of delegating plastic recycling to companies and craft villages is currently unsustainable and unsystematic as the daily volume of plastic waste is much larger than the current waste treatment capacity in Vietnam.
Therefore, the amount of plastic bags and bottles that end up in the environment can only be controlled and reduced if manufacturing companies develop their own models for recycling plastic waste.
In Việt Nam, the circular economy model has been applied in some companies in the consumer goods and packaging industries, which have formed the Việt Nam Packaging Recycling Alliance (PRO Vietnam).
According to the roadmap, large companies must implement producer responsibility (EPR) based on the polluter pays principle. The manufacturer is responsible for managing the products after they become waste, including collection and treatment, reuse and recovery, including recycling and energy recovery, rather than just playing a production role and ignoring the waste.
Experts consider it a groundbreaking step towards a circular economy instead of the traditional linear economy. However, an important factor in opening the door to the circular economy is the development of appropriate policies and legal corridors that create the conditions for companies to meet their environmental obligations.
Nguyễn Quang Vinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said: “Vietnam already has circular economy guidelines in a number of recent laws. However, in order to really lay a solid foundation for the circular economy to “take off”, it is necessary to develop a separate circular economy law.”
Vinh said the passage of the Circular Economy Law is essential to facilitate, support, attract and challenge the participation of many business sectors and municipalities in the transition to a circular economy model.
Vinh said a full legal corridor will make it easier for companies to access capital support mechanisms, issue green bonds, access technology and build markets for products made under the circular business model.
As consumer demand for green, eco-friendly products increases, investors will also look to it as a standard in the business valuation process, so applying the circular model will have more benefits in raising capital, the VCCI leader said. — VNS
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