Think Playgrounds! – VB4E’s Member – received a certificate of merit from the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources & Environment for their contribution to creating green spaces in Ha Noi.

Think Playgrounds!, is a social enterprise founded with the goal of finding simple, effective and innovative solutions to build playgrounds for children living in the city center.

Think Playgrounds! also aims at building green, ecological spaces, promoting biodiversity and environmental friendliness.

In Hanoi, Think Playgrounds has implemented many meaningful projects, benefiting residents and the environment. Among which is The Playground and Community Forest Garden in Bo Vo, Chuong Duong. This is the first community forest garden in Hanoi, designed according to the principle of Permaculture.

In addition, Think Playgrounds collaborating with Keep Hanoi Clean and Network for a Livable Hanoi implemented the Greening Living Space project in Xom Phao – Bai Giua, Red River. The project focuses on developing floating house model and safe and sustainable public space through community training and improving waste management.

For more detailed information about the activities of Think Playgrounds!, please visit:

Webite: https://www.sanchoi.org/TPG/trang-chu

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thinkplaygrounds/

Kick-off Conference on “National Action Plan on Circular Economy 2022” – Zero Net Emissions – From Commitment to Action

On June 28th, 2022, the “Kick-off Conference – National action plan on circular economy” was held in Hanoi with participation of government leaders, representatives of development partners, Ambassadors, representatives of enterprises, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities, research institutes and leading experts on circular economy. At the exhibition, VB4E members shared a number of activities and initiatives to promote the Circular economy as follows:

– Lagom Vietnam Company – Introduced program to sort, collect and recycle milk cartons into educational and commercial products.
– INSEE ECOCYCLE Company – Applied waste co-treatment technology in cement kilns. This technology has been certified to be safe and environmentally friendly: high and stable temperature (up to 2,000°C), leaving no ash, no additional CO2 generation during waste treatment.
– The Social Enterprise “Keep Ha Noi Clean” – Built a business model that reuse fashion waste; clean agricultural models, minimizing climate impacts through thermal organic composting.
– BiofixFresh Company – Wastewater treatment solution: renewable energy, reuse water. Bio-composting solution: Turning waste into a valuable, environmentally friendly resource.
– Fund for Vietnamese stature – Communication activities to raise public awareness on environmental protection, reduce plastic waste and plastic pollution, contribute to supporting the implementation of the Ecological Economy through a number of projects such as “Youth” for the Environment”, “Female reporter taking action to reduce plastic waste and plastic pollution and the contest “Plastic Talk”
– Social Enterprise Think Playground – Building ecological public spaces, community gardens in urban areas using recycled materials.

On May 31, 2022, IUCN (International Union for Nature Conservation) and Binh Dinh Fisheries Department in association with Avani Resort in Quy Nhon city organised a training workshop on conserving sea turtles and their habitat. Participants include representatives from the fishery resources protection community groups of Quy Nhon Bay, Quy Nhon City People’s Committee, Provincial Fisheries Association, etc as well as tourist businesses.

In addition to providing participants with basic knowledge on sea turtles conservation, the training also discussed other environmental issues such as waste management especially plastic waste. At the workshop, IUCN introduced VB4E platform and new project ideas to mobilize business participation.

The issues of waste littering in the ocean by the local residents and beach encroachment by food businesses at Bãi Xép, Ghềnh Ráng distressed tourist businesses as this is an attractive tourist area with high-end resorts for potential domestic and foreign visitors.

Overall, in order to keep up with the “Clean tourism city” award by Asian, the local authorities need to take stronger measures and regularly address environmental issues at the city’s tourist destinations along with the environmental compliance of tourist businesses.

The workshop also reached the initial consensus of some businesses and community groups to conserve marine turtles and the environment. Taking the lead in the process is Avani Resort which signed an agreement with Binh Dinh Fisheries Sub-Department to coordinate and support marine turtle conservation in Quy Nhon Province.

Lagom Joint Stock Company – focusing on collection and recycling of used milk boxes and packaging waste in Viet Nam – has become an outreach member of VB4E.

With an operating philosophy of neutrality – ‘Not too much, not too little, just enough’, Lagom aims at sustainable waste reduction activities, contributing to a greener Vietnam.

Lagom’s goal is to implement programs and activities on reducing waste, protecting the environment, planting forests, and rebuilding green life.

By joining VB4E, Lagom will collaborate with IUCN and TH Group to implement a project on collecting used milk boxes and paper waste for recycling at some schools in Vinh city, Nghe An province.

For more information about Lagom, please visit https://lagomvietnam.org/

UBS Group AG (a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland) through UBS Optimus Foundation UK has become a new core member of VB4E.

USB has entered the partnership with IUCN for 3 years (2021 – 2014) to implement a project “Advocating for Nature-based Solutions to Address the Coastal Squeeze in Mekong Delta”. The objective of the project is to increase mangroves cover along the lowest and most vulnerable coastline of the Delta by working with the government and businesses to allow mangroves, currently trapped between sea-level rise on one side and the sea dikes on the other, to retreat inland to offset the coastal squeeze.

For more information, please see: https://www.iucn.org/asia/countries/viet-nam/advocating-nature-based-solutions-address-coastal-squeeze-mekong-delta

The UBS Optimus Foundation is a grant-making foundation that offers UBS clients a platform to use their wealth to drive positive social and environmental change. The Foundation selects programs that improve children’s health, education and protection, ones that have the potential to be transformative, scalable and sustainable as well as programs tackling environmental and climate issues.

On 16 March 2022, as a part of its partnership with cement company INSEE, IUCN and Can Tho University (CTU) organize a conservation capacity building workshop in collaboration with the 1,000-hectare Phu My Habitat and Species Conservation Area.

CTU presented the results of a recent biodiversity assessment including threats to the grassland and management solutions.

The assessment showed that biodiversity had declined precipitously: the number of Sarus crane fell from 152 in 2009 to 35 in 2021. The number of native fish and area of Lepironia grassland have also declined.

Several conservation measures were proposed.

• First, conserve the existing Lepironia grassland to attract cranes, which migrate seasonally from elsewhere to feed on Eleocharis plants.
• Second, restoring about 100 hectares where cranes feed and maintain a water depth of 20-30 cm to attract cranes and other native species.
• Third, develop the area’s ecotourism potential with assistance from wetland ecologists. This includes the development of bags, mats, and other handicrafts made by local villagers from the Lepironia grass.
• Fourth, build a dike to prevent any further paddy encroachment and allow for recovery of the natural grassland and visiting crane population. As part of the dike, sluice gates can be used to control water levels to accelerate ecological recovery.

With INSEE support, IUCN will continue to work with all stakeholders to stop and eventually reverse biodiversity loss in Phu My. If successful, this could serve as a biodiversity offset for the wetland within INSEE’s plant in nearby Hon Chong, which has been dug up for the clay needed for cement production.

IUCN through Viet Nam Business for Environment (VB4E) has collaborated with Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE)/MONRE to produce a communications video to show the commitment of retailers on reducing single-use plastic bags through joining the Alliance of Retailers. This activity is a part of Initiative “Rethinking Plastic” funded by EU and BMU. Expertise France is the implementing agency of this initiative in Viet Nam. So far, 16 businesses have joined the Alliance.

Please see the below video to see how retailers committed to reducing single-use plastic bags and plastic waste in their supermarkets, stores, etc.

On January 18, 2022, IUCN, through VB4E and the project “Advocating for Nature-based Solutions to Address the Coastal Squeeze in Mekong Delta” funded by UBS, conducted a field survey of mangroves in Vinh Chau commune, Soc Trang province. The field trip had the participation of PAN Group, CP Group and experts from IUCN. The purpose of the trip is to study and jointly discuss suitable ideas for the project restoring mangrove forests in Soc Trang.

For more information, please click the LINK (Vietnamese only)