Da Nang, (VNA) -  A workshop on increasing awareness in plastic waste management for the private sector in Vietnam was held in Da Nan𝓰g on December 4 by the Center of Education and Development (CED) and the Da Nang branch of the Vietnam Chamber ofꦛ Industry and Commerce (VCCI).

The workshop is part of the “Increase awareness in plastic waste management” project funded by PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo Inc., one of the world's leading food and beverage companies. It is part of PepsiCo’s global approach to support the development of a circular economy and make progress towards the company’s vision of a world where plastics need never become waste. The project is funded through Give2Asia and is implemented over two years by CED in collaboration with partners in Vietnam. One of its objectives is to increase awareness of SMEs in Vietnam about plastic waste collection and treatment management in order to apply a model of circular economy for sustainable business development. 100 SMEs in the central region, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Legal Department - VCCI, and representatives of other organisations attended the workshop, which focused on three main objectives: i) Providing information to SMEs about the impact of plastic waste pollution and solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic products. ii) Shaping a world where plastics need never become waste by raising awareness and new consumer behaviors through initiatives in collecting, treating and recycling plastic waste; iii) Discussing more specific policies on EPR and the roles of business associations based on the newly revised Law on Environmental Protection passed by the National Assembly in November 2020. The workshop built on the November 6, 2020 project kick-off at the Vietnam National Economics University, which trained 35 young Vietnamese environmental leaders who came from universities and colleges in Hanoi, aiming to create next environmental leaders to strengthen plastic recycling education in communities, enhance young people’s awareness of single-use plastic waste and inspire more sustainable behavior changes, particularly focusing on students and youths. “At PepsiCo, we are working to accelerate our sustainability efforts across our entire business, from how we grow our food and make our products, to how we inspire positive change in our communities,” said Sudipto Mozumdar, General Manager of PepsiCo Vietnam. He said PepsiCo shares the concern over the growing threat that packaging waste poses to communities and marine environment, and the company is striving to build a world where plastics need never become waste. He went on to say that the company has strong global commitments to achieve its sustainable packaging goals. “In 2019, we announced our goal to reduce our virgin plastic content across our beverage business by 35% by 2025. We are also working to make 100% of our packaging recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable by 2025, and we are about 90% complete. We are increasing recycled content to 25% in our plastic packaging,” Mozumdar said. He stressed that no single organisation or industry can solve the plastic waste challenge on their own. “That’s why we’re working with our peers, competitors, and other industry leaders through initiatives like these workshops with SMEs to educate and actively empower consumers for sustainable plastic management,” he said. CED Director To Kim Lien shared: “The project focuses on increasing awareness of plastic waste management for two main target groups: SMEs and young leaders. For businesses, CED cooperates with VCCI and business associations to increase awareness of the growing issue of plastic pollution and encourage companies to work towards reducing this, through workshops to educate companies and their employees; partner with business associations to help companies change technologies and/or create innovative alternatives to packing to reduce and reuse plastic waste in this sector, and Create a dialogue between the government and companies”./.