Beyond barriers: examining root causes behind commonly cited Cleaner Production barriers in Vietnam

Despite the promotion of Cleaner Production (CP) by government, academia and research institutions in the past few years, only a small number of Vietnamese industries have adopted it. This paper explores why CP has not been widely adopted by industry through an examination of the root causes preventing effective CP implementation in Vietnam. The paper concludes with possible directions for improving the effectiveness and sustainability of CP programs in Vietnam through training and education.
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro Beyond barriers: examining root causes behind commonly cited Cleaner Production barriers in Vietnam Carrie L Mitchell* Department of Geography and Programme in Planning, University of Toronto, 100 St George St., Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada Received August 2004; accepted 22 April 2005 Available online 23 June 2005 Abstract Despite the promotion of Cleaner Production (CP) by government, academia and research institutions in the past few years, only a small number of Vietnamese industries have adopted it This paper explores why CP has not been widely adopted by industry through an examination of the root causes preventing effective CP implementation in Vietnam The paper concludes with possible directions for improving the effectiveness and sustainability of CP programs in Vietnam through training and education Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved Keywords: Vietnam; Cleaner Production; Barriers; Industry; Training; Education Introduction Many Southeast Asian countries have experienced rapid growth in recent years, and Vietnam is no exception The transition from a centralized, planned economy towards a more market-based economy, under the Doi Moi economic reform package of 1986, has enabled Vietnam to grow at rapid rates, with impressive results However, Vietnam’s national strategy of promoting industrialization and modernization has caused serious problems for the natural environment These problems are compounded by the limited financial and human capacity of environmental agencies to enforce environmental management standards [1] The situation is especially problematic in Ho Chi Minh City where industry constitutes a major economic sector, contributing 30% of the nation’s total industrial production [2] Direct regulation, combined with monitoring and enforcement, has been the traditional policy tool used for industrial waste management in developing countries * Tel.: C1 416 978 3375; fax: C1 416 946 3886 E-mail address: carrie.mitchell@utoronto.ca 0959-6526/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.04.010 However, as Vietnam has experienced, this type of control is difficult to balance with an economy focused on growth and lacking the regulatory and financial power to enforce legislation As a result, government institutions and national and international research organizations in Vietnam are seeking simpler (and hence more cost effective) environmental measures for the industrial sector e one of the most popular being Cleaner Production (CP) e so that companies can survive financially, while at the same time reducing their negative environmental impacts As a result, research has been conducted on the feasibility of introducing CP concepts, which are defined by the United Nations Environment Programme as the ‘‘continuous application of an integrated preventative environmental strategy applied to processes, products and services in order to increase eco-efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment’’ [3], to industries throughout the country In 1998 the Vietnam National Cleaner Production Centre was established in Hanoi, with the aim of providing CP training and assistance to clients throughout Vietnam Additionally, the Government of Vietnam listed CP as one of its key strategies for C.L Mitchell / Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 sustainability by signing the International Declaration on Cleaner Production in 1999 and developing the National Action Plan of Cleaner Production (2001e2005) [4] These studies and initiatives have shown that CP can be a successful pollution prevention tool in Vietnam, and that the Government of Vietnam is supportive of CP, both politically and financially However, the reality is that despite the promotion of CP by government, academia and research institutions in the past few years, only a small number of companies have adopted it [5] In this paper I explore why CP practices have not been widely adopted by examining how the commonly cited barriers to CP implementation have neglected to target the root causes that inhibit effective CP implementation in Vietnamese industry.1 The outline for the remainder of this paper is straightforward In the next section I provide a brief background of the industrial sector in Vietnam and its broader institutional context, particularly after the introduction of Doi Moi reforms in the 1980s Following this introduction I discuss some of the root causes for each of the commonly cited CP barriers, and the impact of these root causes on sustainable CP uptake in Vietnam In the final section I suggest possible directions for improving the effectiveness and sustainability of CP programs in Vietnam through training and education Background e the industrial sector in Vietnam Historically, the planned economy was the centerpiece of the Vietnamese Government and, as a result, the Government controlled much of the industrial sector From the early 1960s to the mid-1980s the Vietnamese Government focused primarily on heavy industry, including iron and steel, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, coal, vehicle manufacture, machinery production, as well as ‘light industries’ such as foodstuffs and textiles Typically, resource inputs, such as water, were considered ‘free’ goods This resulted in ‘‘inefficient use of resources and ineffective production methods’’ [6] Additionally, the state did not regularly reinvest in its production lines, which has left industry in Vietnam with old and often obsolete manufacturing technologies [6] In 1986 the Doi Moi reform package was formally adopted at the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam Its aim was to ‘‘end the period of economic stagnation that had existed in Vietnam, and introduce a new era of rapid growth’’ [7] The reform process comprised macro-economic stabilization, market reforms and a gradual shift from central planning to As one anonymous reviewer highlighted, this problem is not unique to Vietnam Many countries face problems with sustainable uptake of CP, which have yet to be rectified through a ‘barriers’ approach to problem solving 1577 a more ‘‘open-door policy’’ with respect to international trade and investment [8] One of the major results of Doi Moi reforms has been the transformation of the institutional framework underlying economic activity in Vietnam The Doi Moi reform package has gradually introduced institutional, legal and regulatory shifts towards a market-based economy In the early 1990s, the Vietnamese Government began to institute a number of reforms to key areas including trade, public expenditure management, public administration, law, and banking [9] This included reforms in state enterprises, the 1993 Land Law, and tax reforms, which enabled assets to be transferred from the public to the private sector [6] The Doi Moi reforms also liberalized international trade and investment by way of the Foreign Investment Law (1987) and included additional measures to improve the climate for enterprises in Vietnam [9] As a result of Doi Moi, more privately owned firms have emerged as well as ‘joint ventures’ with Vietnamese and foreign interests Between 1996 and 2000, for example, the private sector, including joint ventures (JVs), created more than three times as many jobs as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) [9] The economic results of the Doi Moi reforms are, on the whole, impressive It is reported that the economy of Vietnam has grown at an annual average rate of 7.6% over the last decade; GDP has grown at a 2.5 times higher rate in 2000 than was reported in 1985 [10] However, this growth is not without problems, particularly for the natural environment The growth in industrial activities in the country has required more extraction of natural resources, increases in energy consumption, and higher dependence on transportation and other infrastructure, which have all resulted in more wastes and pollution [6] As such, there is an increasing emphasis on concurrent economic growth and environmental protection by both the Vietnamese Government and international donor agencies working in the country Barriers to successful implementation of CP in industry Despite the ‘common sense’ approach of CP and the economic benefits associated with its implementation, CP remains a hard sell to industry, particularly in developing countries such as Vietnam As a result, an extensive literature base has developed outlining the ‘‘barriers’’ to pollution prevention Industry’s inaction towards proactive environmental behaviour is often generalized within one (or more) of the following categories: economic, information, technological, and regulatory The most common constraint, and typically the first to be mentioned when citing why firms lag behind in CP innovation, is economic It is commonly argued amongst 1578 C.L Mitchell / Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 CP practitioners, researchers and policy makers that firms lack the capital to finance new technology and this is the reason for the lack of uptake of CP concepts in industry [11] Following closely behind economic barriers are information and technology constraints Again, it is argued that firms in developing countries are lacking the basic building blocks for CP, namely information about what it is and the technology needed to implement it [12] It is also stated that regulatory barriers, or in other words, the inability of developing country governments to effectively regulate firms is one of the key barriers to successful adoption of CP in industry [13] Attitudinal barriers, or ‘lack of desire’ on the part of industry managers to implement CP, are now more commonly found in the literature and are often cited as a significant barrier to sustainable CP initiatives [14] These common barriers were reiterated in Vietnam during a 2002 Cleaner Production Roundtable attended by company representatives, government officials and academics in Hanoi, Vietnam The participants identified lack of awareness (unaware of how to implement CP, or in some cases unaware of the concept itself), lack of capital, limited CP information, few trained technical experts and poor environmental regulations as the most significant barriers facing firms in Vietnam In addition to these findings, one Vietnamese researcher conducted an analysis of demonstration projects and noted that operational and administrative factors, such as management impassivity and lack of follow-up, are also significant barriers to effective CP implementation [15] CP barriers: examining root causes If eliminating these barriers were simply a matter of training more experts or raising awareness, CP training programs could easily be developed to meet these goals However, a literature review and fieldwork results from research conducted in Vietnam in 2002 suggest that many of the barriers associated with successful CP implementation in Vietnam are in fact part of systemic problems of incorporating pollution prevention concepts into industry Specifically, I conducted 20 key informant interviews in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and administered a questionnaire to 33 CP consultants and trainers throughout Vietnam Questionnaire respondents were geographically dispersed (North, including Hanoi: 20; Central, including Danang: 4; and south, including Ho Chi Minh City: 9) and came from a wide variety of backgrounds, including academia (11/33), industry (13/33) and government (9/33) Due to time constraints and the difficulty of conducting corporate interviews in Vietnam, a comprehensive empirical study of industry was beyond the scope of this research Thus, while this paper may provide new perspectives regarding some of the root causes to commonly cited barriers, a more comprehensive empirical study of industry is required to confirm whether these findings also resinate with a representative sample of informants from the industrial sector In the following sections I will outline the root causes that may lead to barriers for CP adoption 4.1 Root cause number one: Vietnam’s policy environment One of the main barriers to CP implementation in Vietnamese industry is said to be the poor enforcement of environmental regulations This is often attributed to a lack of funds as well as to a lack of trained personnel in environmental agencies to carry out policy objectives While this is true, the lack of effective regulations appears to also stem from the policy environment in Vietnam While environmental support dates back to the 1980s with the introduction of the National Conservation Strategy (1984), environmental sustainability was not introduced in any concrete manner until the release of the National Plan for Environment and Sustainable Development in the early 1990s [15] The national plan enabled a number of policy and legal instruments to be put into effect, including the Law on Environmental Protection (1993), with subsequent air, soil and water standards enacted in 1995, and the 1998 Directive 36/CT-TW concerned with ‘‘strengthening environmental protection in the period of industrialization and modernization of the country’’ [16] These early directives aided the Government in developing the National Strategy for Environmental Protection (2001e2010), which ‘‘considers pollution prevention to be a guiding principle to be combined with pollution treatment, environmental quality improvement and natural resource conservation’’ [17] In response to the guiding principle of pollution prevention, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment is now the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) and the National Environment Agency drafted the National Action Plan of Cleaner Production (2001e2005) However, despite the multitude of national environmental plans that have been drafted in the past few years, many of the recommendations of these plans have not been implemented and numerous environmental regulations have effectively been ignored The Vietnam Capacity 21 Project, funded in part by the United Nations Development Programme, conducted an analysis of the national environmental plans in Vietnam, and summarized that: Up to now, environmental planning in Vietnam has been considered as planning by and for MOSTE, not planning for development of all sectors On the whole C.L Mitchell / Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 ‘environmental’ strategies are not taken seriously by the key resource development sectors and by economic planners This is not necessarily because there is a reluctance to implement them, but because, having not been involved in formulation, they are unclear as to how to so [18] The Vietnamese Government has recognized the problems associated with inadequate coordination between their government agencies, industrial sectors and provinces that have led to difficulty in implementing effective environmental planning in the country As a result, the Politburo of the Communist Party issued the following Directive in 1998: The Law on Environmental Protection has not been strictly enforced, due to the fact that the Party and Government authorities at all levels are not fully aware of the importance of environmental protection, and legal documents on environmental protection are lacking, overlapping and not consistent [and] investment in environmental protection remains low [19] However, researchers still note the existence of ‘‘highly fragmented and decentralized’’ system of central control [20] and inequality between departments [21], which results in ‘‘resistance to cooperate with other ministries on crosscutting issues’’ [22] A good example of this type of resistance can be seen in the formulation of national waste management policies Since the passage of the National Law on Environmental Protection in 1993, both the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Construction have drafted legislation that address solid waste management issues, in isolation of the other Ministry As a result, years after the release of these drafts there is no consensus on which one should be consulted for waste management policies and practices [22] Overall, the current policy environment is not conducive to either enforcing environmental regulations or to effectively promoting pollution prevention tools There is a significant lack of cooperation and understanding between government sectors as to how commitment to social equity and environmental improvement should be managed alongside the government’s development strategy of ‘‘increased exploitation of natural resources and the rapid expansion of resource processing industries’’ [23] This dichotomy of objectives at the state level inevitably leads to confusion at the industry level, when conflicting mandates are passed down by government agencies This is an obvious problem for implementation of pollution prevention policies, which require the cooperation and coordination of various sectors and levels of government in order to be successful and sustainable 1579 4.2 Root cause number two: dependence on outside assistance Two of the barriers noted above, informational and technological, are often attributed to lack of training and limited information, both at the management and technical levels These problems are significant obstacles to successful CP implementation, but may have less to with the amount of training available than the manner in which it is delivered Therefore, I argue that dependence on outside assistance is a root cause for some of the problems associated with lack of awareness and effective implementation of CP concepts Since CP is a relatively new concept in Vietnam almost all of its demonstration projects and training programs have been developed and financed by international organizations The amount of international involvement in Vietnam is typical of CP demonstration projects and dissemination programs in developing countries, which are primarily carried out with the support of external consultants and CP experts Furthermore, it is characteristic that a considerable part of the program costs are met by outside, or international, funds [24] However, a major question arises from this trend, namely what happens when foreign financial support leaves? This is a serious issue, since many companies may not implement CP projects unless they are funded by an international organization [25] This makes economic sense for companies, since demonstration projects often provide free training, and in some cases, help finance the purchase of new technology The inevitable outcome of this is ‘donor-dependence’, whereby firms not take an active role in changing their management and operational behaviours They accept the technology and training provided, but are less likely to make changes that would create a climate for sustainable CP implementation within their companies Hoang noted this attitudinal obstacle in her research on the experience of six of the 13 companies in Vietnam who had received in-plant CP training from the Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre (VNCPC) Specifically, she found that:  The CP assessment methodology and its implementation did not lead to long-term improvement within the studied companies;  There remains a lack of priority on the part of company managers for conducting CP assessments with little encouragement or incentives for promoting and implementing ideas; and,  The CP assessment methodology and its implementation did not appear to raise the consciousness for environmental compliance within the companies [15] 1580 C.L Mitchell / Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 Donor support in Vietnam appears to be a catch-22: without it CP would not exist, but with it companies inevitably take a passive role in environmental management A fine line exists between working with companies and giving them the information needed to become environmentally self-sufficient and working for them and creating solutions that unavoidably repress innovation and creativity at the firm level Currently, there are efforts under way to establish a National CP Network and it is argued that this is necessary to the continued development of CP in Vietnam [26] However, it appears that few donor-funded projects are tackling the sustainability of CP in Vietnam The VietnameCanada Environment Project is working to strengthen some provincial environmental agencies (known as DONREs) throughout the country, so as to increase their environmental knowledge and capacity; the Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre is planning to strengthen the demand for CP consultant services However, the majority of projects are still highly reliant on the financial support provided from donor organizations 4.3 Root cause number three: traditional corporate culture Company officials have been faulted for lacking the necessary knowledge concerning CP and the economic benefits they could yield from its implementation However, it may be that many company officials are unaware of CP, and its profit maximizing potential, because of the corporate culture of businesses in Vietnam Little has been written about corporate culture in Vietnam, and as a result, few researchers have studied the effect of corporate culture’s influence in the adoption of pollution prevention tools at the firm level However, research undertaken in New Zealand suggests understanding ‘‘human dimensions’’ and the role these factors play in sustainable CP uptake is essential for creating successful programs [27] Specifically, Stone suggests that in order to understand the link between ‘‘human dimensions’’ and their relevance for successful CP uptake it is necessary to understand how people behave in organizations, the reasons for their particular behaviour, specific factors that contribute to change, and the methods that bring about this change In general, Vietnamese corporate culture can be defined as static, due to the former system of control over industry in the country Until very recently, the Vietnamese Government made almost all decisions concerning large-scale industrial activities Product mixes and quantities of outputs, as well as the specifics of technological and resource inputs into production were determined by the Ministry of Industry Capital allocations were proposed by the Ministries of Industry and approved by the Ministry of Finance [6] The Company Law was passed in 1990 to initiate the privatization of firms However, in 2000 the state sector still accounted for the largest percentage of GDP [28] This type of management structure suppresses long-term environmental planning initiatives since top management is typically extremely bureaucratic, and because profits accrued are directed back to the state, they are less responsive to incentives found in pollution prevention methods Compounded with these attitudinal barriers is the historical insignificance of environmental considerations within state-owned enterprises ‘‘Resource inputs were priced through planning decisions or considered ‘free’ goods, resulting in a general atmosphere of inefficient use of resources and ineffective production methods’’ [6] In a 1999 study conducted on private firms in Vietnam, it was found that 50% came from management positions in state-owned enterprises [29] Thus, the corporate culture within private firms may share some of the same characteristics as those of state-owned enterprises, since managers come from the state system, and will most likely transfer their style of administration to their new companies [29] In contrast, for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) research suggests that corporate culture may actually facilitate the uptake of pollution prevention concepts The culture of improvisation, innovation and imitation is in large part how SMEs survive in a competitive economic climate This type of embedded corporate culture could arguably support the development of ideas, technologies and products that support pollution prevention concepts such as CP [30] However, due to the overall significance of stateowned enterprises, both in their continued contribution to GDP and to the extension of their management control in private firms, a static type of management style continues to be dominant in Vietnam The result is that a majority of the industrial sector may be resistant to change, undervalue the environment, and have little incentive to alter practices based purely on profit motivation In fact, the traditional corporate culture dictates that funds are best spent in the short-term, often on added production lines rather than on CP improvements often requiring capital investments that realize financial gains over a longer time horizon [25] It is clear that there is a connection between corporate culture and sustainable uptake of CP However, further research on how change and learning occur in Vietnamese firms, particularly related to how they institutionalize CP concepts, would aid this discussion and provide insight into an under-explored area of inquiry in industrial pollution management in Vietnam C.L Mitchell / Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 1581 4.4 Root cause number four: weak internal auditing and accounting systems 4.5 Root cause number five: relevance of Cleaner Production in Vietnam? Lack of capital to finance CP projects is one of the most commonly stated barriers to successful CP adoption in Vietnam However, lack of capital is actually a symptom of a larger problem, namely the weak accounting and internal auditing systems within companies Very few companies in Vietnam have data on the volume of waste generated or the points in their production process where waste is produced As a result, the true costs of inefficient material and production patterns are not clearly understood and firms often not recognize the potential savings that could be accrued from CP implementation [31] This was one of the major obstacles to sustaining CP noted by Hoang in her assessment of VNCPC’s demonstration companies She found that generally companies had a poor awareness of the relationship between trade and the environment and were often unable to account for all their inputs and outputs in the production process [15] At the CP Roundtable in Hanoi (2002) it was stated that most companies in Vietnam not have the financial capacity to implement new technologies or the time to allow employees to develop CP ideas It was also argued that there is an overall lack of funds to support CP initiatives, and as a result, foreign donor technology and training ‘giveaways’ are necessary However, it is a popular misconception that there is a lack of financial capital available for CP projects In fact, both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have environmental funds, which offer low interest loans to companies Yet, as of 2002 only two companies in Hanoi had utilized the fund and overall the funds have met with little success [32] For some state-owned companies funds exist as well, however, capital is often only available for companies that can demonstrate short-term returns on their investments [19] Financial capacity is often weak, despite the availability of low interest loans, because of the limited accounting procedures in place within companies Poor record keeping and a lack of collateral make it difficult for companies to conform to the loan structure set out in the environmental funds As a result, most companies are reluctant to go through the process associated with acquiring a loan, choosing instead to use their own capital or waiting for a financed demonstration project, if they implement CP [25] Financing of CP in Vietnam is hampered by two major problems While there are funds available to finance new projects, the money is not utilized because companies are often not aware of the potential financial benefits from the implementation of CP due to their weak auditing systems Additionally, accounting procedures in place in many companies are not adequately developed for the formal banking system As a result, many companies find it difficult to acquire a loan for implementing CP Finally, it is important to question the concept of CP itself and its applicability in developing countries such as Vietnam While rarely discussed at CP workshops or in consultancy documents, there is a growing debate in ecological modernization literature over the validity of transferring models of ecological reform, such as CP, from industrialized to developing countries [33e35] Critics of ecological modernization have suggested that the theory is based entirely on Western industrial experience and may prove unsustainable in other countries, particularly in the global ‘South’ [36] Further, some authors suggest that ecological modernization’s success should be attributed to specific political and economic conditions in the late 20th century, rather than to its inherent usefulness as a tool for sustainable environmental development Hajer, for example, argues that ecological modernization served to legitimate states’ claims for deregulation and a reduction of its involvement in environmental management, which was in line with neoliberal strategies that dominated government policy-making during the 1980s [37; also see 38,39] As a result, by the end of the 1990s ‘‘to be considered a legitimate voice in environmental policy-making it was necessary to make use, at least to some extent, of the ‘winewin’ type language’’ [40] However, when empirical work from non-European Union countries began to be conducted on ‘winewin’ solutions to environmental problems studies led to ‘‘mixed conclusions on the relevance of this theoretical framework for understanding the processes of environmental reform’’ [41] Further research to explore whether ecological modernization principles are in fact applicable in Southeast Asia, and if so, what are the particular political, economic and social conditions under which these principles may be adopted is thus necessary and timely Possible directions for improving the effectiveness and sustainability of CP programs In the following section I will discuss some possible directions for improving the effectiveness and sustainability of CP programs in Vietnam through one avenue e training and education However, it should be noted that there is much room for further empirical research on context-appropriate environmental management systems, particularly in Vietnam Thus, the discussion that follows is merely a starting point for addressing the lack of CP uptake in Vietnam 1582 C.L Mitchell / Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 5.1 Addressing Vietnam’s policy environment There is a lack of awareness at various levels of government as to the role pollution prevention generally, and CP specifically, can play in promoting economic benefits for industry In order to lessen the impact of regulatory obstacles in the uptake of CP, future environmental plans and economic development initiatives need to be developed in a coordinated effort One way to accomplish this goal is to develop targeted CP training for all government officials involved in industrial development and economic planning as well as for other related ministries Training courses could provide a more detailed understanding to participants regarding the usefulness and necessity of incorporating CP concepts into industrial development and economic plans In Vietnam, specifically designed training could be aimed directly at officials in the Ministries of Industry, Finance, Planning and Investment and Trade Specific details regarding the content of these training programs are beyond the scope of this paper However, all directed training could positively communicate the opportunities that could be realized by Ministries through the incorporation of CP into industrial development and economic planning initiatives Opportunities such as increased efficiency, economic profits and international competitiveness could be detailed; case studies could be used to show how CP has achieved these outcomes in other countries This level of directed training could also strongly promote the advantages of intra- and inter-governmental cooperation and communication in order to address the root causes noted previously in this paper While training and information dissemination are not a panacea for the problems inherent in the current political system, they initiate a dialogue for improved communication and understanding amongst government officials 5.2 Addressing project sustainability issues Donor agencies should take a hard look at their project outcomes to determine if they are in fact achieving sustainable results and adequately addressing long-term environmental management needs in Vietnam Projects that give away technology and/or training should ensure that they are not creating a cycle of dependence and stifling future environmental progress One way to this is to incorporate a sustainability component into each and every CP project Sustainability components within projects could focus on CP marketing via media and television and other forms of press at the same time as introducing demonstration projects Another way to build sustain- ability into programs is to link up with industrial organizations CP concepts could be taught to people who already have the necessary technical knowledge and ideas would be passed on to a wider audience through the support of industry partnerships [42] A further way to promote sustainability is to focus efforts on the content of university programs, particularly in the engineering and other technical based fields Hanoi and Van Lang Universities offer CP as an independent subject and other universities across Vietnam are trying to implement, at the very least, a component of CP into existing programs However, further development of these programs needs to occur as most courses currently lack a practical link with industry, resulting in students who are not always able to effectively implement in industry what they have learned in the classroom [42] International donors could focus some component of their CP projects on skills development in education, with a practicum component in industry Skills development would increase the overall number of trained experts, while at the same time developing a local knowledge base, who could continue CP efforts after donor financing leaves the country The Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre (VNCPC) has also reported that there is a lack of background material, good teaching materials, and teachers who have in-depth CP knowledge [43] International donors could work with VNCPC to develop teaching materials from demonstration projects they have conducted in industry Teaching materials could include textbooks, case study reports and video modules International donors may also want to consider financing CP education for Vietnamese professors from non-environmental fields such as economics, engineering and businesses management This may improve the understanding of CP outside of the environmental discipline Additionally, program cost sharing could be considered Researchers have found that when firms have to pay for a larger portion of the CP assessment services provided, they may pay more attention to recommendations and thus increase the sustainability of projects [44] 5.3 Addressing traditional corporate culture Both national and international CP projects should consider training programs, targeting company management in private firms, to specifically address the issues related to traditional state-run management styles Targeting top management is essential, since they appear to be the key to shifting organizational behaviour in Vietnam [19] Tackling corporate culture through training and education means taking a ‘bottom line’ approach Training programs should explicitly C.L Mitchell / Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 express why CP should be implemented and how it could add economic benefits to the company An effective way to reach a large number of top management would be to promote CP training programs through industry associations or to incorporate CP training into already established organizations, such as the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Linkages with industry associations for CP promotion in other Southeast Asian countries have not had a great deal of success because industry associations were found to have neither the interest nor the skills to take on this role [45] However, in Vietnam, a linkage with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry may be more successful because this association, which has local branches and representatives in eight locations throughout Vietnam, already provides extensive training services to businesses [46] Under certain circumstances, industry associations can be effective disseminators and promoters of CP experiences Stevenson cites the example of the pulp and paper industry associations in Indonesia and the Philippines, which represent firms operating in a very competitive international market [14] In this market environment, improvements in technological efficiency are critical for maintaining or increasing market share Therefore, it may be best to target selective industry associations for CP promotion in Vietnam, such as pulp and paper, and industry associations for other internationally competitive industries, such as seafood processing 5.4 Addressing the companies’ weak internal auditing accounting systems Despite the current popularity of CP, most firms in Vietnam not have the internal capacity to effectively implement and sustain CP on their own While the Vietnamese Government and international donors may be more enthusiastic about seeing impressive results from CP demonstration projects, a more pressing objective of environment programs should be to increase firms’ internal management capacity This could include improving weak internal auditing and accounting systems or, additionally, may require changes at the level of strategic management While this may slow environmental progress in the short-run, it could help build a foundation for long-term sustainable environmental management in the industrial sector Additionally, it may be helpful to introduce the concept of waste audits, whereby a factory quantifies and characterizes all waste from their production process, early in the CP implementation process to ensure adequate awareness of materials lost in the production process 1583 Concluding remarks Increasing urbanization and industrialization have caused pollution to reach an all-time high in Vietnam Cleaner Production (CP), a strategy companies can use to improve their economic and environmental performance at the same time, has recently gained appeal in developing countries However, CP has yet to be widely accepted and implemented by industry in Vietnam, despite its promotion by government, research and academic institutions Through a literature review and fieldwork in Vietnam I determined that barriers to CP implementation are part of systemic problems related to Vietnam’s overall policy environment, the growing dependence of firms on outside financial and technical assistance, the traditional corporate culture and the internal management and accounting systems in companies A few possible directions for improving the effectiveness and sustainability of CP programs in Vietnam are discussed and preliminary suggestions are put forward More specifically, developing courses aimed at government officials to promote greater awareness of CP and to foster greater intra- and inter-governmental cooperation and communication; creating courses directed at top management to transform traditional state-run management styles; developing a sustainability component in all future training, such as introducing more CP courses in universities, to avoid dependence on outside assistance; and, initiating pre-training courses to strengthen internal auditing and accounting practices within companies It is essential that CP practitioners in Vietnam begin to look beyond simple barriers to CP and start focusing on the systemic root causes that are at the core of industrial environmental behaviour Without a clear understanding of the institutional and organizational dynamics behind decision-making processes, it will be difficult to offer any sustainable solution to industrial pollution in Vietnam Acknowledgments Special thanks must be given to the Canadian International Development Agency’s Award Program for Canadians and the Dr David Chu Scholarship in Asia-Pacific Studies for providing funds to support the fieldwork for this paper I would like to gratefully acknowledge the support and guidance I received from Dr Virginia Maclaren and the Waste-Econ Programme I also wish to express my sincere appreciation to Dr Nguyen Danh Son, Dr Huynh Kim Quang, Caroline Hellman, and two anonymous reviewers All errors and omissions remain my own 1584 C.L Mitchell / Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 1576e1585 References [1] Frijns J Pollution control of small-scale industry in Ho Chi Minh City: to relocate or to renovate? 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