In fact, LaVie initiated the energy-saving program in 2002, and in 2007, the company was able to cut power consumption by as much as 100,000 kWh, says Nguyen Thi Tuyet Van, deputy general director of the company. She is highly confident about the significance of the program, especially in the years to come when energy consumption at the company surges alongside its production expansion.

“Given the company’s production expansion program, energy consumption at LaVie is envisioned quadrupling to some 14 million kWh by 2015, so the target of 10% energy saving will promise big returns,” says Van.

To make the target a reality, LaVie sees the widespread awareness among its workforce as a decisive factor. Therefore, the company has rallied all its staff to join the program.

Van says LaVie has encouraged all executives and workers in the company to apply new energy-saving solutions and embrace new innovations. It has also launched emulations on energy saving in all departments to stir up awareness, and reward those with initiatives that bring about energy efficiency.

To further boost awareness, LaVie has had its representatives attend all conferences on energy savings organized regularly by Long An Province’s Department of Industry and Trade. At the same time, the company has also dispatched technicians to workshops in the country and abroad to learn the new practices of energy saving.

Apart from awareness in all the company, LaVie has also decided to invest in new technology as a way to reduce energy consumption. The deputy general director reveals that her company will replace all energy-consuming air compressors by smaller ones that fit the capacities of the current production lines. In addition, it has changed its lighting systems to LED lamps, and reduced water use as a way to cut energy consumption as well.

LaVie will in 2013 install a new production line described by Van as having the most advanced technology in the region, which will be more energy-efficient than the current lines.

“Our target in the next five years is to cut energy consumption by 10% annually by continuing energy-saving programs that have been in place in the past few years as well as embracing new technologies for our production lines,” she says.

She is confident that the target is within reach. “In the first six months of this year, we were able to save on 8%, so the targeted 10% is possible,” she remarks.

Energy saving, according to Van, is just part of the company’s commitment to environmental protection. The company management has also started a program to apply the international standard ISO 14001:2004, which is meant to minimize impacts on the environment in manufacturing. This is the international accreditation system on environmental protection most widely applied in the world, and “when applying this standard system, LaVie will be able to maintain an effective environmental protection system with three main commitments, namely prevention of pollution, economical use of natural resources, and compliance with law,” she says.

By Ngoc Hung in HCMC