Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, June 21, 2017
– IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is assisting local apparel and textile suppliers of VF Corporation and Target Corporation to improve their resource efficiency and reduce operating costs under IFC’s Vietnam Improvement Program (VIP).
During the past 18 months, 28 selected VF and Target suppliers — with cut-and-sew, dyeing-and-printing, and garment-washing operations — collectively invested $9.9 million in resource efficiency measures, which have helped them save $15 million in water, energy, and chemical operating costs.
“The energy-efficiency savings achieved at VF’s suppliers participating in VIP help validate the merits of our supplier improvement program, and help pave the way for additional scaling of our efforts,” said Brad van Voorhees, Senior Manager of Environmental Practices and Sustainable Operation at VF Corporation, a leading apparel and footwear company. “We have been on this journey with our suppliers for nearly four years, and we appreciate their commitment to strong collaboration and meaningful progress."
By implementing a combination of low cost and more complex factory projects, suppliers achieved average water and energy savings of more than 20 percent, with the highest-achieving factories attaining more than double these average savings. When all the recommended interventions are fully implemented over the next two years, the $26-million capital investment required for retrofits and new, more efficient equipment could collectively save 2.8 million cubic meters of water and 562,000 tons of GHGs annually, with associated productivity and environmental benefits.
“Target actively works with our suppliers to develop programs that reduce the water and energy usage across our supply chain. We are proud of the results we have driven as part of the VIP’s efforts in Vietnam,” said Kelly Caruso, President Target Sourcing Services, a subsidiary of the consumer products retailer Target Corporation.
With about $27 billion in exports annually, the apparel and textiles sector is the second largest exporter for Vietnam and a significant contributor to its economy. “With Vietnam’s rapid growth and increasing textile exports, intervention in this sector provides a key opportunity, with scale, to help Vietnam promote a more sustainable private sector growth,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Lao PDR, and Cambodia. “Positive results, early on in the program, have demonstrated the business case for resources savings.”
“We plan to build on this work and leverage our partnerships with other leading global brands in Vietnam to promote resource efficiency and catalyze clean energy usage in manufacturing supply chains,” said Navneet Chadha, IFC Resource Efficiency Lead for East Asia and Pacific.
IFC’s Vietnam Improvement Program (VIP) has been implemented since 2015 in partnership with the Clean Technology Trust Fund and Korean Green Growth Trust Fund.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In FY16, we delivered a record $19 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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