The solutions are expected to help it make savings of VND1.03 billion during the second stage. The company's success from the application of cleaner production solutions has proved its correct decision to change production methods.

Before the implementation of cleaner production solutions in 2009, the company did not have an independent environmental management system, or anybody in charge of the environmental management. The monitoring indicators on waste water and the consumption of water, coal, electricity and oil were not constantly updated independently and therefore timely solutions were not applied when there were changes in those indicators.

Since joining the cleaner production program, the company has adopted a large number of solutions and made positive results. Specifically, it already applied 20 cost-free and low-cost production solutions including training furnace operators; maintaining thermal insulation pipe system; and reducing impurities contained in coal.

Taking into account the results obtained during the first stage of implementation of the solutions, the company is planning for the second stage for the solutions requiring higher investment costs. For instance, the replacement of old tea crumpling system which is now out of date with a new one worth of nearly VND3.2 billion which is expected to take a two-year payback period. The solution will help solve the scattered tea and support workers.

To handle the dust during tea processing, the company installed a new vacuum cleaning system to replace the old and inefficient exhaust system to prevent the environment from pollution and workers from diseases. With a total investment of about VND638 million, the system can recover about 31 tonnes of tea dust each year, save VND186 million, and take a three-year payback period.

The company's third solution was the installation of a waste tea recovery system. Prior to the installation, a large amount of waste tea, around 300 tonnes maybe, were discharged annually, causing heavy environmental pollution. With a total investment of nearly VND3.5 billion, the installed system has an annual capacity of processing about 300 tonnes waste tea, can save more than VND815 million, and take a four-year payback period.

Before adopting cleaner production, the company's old furnace system did not match with the consumption of coal, thus releasing much dust and gas emissions into the environment. Therefore, the company planned to build a new furnace system, with a total investment of VND420 million. The new furnace system can save 70kg per tonne of processed tea, about VND185 million annually, and take a two-year payback period.

Participating in the implementation of cleaner production in 2009, but Khanh Hoa Tea Company's cleaner production measures have brought about practical positive results in terms of economy and environment, significantly reducing the costs of power and coal, the dust and gas emissions released into the environment, while increasing the production capacity and efficiency./.