Toyota Motors Viet Nam (TMV) is pushing students to "Go Green" with a new club of the same name launched on Sunday in Ha Noi.
Dang Phan Thu Huong, TMV deputy general director, said at the opening ceremony that the club aims to raise awareness of the community towards environmental protection and mobilise people into gradually changing their behaviour. "With the Go Green programme, TMV once again would like to affirm our commitment to sustainable development in Viet Nam," said Huong.
"Apart from making great strides towards building a green cycle, from production of components to assembly, sales, and customer services, we also wish to work with organisations in carrying out the most comprehensive environmental programme," she added.
She stressed that the club hopes to directly implement and support other environmental activities which focus on minimising and halting damage to the environment in Viet Nam, as well as offer support and aid to individuals and organisations affected by environmental damage.
In their action plan running from this month to June 2009, club members will advertise their activities to students, and encourage them to join in on environmental protection.
"In our Paper Bag Campaign, the club will launch a movement to collect waste paper at offices and recycle them, starting at Toyota Viet Nam’s offices and then others," said the head of the club, Nguyen Thi Thanh Hai.
According to Hai, other plans include setting up a music band, a campaign to clean the streets of the Old Quarter in Ha Noi, fact finding tours to a number of factories to see how these factories treat waste, and tours for club members to tourist sites and rural areas to see how these sites deal with waste.
The Go Green programme will be implemented through three modules including activities, education and community programmes.
Go Green, the new environmental protection programme, was launched last month by TMV in conjunction with the Viet Nam Environmental Protection Agency (VEPA) and the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET).
Hundreds of students from colleges and universities, as well as secondary schools in major cities like Ha Noi and HCM City, have already pledged support.
Professor Dr Nguyen Lan Dung, president of the Viet Nam Biology Association, is helping to advise the club.
The club has an advisory board of technical consultants who will ensure the implementation of activities. The club will also offer a resourceful forum for "green on-line users" who can discuss and exchange ideas on environmental protection.
