The second annual Green Enterprises competition has honoured 12 companies and industrial zones for their efforts to protect the environment. Judges made their decisions based on an assessment of company technology, materials and products, as well as the treatment of pollutants, including waste water, dust and noise.
Nguyen Thi Hong, vice chairwoman of the city People’s Committee, said the competition honoured companies that strictly observed the Environmental Protection Law and other regulations.
Hong spoke at the awards ceremony held at HCM City’s municipal theatre on Monday.
She said the judges also took into account the safety of products and contributions made by companies to raise community awareness about environmental protection.
Hong said companies receiving the award would face fewer barriers in exporting goods in the most selective markets.
The Kido ice-cream joint-stock company, which won second prize in 2006, received first prize this year.
"Our target customers are mostly children, so protecting the environment and ensuring food safety and hygiene are the most important task," Tran Quoc Nguyen, general director of KIDO, said.
Le Dung, deputy director of Majestic Hotel, which won the second prize, said the hotel had saved billions of dong by reducing gas emissions, waste, and electricity costs as well as conserving water and planting trees.
In the health area, Tam Duc Cardiology Institute received third prize for its special attention to patient health.
"Although the investment is not small, it is necessary to have a clean space. It helped increase our rate of infection-free surgeries to 98 per cent," Dr. Pham Bich Xuan, deputy director of the institute, said.
Other winning companies included the Sai Gon, Thong Nhat and Truong Tho milk factories of Vinamilk, the Central Pharmaceutical Company 2 and Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone.