The L Foundation for Sustainability

News Feature
Contact: Alexis Lpez
Telephone: +1 425 358 3066
Cell phone number: +84 0126 272 6104
E-mail: lope7228@vandals.uidaho.edu

Release Date: April 19, 2016

SUSTAINABILITY MEANS MORE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Cost-saving Sustainable Features Key to New Business Opening
DA NANG, Viet Nam (April 15, 2016). A new, unassuming type of business has been built
right on the outskirts of the city.
The building looks like any other warehouse from the outside, but the planning and
development for the structure was geared toward making this new textile plant a low-cost,
safe and environmentally friendly business. Workers are putting the final touches on the
building before it opens later this week. Once finished, the plant will employ around 100
workers from the area.
Put the water tanks over there for now Le Khanh Ngc tells a subcontractor as she
shows me around the facility. The tanks, Le says, are for storing rainwater and groundwater
after it has been filtered and is ready for use in the plant.
Textile manufacturing uses hundreds of liters of water a day. So, instead of using city
water Le has figured out a way to capture and use non-potable water from natural sources.
Although Da Nang is a beach town and gets plenty of rain during the rainy season, we often
have droughts so finding consistent sources of water is important, she says.
But she didnt just stop with water. After first hearing about sustainable principles at a
local Chamber of Commerce meeting, she talked with a friend and fellow business owner
who used some of the ideas while building a restaurant and said the changes have saved her
more

SUSTAINABILITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

money in operating costs. Le tells me that she applied for and received $10,000 in assistance
to build sustainability into her plant. She says the funding comes from two sources: the local
governments small business support program and one of the United Nations Development
Programs small grants.
With the assistance shes received, she was able to focus on lowering her electricity
costs and improving worker conditions. The textile plant is actually cooled using radiant
cooling, with water pumped in a loop from underground to the ceiling of the structure and
back again to cool the air inside. Le also said that she used rice husks, a locally available
waste product to insulate her walls. This type of construction makes the inside of the building
very comfortable and costs very little she says and by spending a little more to use natural
detergents and dyes, Ill protect my workers and the environment from harsh chemicals.
The plant is lit by large skylights and some low, shaded windows. Solar panels on the
roof provide energy to batteries for limited indoor lighting after dark. We will adjust our work
schedule to match the daylight hours, says Le, so we can enjoy our work environment during
the day and our personal lives at night.
Le says that the savings lead to another great benefit from the sustainable building:
she can start paying workers higher wages as soon as she opens the plant. Word is getting
out and she has received hundreds of applications for people wanting to work for her. If shes
successful, she hopes to expand her business and offer even more jobs to local workers. I
hope my business serves as a model for how to lower building and operating costs, not only
for my fellow business owners but also for my workers.
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The L Foundation for Sustainability is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the
use of sustainable principles throughout society. The organization is comprised of scientists
and business people. Research funding is derived from grants hosted by the United Nations
Development Program and the World Bank. The L Foundation is headquartered in Seattle,
Washington.