Code of Conduct on countdown plastic to be signed

By signing this Code of Conduct, international partners commit to assessing their current office practices related to single-use plastic, and instituting operational changes to minimize their plastic waste footprint. All signatories also agree to engage their staff in reducing plastic waste and to encourage their partners to adopt low- or no plastic waste-emitting options. 

By taking this joint action, international partners in Vietnam seek to act as change agents in reducing plastic pollution and raising awareness about its negative effects on humans, animals and the environment. 

Photo for illustration. Source: Internet.

The campaign, spearheaded by Embassy of Canada in Vietnam, seeks to raise awareness on the negative impacts of plastic pollution, while advocating for changes – at the behavioural, institutional, and policy levels – that will reduce the amount of plastic waste generated in Vietnam. 

The signing ceremony is a highlight in the Plastic Pollution Advocacy Campaign, which is a joint campaign involving embassies and international partners working in support of Vietnam’s sustainable development.

Following the signing ceremony, there will be a roundtable on plastic pollution, in which policy makers, business leaders, academia, and environmental activists will discuss the challenges in reducing plastic waste and recommend approaches to effectively address plastic pollution. 

For the past months, twenty-two embassies and international partners have been actively engaged in this multi-pronged campaign. Another key element of this campaign has been constructive dialogue with Vietnamese leaders to discuss policy options that will have long-term positive effects on plastic pollution in Vietnam. 

In addition, an on-line campaign #CountdownPlastic has been running on the social media platforms of the Code of Conduct signatories to call for public action on reducing single-use plastic in people’s daily lives and workplaces.