by James McBrien

20 July 2005

Ha Noi, Viet Nam: When I visited the UNV stand at the Shell Project Better World (PBW) Lustrum event (or 5-year anniversary) in early 2004, I didn’t expect that within 12 months, I would be the first Shell corporate volunteer working on assignment with UNV.

In late 2004, I read about the PBW/UNV pilot projects in the PBW Synergy newsletter and spoke to someone in the PBW New NGOs team. There was an opportunity to place two volunteers with experience in petrochemicals technology with a UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organization) project in Viet Nam. The volunteers would each be working with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and UNIDO in Hanoi for a period of three weeks to help develop a strategy for used oil collection and recycling in Viet Nam. In this case, used oil refers to used lubricant oils, e.g. engine oils, that have lost their original lubricating properties and cannot be used for that purpose. It sounded like a very interesting project closely linked to a core Shell business. I approached my line manager and HR representative to gain support to apply for the project. By early January 2005, UNIDO and UNV agreed to accept me for the placement.

Reflections
After over 24 hours of travelling, the green paddy fields and the Red River appear in sight through the mist. I am about to land in Hanoi on Sunday 20 February. What sort of culture shock can I expect?

The first day in the office, I was met by staff from UNIDO, UNV and the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry to agree on the objectives for my three weeks and logistical arrangements. In the late morning, we went to the Institute of Industrial Chemistry site just outside Hanoi for a tour of the laboratory and introductions to many people who I would meet on almost a daily basis in coming weeks. It was clear that a lot was expected from my participation in the project. I was the first volunteer from “Shell” to work on a UNIDO project, and had to ensure that expectations from all sides in the project were understood and addressed.

For most of the first week, I was based at the Institute of Industrial Chemistry, travelling by taxi every day through the busy streets of Hanoi. This was a very useful experience as it allowed me to learn about the activities of the institute and about the current situation in Viet Nam regarding used oil. While people were very friendly, verbal communication in English was often difficult. During that week, I also made use of the Internet to find out more about technology for collection and treatment of used oil. After a few days, I visited the Shell office in Hanoi and met some colleagues, who were able to give me further useful information about the lubricants market in Viet Nam. By the end of the week, I had really learned a lot. For the first weekend, many colleagues at the Institute offered to show me around the city of Hanoi. I was really impressed by their hospitality and patience with me. It is a beautiful city with many historic temples and pagodas, as well as a vibrant shopping area.

During the second week, the plan was mainly to conduct field visits along with staff from the Institute of Industrial Chemistry to businesses that use and/or recycle lubricant oils at the moment. One of the first sites was the central workshop of Vietnam Railways where most locomotive engines in Viet Nam are serviced and have their engine oil, gear oil and hydraulic fluid changed periodically. Most of the used oil is collected and drums of it are sold at an auction every few months. According to most people, used oil in Viet Nam mainly ends up as a cheap fuel or lubricant in the construction industry. Toxic materials, such as heavy metals or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), often end up polluting the soil and groundwater, or toxic sulphurous gases are released to the air from uncontrolled combustion of the used oil.

We also visited a small used oil re-refinery outside Hanoi. This is the largest oil re-refinery in the country, making lube oils for light tractors, ship and boat engines, as well as fuel oil and grease. The equipment used there was really quite outdated, and it doesn’t really compare with state-of-the-art chemical plants. The owner of the re-refinery was very keen to participate in the UNIDO/IIC project to learn about best practices and to be able to produce better products.

Another interesting visit was to the coal mining area near Ha Long Bay. The owner of the mines, Viet Nam Coal, is one of the biggest employers in the country with 100,000 plus employees. Several million litres of engine oil are used by their many Caterpillar trucks per year, with less than 50 per cent being collected during oil changes. Management of Viet Nam Coal are keen to capture more of this oil through training for employees on the harmful effects of dumping used oil and improved procedures.

Once back in the city, I visited several motorcycle wash shops in the area near the institution with a colleague from the IIC. Within about an hour walking around, we had visited eight motorbike shops! Quite a surprise! While most of the shops only sold about 10 bottles (0.8 litres each) of engine oil, they were all visited at least once a day by someone who was keen to buy any used oil from them. Therefore, they try to collect as much as they can. Unfortunately, the shop owners were not so certain what happened to the used oil.

During my third and final week, it was time for me to write up my findings, which would form the strategy part of the UNIDO/IIC project document. It was important to get a draft of this sent out early in the week so that people in UNIDO, IIC, Shell Viet Nam and Shell GS could read the document and we could discuss it before my return to the Netherlands. This was quite a challenge, but people were keen to help me produce a good document that will be useful as this project moves forward to reduce pollution and economic waste in Viet Nam. In the strategy document, I tried to summarise my findings over the three weeks.

From a personal perspective, all people I had contact with were extremely hospitable and helpful. It was also a real opportunity to learn about Vietnamese culture by working, eating and drinking with them at the IIC, where I was the only foreigner. It was also an opportunity to find out how UNIDO works in developing countries to improve prosperity and quality of life for people, especially the challenges of dealing with a highly centralized socialist government. All UN people I dealt with were very knowledgeable and hard working. Additionally, I had very useful discussions with Shell employees in Hanoi and GSUK to guide my strategy document for used oils. This was also an opportunity to learn about the lubricants business and also how Shell’s business is growing in Viet Nam as the markets opens up there, so I think it was a good learning opportunity that should help me in my Shell career.

Initiated by Shell employees, Project Better World (PBW) aims to make Shell’s sustainable development commitment tangible. PBW works closely with a number of NGOs to engage Shell staff in projects and is currently establishing a new partnership with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV ) programme. James Mc Brien, a chemical engineer from Shell Global Solutions in Amsterdam, was on a UNV assignment in Vietnam from February 21 to March 11, 2005.