Businesspeople, experts and managers exchanged views on sustainable development and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) practices in enterprises at a forum on March 21.

With the theme of “Gaining a competitive edge – sustaining the future through the 2024 Vietnam ESG Initiative,” the forum was organised by the Agency for Enterprise Development under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in coordination with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Vietnam Improving Private Sector Competitiveness Project (IPSC).

The participants also discussed what businesses should do to meet new requirements, and corporate administration strategies in the new context, among other issues.

Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy, Director of the Office of the Private Economic Development Research Board (IV Board), said amidst global economic integration, Vietnamese businesses are facing many challenges in meeting stringent requirements for green, sustainable development set by investors, partners, and international markets and consumers, noting ESG practices would help them not be left behind on the path towards green growth.

Some participants said green, sustainable transition requires huge investments, thus long-term investment visions in cutting-edge and energy-saving machines should be set out.

They also suggested the establishment of ESG committees at listed companies with their own personnel.

The forum provided a panorama picture of sustainable transformation requirements at home and abroad, as well as their impacts on Vietnamese firms, and updates on the Vietnam ESG 2024 Initiative

The 2024 Vietnam ESG initiative, co-launched by USAID and the MPI, encourages businesses to align sustainable development strategies with their business goals to seize new opportunities in the context of green transition, and improve their competitiveness when joining the globally supply chain.

Enterprises, cooperatives and business households that are committed to taking actions to deploy and apply ESG practices, transform or expand a sustainable business environment are encouraged to register for the initiative before 5:00 p.m. on March 31, 2024.

They should visit https://esg.business.gov.vn/esg-vietnam or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usaid.ipsc. to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

Participating businesses will receive support to approach domestic and foreign partners that will help them with sustainable business ecosystems, improve their reputation, and attract clients, partners and relevant sides.

Notably, three selected enterprises will receive technical support valued at up to 2 billion VND (81,000 USD) to pilot, implement, or roll out ESG initiatives towards green transition.

VNA