In March 2024, Mr. Phạm Quốc Hưng – CEO of VietESG took part in a series of events: Training on internal control, risk management and ESG framework appraisal for Vietnamese businesses. The events took place at 4 locations representing the Northern, Central and Southern regions: Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Can Tho – Da Nang, with more than 200 business representatives attending. The events were organised by the Office for Business Sustainable Development (SDforB – VCCI).
The training events are part of the project “Vietnam Business Integrity Network – VBIN” – a component of UNDP’s regional programme “Promoting a Fair Business Environment in ASEAN”, which aims to promote business integrity in Vietnam.
Given that Vietnamese businesses still have limited knowledge and experience in implementing ESG, VCCI invited ESG experts in Vietnam to take part in the training course in order to build business capacity, promote business integrity in Vietnam, and help businesses join the global ESG trend.
As an ESG expert, Mr. Phạm Quốc Hưng shared with businesses knowledge of ESG from the fundamentals to advanced topics, helping them move closer to the international ESG standards currently in practice.
The trip helped VietESG grasp the real needs of businesses
Mr. Phạm Quốc Hưng said: “This trip was very meaningful. Through meeting, working and exchanging views with businesses, I had the opportunity to understand their real needs in carrying out the transformation within their own organisations. Their plans and aspirations, and their expectations of implementing ESG, serve the following purposes:
- Businesses want to implement ESG to improve operational efficiency and increase their own value, as well as to meet legal requirements more effectively and improve governance effectiveness.
- Businesses hope that through implementation they will have the opportunity to access green credit from banks, as well as the chance to receive investment from investors.
In reality, however, what we observed is that almost none of the businesses yet have a clear concept of ESG. Although they know ESG has always been present in all of their activities, from governance to human resource management, for example: managing industrial wastewater treatment systems; food hygiene and safety;… the concepts of ESG are still understood and practised in an unsystematic way, without in-depth understanding within the businesses.”
Through this trip, the businesses gained an awareness and an overall understanding of ESG. As a result, they can implement it in a coordinated way and have the opportunity to access ESG-related capital and investment.”
A representative of an exporting business in Can Tho: “Through the training course, I realised that ESG is actually very close to our own line of business. I have also gained the basic knowledge needed to implement an ESG framework for my company. In the coming time, we are confident that applying ESG to our corporate reports will help us win over the high-quality international partners we previously lost when we had not yet applied ESG standards.”
VietESG’s coordinated plan to support businesses
Mr. Phạm Quốc Hưng said: “VietESG is implementing a coordinated plan to support businesses:
- First: Organising training and activities that share knowledge, values and global standards and norms, as well as the legal regulations of regions such as the US and Europe that apply to Vietnamese businesses; thereby raising awareness among businesses and supporting them as they “go global” and expand into markets such as Europe, the Americas, South Korea, Japan,…
- Second: As an ESG assessment organisation in Vietnam, VietESG has been supporting businesses in self-assessing and reviewing their own performance. From there, appropriate improvement plans are drawn up to meet customer requirements and improve implementation effectiveness within the business.
In the near future, VietESG is focusing its efforts on advising industry groups and manufacturing businesses with a high demand for ESG, to help them break into markets with strict ESG standards. This is VietESG’s advantage, as it has experts with the qualifications and experience of working with clients in demanding markets such as the US and Japan. In addition, VietESG will roll out development roadmaps for businesses under a plan aligned with the development roadmaps and economic promotion of localities in Vietnam, leveraging each locality’s strengths with industries suited to its cultural and environmental conditions, making local economies ever stronger and helping to raise Vietnam’s position in the international economy.”
Interview with Mr. Phạm Quốc Hưng – CEO of VIETESG – Hanoi, April 2024.
