CSR is top of the pops

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The meeting lunch on “Maximising profits through responsible entrepreneurship”, co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Netherlands embassy, will convene business leaders, representing Vietnamese and Dutch companies at Unilever Vietnam office in Ho Chi Minh City on March 31, 2011.

The meeting is for the leaders to share their experience about the Vietnamese approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the opportunities and challenges on responsible business.

The event will be organised at the occasion of the official visit of their Royal Highnesses, the Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands to Vietnam, including over 80 companies in an economic mission led by the Netherlands Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade Henk Bleker. The vice president of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and co-chair of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development Doan Duy Khuong and Minister Bleker will co-host this meeting.

The meeting will focus on questions such as: how can entrepreneur ensure people, planet and profit at the heart of their business; how can the CSR help maximising profits, what are opportunities and challenges for using CSR in Vietnam situation.  In response to these questions and challenges, the participants will raise their issues from practical experience of doing business in Vietnam showing that responsible entrepreneurship can help maximising profit while minimising environmental and social negative impact to the countries.

The Netherlands is currently the number-one EU investor in Vietnam, bringing many businesses to the country with high environmental and social standards. Dutch ambassador Joop Scheffers said: “They [Dutch businesses] are the true partners to Vietnam in its quest to become an industrialised country by 2020 through sustainable economic development.”

He added that “All over the world, Dutch businesses are looking for business opportunities while protecting the environment and promoting labour standards. And increasingly, they expect the same commitment from their suppliers.”