Vietnam Corporate Sustainability Forum pools key grey matter in Hanoi

Vietnam Corporate Sustainability Forum 2020 officially takes place in Hanoi

On December 10, the important annual event VCSF 2020 themed “Sustainable development in the new decade: Turning Challenges into Opportunities” was organised by the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD, under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry) to promote a dialogue on sustainable development.

The key issues to be discussed in this year’s forum are not only lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic but also core issues that need to be addressed for inclusive and permanent socioeconomic growth in the decade 2021-2030, including sustainable corporate governance, accelerating the circular economy and enhancing public-private partnership (PPP) for sustainable growth.

Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the VCCI cum chairman of the VBCSD said that in the next 10 years, Vietnam will focus on three breakthrough strategies namely completing and improving the socialist-oriented market economy, improving human resources, science, technology, innovation as well as completing a synchronous socioeconomic infrastructure.

“Thus, the VCCI and the VBCSD issued numerous proposals to help realise these three policies. Accordingly, the government should improve policy support for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises as well as startups, build policies to promote the circular economy, complete the legal framework relating to the PPP investment model to match international practice and domestic realities alike,” Loc said.

At the forum, HEINEKEN Vietnam shared its best practice of the RESOLVE model (REgenerate; Share; Optimize; Loop; Virtualise, and Exchange), a circular economy framework. The model uses a holistic approach to create sustainable environmental value such as reducing carbon emissions, protecting water resources, and utilising resources.

“At HEINEKEN Vietnam, we believe pursuing sustainability is the right thing to do, not only for our business but for the country we operate in. Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and we’ve seen the drastic effects recently with the strong storms and extreme flooding in the central region. We have been embedding our sustainability agenda called ‘Brewing a Better Vietnam’ in our business for many years and set our ambitious target to achieve zero waste, 100 per cent water balanced, and use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025," said Holly Bostock, corporate affairs director, HEINEKEN Vietnam.

On the same day, the VBCSD will award 100 enterprises which provide a comprehensive outlook on the sustainability efforts of each enterprise. They are Nestlé Vietnam, INSEE, C.P. Vietnam, and Novaland, among others.