ESG is a sustainable journey

In recent years, sustainable development has received much attention from businesses around the world in general and in Vietnam in particular. This positive trend is spreading far and wide, helping Vietnam work towards realizing its environmental goals as well as the goals of turning Vietnam into a prosperous, developed economy and society.

Accordingly, Vietnam has fulfilled its commitments on the Targets at COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Summit in 2021, on reducing net emissions to "zero" by 2050, aiming to inspire many businesses in Vietnam.

Since COP26, most businesses are aware of the importance of ESG (Environment - Society - Governance) in business. However, according to a survey by PwC Vietnam, only about 30% of businesses said that they plan to implement ESG into their business strategy. This means that the number of companies that have actually implemented ESG is much lower.

This topic was mentioned in the discussion session with the topic "Economic - Environmental Equilibrium" within the framework of the Voting Program for the TOP 50 Typical Sustainable Development Enterprises 2023 by Nhip Cau Dau Magazine. Wednesday, June 29th.

Mr. Vu Chi Cong, ESG Director of VinaCapital Fund Management Company, shared in the Seminar "Economic - Environmental Equilibrium". Photo by Tuyen Phan.

"The number of businesses in Vietnam setting Net Zero targets is still quite low. If those businesses are completely Vietnamese, the distance from understanding the importance of ESG to putting it into a plan for implementation is still quite long", said Ms. Dinh Thi Quynh Van, General Director of PwC Vietnam, during the discussion session with experts.

From the perspective of investors, Mr. Vu Chi Cong, ESG Director of VinaCapital Fund Management Company, said that the reason why Vietnamese businesses cannot practice ESG much is that they are still limited in terms of capacity and technology.

In addition, sometimes some businesses feel scared when they have not yet integrated the ESG trend into their business strategy. Understanding its importance, but being pressured because of its slow pace, has caused some businesses to fall into a state of stagnation.

ESG is a long road, and no one can take a single step that is sustainable. To realize ESG initiatives in the trend of sustainable development, businesses need to follow a pre-designed roadmap step by step.

According to Mr. Cong's share in the discussion session, a business cannot become sustainable tomorrow but can do better every day by implementing simple plans first and long-term initiatives that will perform in a more permanent way.

Similar to Mr. Cong, Ms. Van agrees with the view that ESG is a long journey with no endpoint. Businesses need to complete this journey in order, from small to large. However, she also emphasized that as the world develops, the requirements of ESG will become higher and higher. In addition to building a clear roadmap, businesses also have to keep up with the daily changes in the market to know what issues are receiving current attention and which issues are important to prioritize to face and deal with.

Ms. Dinh Thi Quynh Van, General Director of PwC Vietnam, in the discussion session "Economic - Environmental Equilibrium". Photo by Tuyen Phan.

At the seminar, Mr. Jason Yeo Wee Peng, Director of Project Management Department, UOB Vietnam, said that additional costs arising from pursuing ESG initiatives can have an immediate impact on corporate profits and are therefore less attractive. If we look at it from a long-term perspective, companies see strategic value in starting their ESG journey early.

Practicing ESG is a transformational process that requires constant effort to get better every day. And sustainable development is a long way that businesses in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular need to go for many more years.