The featured speakers are Professor Rolf Dubs and Mr Benjamin McCarron. With a lecture on experiences from global economic and financial crises, Professor Dubs, member of VNH and former president of the HSG University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), shared sustainable governance methods for senior business leaders to adjust their argument frames to business objectives, priorities and measures of success in the context that global economic crisis has passed. Mr. Benjamin McCarron, head of research at Responsible Research Institute (Singapore), delivered a presentation on “Research on sustainable development”, highlighting methods for companies to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related concerns into their renovation strategies.

 

Ms Min Hwa Hu Kupfer, Chairperson of Vietnam Holding, remarked that “Four years after the global financial crisis, there still remains some uncertainties here in Vietnam and abroad and it is tougher for companies to stay successful and competitive without a well-considered long-term view. It is ever more pertinent for investors to be able to identify and invest in these long term winners. Such long term winners will be those who have integrated in their strategic management the fact that sustainability requires financial performances but also a proper management of long-term risks

 

Vietnamese businesses are facing with challenges and seeing opportunities in the process of [economic] transition and international integration. In this context, sustainability is the requirement of contemporary age; hence, businesses play a central role in socioeconomic development. There are four essential issues in strategic management innovation on the road to sustainable development: business performance; practical profit for the short-, medium- and long-term business development; law-abiding spirit in not only economy but also in environment and society; construction and standardisation of ethical codes and social responsibility and finally strong commitments to charitable activities, sharing of difficulties and disaster [impacts] with the community and on the word.

 

Besides, business strategies need to be directed to creativity, innovation and application of environment-friendly technology. However, scientific and technological application needs to be based on corporate strengths to promote them and minimise weaknesses to develop. This is a difficult issue for the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) to gather the Vietnamese business community to join hands with international companies to work out sustainable development programmes - one of the most important contents of VBCSD operating objectives - like training, sharing experiences and applying new management model like Vietnam Holding 6.

 

Legally, the rate of law compliance in Vietnam is not high; hence, to achieve sustainable development in terms of laws, [we] need to converge three points. Firstly, it is necessary to enhance the publicity, transparency and applicability of legal documents. Secondly, it is essential to uphold training and awareness of laws from school to family. The final is enforcement sanctions. If legal document system is good, legal infrastructure is good, public awareness is good but sanctions on violations are not strict enough, it is a hurdle to sustainable development.

 

It is a mistake to exclude environmental and social responsibility as well as workers’ benefits from economic growth. Social sustainability means guaranteeing social consensus while environmental sustainability means protecting continued growth for future generations, not pursuing today growth and leaving restraints on the future growth. As a laggard, it is important for Vietnam to be creative and intelligent and acquire good things from countries which take the lead in sustainable development and get rid of costly lessons in environmental devastation experienced by developed countries.

 

Moreover, it is necessary to make public incomes, especially those involved in devastating the environment like illegal loggers and miners to strengthen the strictness of the law and ensure justice for people suffering from pollution.

 

Vietnam is a developing country. If it immediately applies new strategic management paradigms for sustainable development, businesses may encounter many difficulties and challenges because their capacities are weaker and visions are shorter than the world standards. It is important to direct businesses towards sustainable development now.

 

It is necessary to have transparent business laws which harmonise related interest groups to create favourable conditions for business activities. Overlapped, complex and unsuitable laws will inhibit creativity and development of businesses.

 

Vietnam goes behind other countries; thus it will have to face daunting challenges in sustainable development. However, this will not inhibit Vietnamese businesses from moving towards sustainable development but they, on the contrary, have more valuable experiences to avoid problems foregoers have met. Vietnam may still exploit crude natural resources and export minerals but it will adopt effective environmental protection policies.

 

To move to sustainable development, it is critical for Vietnam to have standards for young generations, businesses and the entire society to protect the environment, behave and enforce laws. Any company that wants to develop sustainably must comply with legal provisions, not only pursuing economic values but also protecting environment and guaranteeing legitimate rights of workers.

 

For Central Seed Corporation, social responsibility is not only demonstrated in environmental and charitable activities but also focused on human resources. The company improves employee treatment policies, creates cultured workplace, raise incomes for workers and specially creates jobs for the society. As an agricultural production concern, the company always shares its partner farmers and introduces climate-adaptable and soil-protecting crops. This is one of the company’s sustainable development orientations. The company also builds scientific and technological gardens, provides free training for farmers, and creates jobs for thousands of farmers through its training and seeding programmes.