The Liaison Delegate Meeting of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) was held from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm on August 14, 2015, at Mela Hotel, Tam Dao Town, Vinh Phuc Province. The meeting aimed to assess VBCSD’s performance in the past five years and analyse its current operating context to develop the agenda for VBCSD in the 2015-2020 period.
1. Current operating background of VBCSD
- The United Nations is prepared for the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with 17 goals and 169 specific targets for the 2015-2030 period, replacing the ongoing Millennium Development Goals due to expire at the end of this year. The business sector will play a crucial role in achieving SDGs.
- The Government of Vietnam has recently adopted a range of sustainable development strategies, e.g. the Vietnam Sustainable Development Strategy for the 2011-2020 period, the Vietnam National Green Growth Strategy for the 2011-2020 period, with a vision to 2050, and the National Strategy on Climate Change.
- In the coming time, agendas of the world in general and of Vietnam in particular will focus on “sustainable development” themes. This is a great opportunity for VBCSD to elevate the position and expand the influence.
- VBCSD is a partner in the Global Network of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) constituted by 65 Business Councils for Sustainable Development (BCSDs) in countries and territories. In the coming time, the WBCSD and its BCSD partners will focus on carrying out the Action 2020 on sustainable business. Action 2020 sets an agenda for enterprises to contribute business solutions to address social and environmental problems while strengthening their own resilience to global challenges.
- Inclusive business models
- Resilience to climate change
- Halving food waste from field to fork
- Growth platforms for smallholder farmers
- Responsible employment strategies
- Operationalizing the UN guiding principles on business and human rights
- Reducing shared water risk
- Investing in natural infrastructure
- Forests as carbon sinks
- Carbon capture and storage
- Electrifying cities toward zero emissions
- Low carbon electrification of remote locations
- Tropical Forest Alliance 2020
To realise the WBCSD’s Action 2020, VBCSD coordinated with five Business Councils for Sustainable Development in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to develop an action agenda on sustainable business in Southeast Asia towards 2020 (SEA Action 2020). Projects in the framework of SEA Action 2020 carried out by VBCSD include:
- In the Government’s Resolution No. 19 on improvement of business environment and national competitiveness in 2014 and 2015, VBCSD is tasked to: Support the business community to build competition strategies and sustainable development programmes, apply science and technology, enhance productivity, and exercise corporate social responsibility.
- In the Vietnam National Green Growth Strategy issued in 2014, VBCSD is assigned the following tasks: (1) Expanding the “Sustainable Business” Movement across the country; (2) Supporting the business community to adopt cleaner production; (3) Building a network of providers of technical and management services and service markets for green growth; (4) Raising awareness for businesses and advancing domestic and international green growth experience sharing.
2. Remark on VBCSD’s operation results in the past five years
Communication and awareness-raising
VBCSD spread out information and raised awareness for the business sector and the entire society as well on sustainable development topics and domains such as “Sustainability Reporting”, “Corporate Sustainability Index”, “Corporate Social Responsibility”, “Cleaner Production and Waste Management”, “Energy Efficiency and Adaptation to Climate Change” and “Sustainable Agricultural Development” among others via 50 events, including forums, dialogues, workshops and awards, highlighted by two “Vietnam Corporate Sustainability Forums” in 2014 and 2015 and “Corporate Social Responsibility Award 2012”. Besides, VBCSD created “Sustainable Development” Column on media networks, including newspapers, magazines, specialist publications, website (http://vbcsd.vn/) and TV channels. Nearly 300 articles had been published on local newspapers and magazines like “The People”, “Business Forum”, “Vietnam Business Forum”, “Vietnam Potentials”, “Entrepreneurs”, “Corporate Finance Magazine”, “Environment Journal”, 23 publications and 15 televised talk-shows in Vietnamese and English.
VBCSD updated knowledge and information and trained the application of sustainable development management tools for VBCSD members and businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, business associations and cottage-industry villages. VBCSD hosted 110 training courses for about 5,840 trainees across the country.
VBCSD conducted surveys and prepared policy recommendations reports on “Promoting the Application of Sustainability Reporting in Vietnam”, “Energy Efficiency - Climate Change Mitigation” and “Economic Empowerment for Women”; performed researches on corporate competitiveness in rubber, tea and coffee industries; built the Productivity Improvement Project for enterprises in some sectors in Vietnam and the Corporate Sustainability Index for Vietnam.
Support the Government in the formulation and implementation of policies and national programmes for sustainable development and competitiveness improvement
VBCSD effectively joined the process of developing and implementing policies and national programmes for sustainable development and competitiveness improvement, namely the Vietnam National Green Growth Strategy (2012), the Action Plan for the Vietnam National Green Growth Strategy (2014), the Resolution No. 19 on major tasks and measures to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness (2014 and 2015); offered suggestions for the formation of the Vietnam Sustainable Development Fund and for the establishment of the Coordinating Board for Green Growth. Besides, VBCSD actively contributed ideas and took part in programmes and activities launched by the National Council for Sustainable Development and Competitiveness Improvement through its representative members at the Council.
VBCSD’s important contributions to the Government were recognised and appreciated Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Chairman of the National Council for Sustainable Development and Competitiveness Improvement.
VBCSD developed cooperation ties with more than 100 domestic and international partners in sustainable development in general and sustainable business in particular. Typical partners include the WBCSD's Global Network with 65 Business Councils for Sustainable Development in countries and territories around the world, the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). VBCSD is currently engaged in the construction and development of the ASEAN Corporate Social Responsibility Vision 2020 in the framework of the ASEAN CSR Network as a member of the Board of Trustees, and Action 2020 on sustainable business in Southeast Asia with Business Councils for Sustainable Development in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Additionally, VBCSD is actively supporting the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry to establish the Laos Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Promoting inclusive business models
In the 2012-2015 period, VBCSD joined forces with the Vietnam Business Challenge Fund (VBCF) to finance over 3.4 million British pounds to 21 inclusive business models across the country, helping create over 8,300 new jobs and improve incomes for 6.6 million people. Furthermore, VBCSD collaborated with VBCF to organise conferences and seminars, and create news articles, reportages and TV talk-shows to raise community awareness of these sustainable business models.
Promoting Sustainability Reporting (SR) & Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI)
VBCSD collaborated with many international organisations such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), worked with businesses pioneering in formulating SR and consulting on SR in Vietnam such as Bao Viet Holdings and PwC Vietnam Company to organise workshops and training courses to help Vietnamese companies to improve SR awareness and access SR formulation consultancy. VBCSD also collected opinions and recommendations pertaining to SR from businesses by conducting surveys on the use of SR in Vietnam in 2013 and from two Vietnam Corporate Sustainability Forums in 2014 and 2015. VBCSD processed data and submitted recommendations to the Government to promote SR adoption in Vietnam. In July 2015, VBCSD embarked on the formulation of CSI, aiming to introduce a sustainability measurement and assessment tool for enterprises. VBCSD will use CSI to assess and rate the most sustainable businesses in Vietnam from 2016.
Supporting the business community to adopt cleaner production
From 2012 to July 2014, VBCSD cooperated with the Centre for Environment and Cleaner Production under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to organise 23 training courses on cleaner production and waste management for more than 1,600 managerial and administrative staffs from 1,511 small and medium enterprises in 23 provinces and cities across the country.
Promoting economic empowerment for women
In 2012, VBCSD submitted policy recommendations to the Government to promote economic empowerment for women in Vietnam, focusing on four areas: Education, employment/workforce, business, and savings/assets. Since then, VBCSD has worked with the UN Women, the Vietnam Women's Union, and the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council under VCCI to complete recommendations in the report while setting up cooperation plans with partners to realise the above recommendations.
Enhancing transparency and integrity in business
In 2013-2014, VBCSD built the Action Programme for Enhancement of Integrity in Business (Project 12) in response to the National Anticorruption Strategy to 2020 initiated by the Government of Vietnam. Project 12 advanced integrity in business by taking collective action of the business community and stakeholders. Collective action was accrued from the signing of integrity agreements of industry peers while stakeholders were specifically tax and customs agencies and banks avowing integrity in their sectors on mass media. The broad involvement of businesses and stakeholders in fulfilling integrity agreements and commitments will create necessary synergy for improving the business environment and enhance corporate and national competitiveness. After being ratified by the Government in late 2014, Scheme 12 drew the interest of British Prime Minister David Cameron and many international institutions like the ASEAN CSR Network and the Transparency International which pledged to support the Scheme.
Besides, in September 2014, VBCSD sent a representative to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the ASEAN CSR Network to join forces in corruption combat in Southeast Asia. VBCSD also entered the Working Group for Anti-Corruption of the ASEAN CSR Network, shared experience in carrying out anti-corruption initiatives in business in Vietnam, and updated practices and successful solutions concerning transparency and integrity in the region.
- VBCSD was yet to formally establish a press network for sustainable development topics.
- The interaction between the Secretariat and members, particularly new members, was not as effective as expected.
- Due to some objective factors, the commitment and involvement of many members in VBCSD-led programmes and projects were not positive, resulting in hardships to mobilise the Council’s entire resources.
- Membership development was not very effective.
3. Works to be done
- Continue to advance VBCSD’s core activities: Communication - awareness raising, training, research and international cooperation.
- Continue to carry out programmes/initiatives in VBCSD’s Action 2020 on sustainable business.
- VBCSD’s agenda for the next five years will comprise programmes/initiatives to be deployed simultaneously. The programmes/initiatives must satisfy all of the following criteria:
- The Secretariat will send a proposed list of programmes/initiatives to the members for consultation. The programmes/initiatives will be selected on the majority rule.
- The Secretariat needs to improve the effect of internal and external communications.
- The Secretariat needs to have specialised staffs in charge of membership development.
- The Secretariat needs to further consult the Executive Board at the meeting on solutions to address the Council’s limitations scheduled for opening in December 2015.
From 23rd to 24th June, 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Vietnam and the Global Initiatives in partnership with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) co-organized the “Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture (RBF) 2015” in Hanoi.
In a bid to support the Vietnamese aquaculture and processing industry to enhance competitiveness and sustainable development, VBCSD will cooperate with Oxfam Novib to build and deploy the “Strengthening Vietnam Aquaculture Competitiveness by Promoting Adoption and Exercise of Corporate Social Responsibility” Project from June to December 2015
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VBCSD/VCCI in partnership with the British Council organised the Vietnam Corporate Sustainability Forum (VCSF) 2015 in Hanoi on 14th of May, 2015.
Transparency - one of the elements building foundation for a good company - is becoming an influential part in making decision about which enterprises are better to work and devote for. In the long run, transparency could help creating a healthier working environment, leading to a more productive workforce, and generating greater outcome. It directly touches human factor where HR management engages in deeply.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam urged businesses to pay greater attention to sustainable development amid deepening global integration and growing competition at the Viet Nam Corporate Sustainability Forum 2015 held yesterday in Ha Noi.
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Starting from post-course feedbacks and assessments from trainees and basing on the actual needs of international purchasers, VBCSD and IEH joined hands to launch the Dialogue@Work Vietnam Project in 11 months, starting from January to November 2015.
The Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) is developed as a gauge of corporate values based on sustainable development criteria in the fields of economy, environment and society, and a tool to record measured items and manage changes for the sake of better corporate sustainability.
On 10th of March, representatives of six Business Councils for Sustainable Development (BCSDs) from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the meeting of the Action 2020 in Southeast Asia (SEA Action2020) Project in Bangkok, Thailand. At this meeting, the deputies introduced their Councils’ sub-projects under the umbrella of SEA Action 2020 and updated the progress of those sub-projects.
