As one of the 3 winning businesses honored at the Vietnam ESG Initiative 2023 program organized by the Enterprise Development Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment) and the United States International Development Agency (USAID) through the Vietnam Private Sector Competitive Capacity Enhancement Project (IPSC), HHP Global Joint Stock Company has achieved new progress in implementing ESG.
“In 2024, HHP Global will conduct an inventory and develop scenarios to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the HHP Paper Hai Phong factory as soon as the factory is operating stably and will publish ESG reports to all investors, customers, suppliers, employees, and other stakeholders,” said Ms. Tran Thi Thu Phuong, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of HHP Global.
This plan was announced by HHP Global as the efforts to implement ESG in 2023 were accelerated and become more effective when the company participated in the Vietnam ESG Initiative 2023. The company established a Sustainable Development Sub-Committee (ESG Sub-Committee) under the Board of Directors to synchronize the 3 E-S-G pillars from August 8, 2023, and issued a Sustainable Development Strategy Statement and ESG Practices at the opening ceremony of the HHP Paper Hai Phong factory on December 23, 2023.
MORE EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS OPERATION
The more efficient and sustainable operation of the business has also been recognized at Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) through the implementation and application of ESG practices and participation in the Vietnam ESG Initiative 2023 program.
Through training programs such as Business Capacity Enhancement Training to adapt to green conversion requirements, greenhouse gas reduction, and greenhouse gas audit practices, and Sustainable Development Reporting aligning with updates to the Global Initiative Reporting Standards (GRI) and technical assistance support from the Enterprise Development Agency and USAID, VNF has set more appropriate ESG orientations and plans. Specifically, VNF aims to establish regular annual ESG reporting (previously ESG goals were only in the orientation without being classified and documented).
In addition, the company operates more efficiently and sustainably in line with E-S-G goals. Some ESG deployment/replication initiatives have helped reduce operating costs and better meet international market requirements in the direction of “greener and more sustainable”.
“Especially, the company’s image and reputation have also been enhanced and reached more partners and customers,” said Ms. Nguyen Van An, Director of Strategy at VNF.
Compared to the above two companies, Vietnam Samex Export and Production Joint Stock Company (Vinasamex) has a stronger advantage in implementing the ESG objective (environment) when implementing ESG at the company. However, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, through the Vietnam ESG Initiative 2023 program, Vinasamex has positively changed by having more stringent supply chain production and control processes, ensuring better quality of goods and information transparency. In addition, the company has also built a risk assessment system and reasonable control measures, thus ensuring better production conditions for farmers and employees, improving production quality and stabilizing the supply chain, enhancing competitive advantages.
“In 2024, Vinasamex will continue to expand production scale by expanding cultivation areas, building additional factories in raw material areas, and calling for additional accompanying investors to develop sustainably together,” Ms. Huyen said.
THE NEED FOR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Although the implementation of ESG in businesses has brought initial results, according to Ms. Tran Thi Thu Phuong, for ESG to become the “supporting mother” for long-term business development, a more enabling business environment is needed.
“We propose to enhance cooperation between the government and businesses to build a legal framework and supportive policies such as green finance, preferential credit sources, or tax incentives for businesses implementing ESG practices, training programs, and preferential consulting… for ESG-practicing businesses to encourage and support them to progress faster on the green transformation journey. In addition, sharing information and experiences among businesses that have been and are implementing ESG practices is also one of the important factors to be able to spread and promote the application of ESG practices for the entire business community,” suggested Ms. Phuong.
According to representatives of Vinasamex, in implementing sustainable business models and ESG practices, financial resources play an important role, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition to the investment costs for normal business operations, businesses also need to invest additional resources for sustainable business models, such as: specialized personnel, construction and management costs of standard processes, investment in suitable machinery and equipment, and evaluation costs from independent certification organizations.
Therefore, it is possible to create ESG investment funds specifically for small and medium-sized businesses to receive financial support from organizations, governments, and private individuals. In addition, the preferential ESG loan policy can be created specifically for small and medium-sized businesses, with clear conditions for the use of this capital for ESG improvement projects, or other tax incentive policies…
“The earlier the conversion is implemented (when our operating model is not too complex), the lower the conversion costs and the higher the ability to integrate into the global supply chain. Moreover, when ESG is implemented throughout the business’s production and operation activities and raises awareness for all employees, the practice of ESG will take place anytime, anywhere, and will no longer be a forced task,” shared the VNF representative.
