FPT Digital consultant Mr. Nguyen The Phuong delivered a keynote speech at the Adidas-organized ESG 2024 Conference in Ho Chi Minh City. He shared insightful perspectives on the gap between global ESG regulations and those in Vietnam, and provided practical recommendations for Vietnamese businesses to build a solid foundation for their green transition.
FPT Digital consultant Mr. Nguyen The Phuong delivered a keynote speech at the Adidas-organized ESG 2024 Conference in Ho Chi Minh City. He shared insightful perspectives on the gap between global ESG regulations and those in Vietnam, and provided practical recommendations for Vietnamese businesses to build a solid foundation for their green transition.
The ESG 2024 Conference was a significant forum gathering business leaders, sustainability experts, and major players in the fashion industry. The event focused on discussing the future of sustainable fashion and the role of businesses in addressing climate change. The Vietnamese government has set a Net Zero target for 2050 and is actively implementing policies and regulations to support businesses in transitioning to sustainable business models. Notable examples include regulations on renewable energy, waste management, and labor and environmental standards. According to Mr. Phuong, the biggest difference between Vietnam and developed countries lies in the stakeholders’ awareness of the importance of ESG to business strategy.
Integrating ESG into business operations not only enhances a company’s reputation and attracts investors but also mitigates risks and opens up new opportunities. An MSCI study showed that companies with higher ESG scores tend to have profits 5% higher than their industry peers. This demonstrates that integrating ESG is not just a social responsibility but also a smart and sustainable business strategy. Through ESG integration, Vietnamese businesses can improve their supply chains, optimize operations, enhance product quality, and meet the demands of discerning markets like the US, Europe, and Japan. However, this process also comes with challenges such as a lack of resources, expertise, and broad support.
To succeed in the green transition and, more broadly, the dual transition (combining green transition with digital transformation), the human factor plays a paramount role. Mr. Phuong emphasized the importance of the three Ps: People – Leadership (leadership’s mindset and commitment), People – Mindset (team members’ mindset and commitment), and People – Culture (digital transformation culture). When building a digital transformation culture, businesses need to focus on factors such as flexibility, data-driven decision-making, and comprehensive collaboration.
The world is shaping a new playing field with new rules, so we – the participants in that game – are also forced to change to adapt if we don’t want to be left behind. The starting point is now, so that businesses have enough time to transform, to learn, and to progress from real-world experiences because clearly, no model is perfect for everyone. Businesses must define their own context (the playing field), the material issues linked to their value chain (the rules of the game), understand their stakeholders and their expectations (the players), and from there, they can know and choose the right “way to play,” both propelling the business forward and contributing to preserving resources for future generations.
