On November 8, 2016, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) will organise the Vietnam Corporate Sustainability Forum and launch the “Ratings of 100 Most Sustainable Companies in Vietnam 2016”. On the threshold of this important event, Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr Nguyen Quang Vinh, Deputy Secretary General of VCCI and Secretary General of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD), on this content. Ha Anh reports.
VCCI’s announcement on the rankings of the 100 most sustainable companies comes one year after Vietnam and 192 other United Nations (UN) member states adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and signed the Paris Agreement (Cop 21), showing Vietnam’s high awareness of supporting businesses toward sustainable development.
That’s right! We are keenly aware of the importance of these two events. We can say that the world, for the first time in history, has a common action to “salvage” mankind and move towards sustainability and prosperity in the future. Especially after the adoption of 17 SDGs, the UN and other international organisations highly value the role of the business community.
To achieve these goals, VBCSD has developed the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) to gauge the degree of sustainability from which companies can “shed light” on their sustainability with three interrelated pillars: economy, society and environment. Under the direction of the Government and VCCI, VBCSD has used this index to rank the 100 most sustainable companies in 2016. This is the first time VCCI has coordinated with relevant ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour to set up a benchmarking committee. Workshops have been opened nationwide to disseminate this index to enterprises.
The launch of and communication on the rankings has been carried out meticulously. Some 400 companies have directly implemented this index, particularly listed firms. After nearly one year of preparation and careful selection among more than 400 candidates, we have shortlisted the 100 most sustainable companies in Vietnam.
As a director of benchmarking activity, what do you think about the quality of sustainable companies this year compared with their performance previous years?
I would like to reiterate that VCCI has launched the annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award since 2005 and the corporate sustainability ranking in 2016 is the successor of the award. But what we feel pleased about most is that companies express their increasing interest in sustainable development; the quality of sustainable development achievements is on the rise and the number of joining companies is the largest ever. This year, the set of criteria has been raised to 151 highly quantitative criteria in three areas of economy, society and environment. Among those certified for sustainability, many are Vietnamese, such as Vinamilk and Unilever or Bao Viet Holdings, a winner in sustainability reporting contest hosted by Asia Sustainability Reporting (Singapore). These are pioneers in applying sustainable development in Vietnam.
Another remarkable point is that domestic companies outnumber foreigners and gain high scores this year. This proves an increasing awareness of sustainable development among the business community in the country, as well as very effective sustainable development deployment in enterprises. For example, Thai Binh Group (TBS Group), Saigontourist and Bao Viet Holdings have high scores and are ranked among the Top 10.
But still, not many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - a vast majority in the business community - engage in the rankings?
Indeed, not many SMEs engage, but there is a marked progress this year, particularly quality and perception of the business. An example is SASCO, a small provider of ground services in Ho Chi Minh City. It is much smaller than multi-national companies, but it has carried out corporate sustainability very well. But, its impact on the business community by means of experience sharing impressed us most. Especially, this year, labour relations, environment and waste treatment, among other things, are pressing concerns for society. For that reason, we have worked very seriously to ensure the quality of this year's rankings.
Needless to say, sustainable development is a trend that business cannot ignore. What will VCCI and VBCSD do to further spread the story of sustainable development among the business community, especially local SMEs?
Ranking is the story of today because winners actually have excellent competitiveness, productivity, governance and international standards and they deserve to be recognised as “sustainable business citizens” in society. And, the effects of these 100 winners are necessarily communicated to 500,000 Vietnamese enterprises.
In the coming time, we will coordinate with international organisations such as the UN, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to nominate these companies to rating and awarding programmes. They can compete on par with other brands in the world.
In addition, we will continue to coordinate with ministries, branches, localities and business associations to communicate on the role of sustainable development. We will use the index to train corporate compliance and capacity building, foster sustainable strategy, and introduce good practices of sustainable development to enterprises, especially SMEs.
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