That is the confirmation of Mr Nguyen Quang Vinh in his new position - General Secretary of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). Known as a devoted person with an ever-burning passion for supporting the business community to grow in general and promote sustainable development in Vietnam in particular, he always believes that “the green journey of the world cannot reach its destination without the green footprints of business.”
Towards a green economy and sustainable growth, the Government of Vietnam is building a long-term plan to provide maximum support for the business community to develop on the right track. In response to that general policy, in 2017, the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) actively accompanied the business on this journey. With high prospects for economic growth in 2018, Vietnam Business Forum conducted an interview with Mr Nguyen Quang Vinh, newly-elected Secretary General of VCCI cum Vice President and Secretary General of VBCSD, on new intentions and plans to better integrate sustainable development into the rise of the Vietnamese business community.
In 2017, VBCSD worked hard to support the business community. Could you please brief on remarkable achievements of the council in the year?
In 2017, VBCSD worked hard and achieved great successes in strongly promoting sustainable development in society generally and the business community particularly.
First of all, the Vietnam Corporate Sustainability Forum (VCSF) and the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) - two most prominent annual events - were of great success. VCSF 2017 was not just designed as a forum to bring together hundreds of businesses, but also a place which incubated and realised many business initiatives towards sustainable development as well as public - private partnership (PPP) model.
The Programme on Benchmarking and Ranking Corporate Sustainability received a record of nearly 500 candidate companies in its second edition, much bigger than that of 2016. This showed that sustainable development had a stronger movement, but more importantly, the business thinking of companies towards humanity and long-term benefits prevailed. That is what companies around the world are pursuing.
In addition, four core activities of VBCSD - communication and awareness improvement, training, research and international cooperation - were also promoted with specific actions. In 2017, VBCSD coordinated with its partners to successfully organise the Eco-Products International Fair (EPIF) 2017; launch 22 training courses in the framework of the “Improving business productivity in Vietnam in 2016 - 2020, with a vision to 2020 - 2030” project attended by hundreds of enterprises; carry out Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Programme towards Sustainable Business; and build the “Promoting Sustainable Energy Development by Building Sustainable Energy Scenarios and Green Investment Guidelines for Financial Institutions” Programme. These are excellent achievements that VBCSD accomplished in the past year.
Also in 2017, VBCSD established the Advisory Group on Sustainable Development and Digitalisation Evolution. Would you introduce its first operating steps and its future plans?
This advisory group is the result of a working meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and the VBCSD Executive Board in the framework of VCSF 2017. The group is designed to recommend to the Government action plans and policies on digital revolution and business community support to meet the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It conducted a rapid survey on corporate awareness and impacts of Fourth Industrial Revolution to compile the most accurate report and recommend relevant proposals to the Government and the business community as well.
In 2018, the advisory group will carry out in-depth studies concerning the future of jobs in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in conjunction with capacity building for the business community.
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