Project News

JICA's climate change technical cooperation "Support to Planning and Implementation of Nationally Determined Contribution of Viet Nam (SPI-NDC)" organized the "Business Leaders Forum on Climate Change and Circular Economy" in Ho Chi Minh City on October 27, 2022.The forum was organized under the joint sponsorship of the Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and JICA based on a tripartite Government-Business partnership to facilitate corporate actions to contribute to national emission reduction target.

Vietnam has set a goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, and subsequently underwent the update of the key guiding policies including National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) and NDC. Robust implementation and attainment of such ambitions require more than public sector efforts, and pro-active engagement and concrete actions by the private sector are indispensable. Following the kick-off seminar on private sector engagement on climate actions held in June 2022 under MONRE-VCCI-JICA partnership, this forum was organized as the NEXT step, focused this time on corporate leaders and managements, to facilitate peer-to-peer learning on the approaches adopted to decarbonization corporate management, climate and material circulation practices, and exchange of views among decision makers of participating enterprises, with the aim to increase the commitment of corporate leaders to address climate change and take concrete actions.

Nearly 100 participants joined this forum, reflecting high level of thematic interest.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director General of Department of Climate Change (DCC), MONRE and Mr. Nguyen Tien Huy, Director of VCCI kicked off the forum with remarks, emphasizing the importance of the collective efforts by government and the actions of private companies towards attainment of the NDC ambition and beyond.

Deputy Director General of DCC, MONRE, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Quang

VCCI Director, Mr. Nguyen Tien Huy

Subsequently, MONRE/DCC Mitigation Division introduced "Legal Regulations on Greenhouse Gas Reduction in Vietnam toward Net Zero Emissions". During the introduction of the "Government Decree No. 6 on Climate Change Mitigation, Domestic Carbon Market, and Management of Ozone Layer Depleting Substances" issued in 2021, the importance of GHG emission measurement and reporting requirement at the listed companies (facilities) and the associated on-going online systems design were highlighted. In addition, future plans and policy schedule for domestic emission trading market formulation was introduced. The DCC delivered a message that these requirements and systems are not meant to pose restrictions for private companies, but rather pave the way for new business opportunities and market creation in years to come.

Mr. Luong Quang Huy, Head of Division of GHG Emission Reduction and Ozone Layer Protection, DCC - MONRE

Corporate climate actions are not only guided by NDC-related regulatory framework, but also facilitated by the non-financial disclosure and sustainability reporting workstream stemmed from financial sector. In this context, the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, Ms. Tran Hong Le, participated the forum and introduced the regulations on information disclosure required for the listed companies (Circular 96/2020/TT-BTC), international and domestic trends in ESG information disclosure, and the key points with respect to disclosure. In particular, with regard to environmental (E) part of ESG information, Ms. Le clarified disclosing corporate GHG emissions and GHG emissions reduction plans constitutes an integral part of the information to be reported.

Ms. Tran Hong Le, Listing and Disclosure Department, HoSE

CDP (a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts) Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi ), through Mr. Dedy Mahardika, also joined the forum to provide a regional perspective, and introduced SBTi's activities to promote the target setting for emission reductions that are consistent with scientific knowledge, temperature target under the Paris Agreement, and the summary of recent trends for corporate climate efforts.

Mr. Dedy Mahardika, SBT Engagement Manager for Southeast Asia and Oceania, CDP and SBTi

In addition, three enterprises that are making advanced efforts to achieve net zero emissions in the fields of cement, textile/garment, and beverages also shared their experiences.

Mr. Nguyen Thi Tron of INSEE Co., Ltd. introduced the enterprise's on-going effort to compile GHG Protocol-based GHG accounting in compliance with the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) requirement, formulation of GHG emissions reduction plan, along with various measures in the process to reduce GHG emissions intensity in cement production.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Kim Oanh of SAITEX introduced the efforts of the fashion industry which is considered to have high environmental impact, in regards to GHG emissions reductions effort, water and materials recycling, and on-going effort to build a complete recycling-oriented production system.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh of VinaMilk also tapped on comprehensive measures taken, including efforts to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions, and also reduction of the environmental impact of production, such as recycling of water, wastewater, and waste, reduction of plastic use, and soil reclamation.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tron, INSEE Viet Nam

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Kim Oanh, Saitex

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Vinamilk

The second half of the Forum proceeded in the form of panel discussion with leading enterprises and institutions (INSEE, Saitex, Daikin, VCCI, MONRE) under the moderation of the SPI-NDC Chief Advisor.

Dialogue deep dived into the key topics at stake including, inter alia, how corporate leaders perceive added values and advantages in engaging in climate actions, practical challenges in furthering efforts towards net zero emissions from different business sectors, and expectations to further assist corporate endeavors. In addition, the need to enhance inclusiveness by expanding the sphere of corporate endeavors from leading enterprises to SMES were also noted.

Mr. Eamon Ginley, General Director, INSEE Viet Nam

Ms. Ly Thi Phuong Trang, CEO, Daikin Viet Nam

Following the rigorous exchange at the panel discussion, the SPI-NDC project through Private Sector Engagement Specialist presented the next step for the technical cooperation to move on to hands-on, practitioner's level GHG emissions calculation and mitigation planning training for selected business sectors.

The dialogue concluded with Mr. Yoshimoto Kubo, Senior Representative of JICA Vietnam, with sharing of his reflections that private companies' endeavors to pursue and achieve net zero presented in the Forum were indeed impressive and commended the high level of commitment and perception of the business leaders who participated.

Mr. Kubo Yoshitomo, Senior Representative, JICA Viet Nam

A lively, voluntary mutual discussion among the participating companies were also observed at the margin of the Forum - presenting a good opportunity to increase mutual understanding and commitment of the public and private sectors, all contributing to achieve national ambitions of NDC and net zero target.