Green development to increase competitiveness and build brand for the wood industry

Wood is one of the high-value export products of Vietnam, wood products have been present in many major markets in the world. In the trend of sustainable development and environmental protection, partners, strategic export markets, and developed countries have been setting strict standards for manufacturing industries, which forces each enterprise to adapt to increase its capacity and competitiveness.

Dong Nai currently ranks second in the country in wood production and export. As an organization representing enterprises in the wood industry, the Dong Nai Wood and Handicraft Association (Dowa) is also coordinating with relevant organizations and agencies to support its members. Dong Nai had a discussion with Mr. Nguyen Phuong, Vice President of Dowa, Executive Director of VitaNa LLC (Giang Dien Industrial Park) on the issue of green development and the prospects of the wood industry in the coming time.

Requirements for sustainable business development

* Sir, greenhouse gas inventory is one of the very important issues that enterprises in general and the wood industry in particular must carry out to comply with Vietnamese laws. Besides complying with the law, what role does this task play for enterprises?

Mr. Nguyen Phuong, Vice President of Dong Nai Wood and Handicraft Association.

- Currently, the State has issued regulations on greenhouse gas inventory for enterprises, starting from large manufacturing companies. In addition, the world , especially Europe, is very concerned about the issue of carbon emissions. In the future, the purchase and sale of products must take into account the issue of carbon consumption, especially for the wood industry, this is very important and mandatory.

In the first 8 months of 2025, despite facing many difficulties, the Vietnamese wood industry still maintained a stable growth momentum, reaching an export value of more than 11.1 billion USD. Of which, exports to the United States increased by 10.3% compared to the same period in 2024, showing a clear recovery from this market. That creates a positive momentum for the export target of 18 billion USD in the whole year of 2025.

It can be seen that the positive signal in the wood industry today is that many enterprises have proactively implemented greenhouse gas inventories to be ready to meet the standards of sustainable environment. Not only large enterprises but also many small and medium enterprises have participated. In addition to green transformation, many units have also promoted digital transformation - a dual transformation model to improve efficiency in the process of reducing emissions in the future. That shows that enterprises have gradually become more aware of this issue, thereby having appropriate orientations and solutions to apply to production, improve quality as well as meet high standards of the world.

* So, this is one of the factors for businesses to be more confident in the world market?

- It can be said that way. Voluntary green production will bring many opportunities for businesses in demanding foreign markets. Then, businesses have the right to bargain for the price of their products without being forced to lower the price...

Currently, Dowa is cooperating with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to implement activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for businesses. In particular, our company is one of the pioneers. In fact, at our company, through the process of coordinating with the ILO to implement activities to reduce carbon emissions, it has brought practical benefits. From related activities, it has helped businesses reduce energy consumption and increase productivity in their production process. Therefore, from now on, wood industry businesses need to change traditional ways of doing things in the direction of reducing emissions and greening the current supply chain, considering this an opportunity to transform, not a challenge.

* Besides focusing on green development solutions, to build a brand, what else do businesses need to pay attention to, sir?

- Of course there are many problems. One of them is the issue of creativity and breakthrough in building brands in the international market. In the past, despite great efforts to change, the Vietnamese furniture industry has not yet made any breakthroughs, still mainly processing for foreign partners. In the coming time, the pursuit of building a professional design and marketing team so that businesses can sell directly under their own brands needs to be continued and strengthened.

Long-term prospects remain good

* How do you assess the prospects of the wood industry, more specifically exports, in the current volatile global trade context?

- I think that from now until the end of 2025, the market may decrease a little. But in the long term, the growth prospect is still good. It is important that businesses must calculate reasonably in competing in terms of quality and price. Of course, the market has also been greatly affected in the past time, with Vietnam's wood exports to the United States accounting for more than 50% of the wood industry's export value. Therefore, businesses must proactively grasp market developments and trade policies from importing countries to have flexible and adaptive solutions.

Investing in modern technology is an important solution to improve product quality and competitiveness for the wood industry. Photo: Illustration

As for wood and wood products, I think the industry can still develop much more strongly. The world market demand is large, while the supply from Vietnam is still quite small. To increase market share, the wood industry needs to organize production more professionally, streamlined and effectively. Competition for human resources will increase and the advantage of cheap labor will soon disappear. Only increasing productivity can reduce costs and create better income for workers.

* What about the linkage of manufacturing industry, sir?

- That is what must be done, enterprises, associations, and localities need to connect with each other to increase their internal strength. Along with improving product quality, we need to connect enterprises and wood processing industry associations in localities together. These solutions will help the Vietnamese wood industry meet increasingly high standards of the world, help enhance the Vietnamese wood brand in the market, consolidate existing values ​​and equip new competitive values.

* For local wood enterprises, what solutions will Dowa have to support its members?

- Dowa is collaborating with the ILO and the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO) to support businesses in the industry to access and familiarize themselves with engineered wood, develop markets, etc. We also build a Dowa member platform with funding from international organizations. The project's goal is to improve the capacity to collect and manage member information, promote international trade promotion. At the same time, enhance the digital presence of member businesses, promote industry development and develop the wood industry community in Dong Nai. The Association and businesses will also implement a project on engineered wood, identify sustainable development trends in the wood industry and market potential for engineered wood products in the future.

* Thank you!

Vuong The (performed)

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202509/phat-trien-xanh-de-tang-suc-canh-tranhva-xay-dung-thuong-hieu-cho-nganh-go-f7a00ab/