ESG Barriers: Transformation Roadmap and Technical Solutions for Businesses

Nearly 200 leaders of import-export enterprises nationwide participated in the event “Import-export market prospects” organized by VietinBank in Ho Chi Minh City. At the event, enterprises listened to the sharing about ESG barriers of major markets for Vietnam's export products, the transformation roadmap and technical solutions for enterprises.

Establishing an ESG transformation roadmap

The event “Import-Export Market Outlook” is a regular activity organized by VietinBank to thank customers for choosing VietinBank as their transaction bank. The event provides updated information on international trends, State policies and market forecasts; supporting the business community in making decisions in the context of the ever-changing global market. ESG, sustainable development, climate change and climate finance have been discussed since 1995 at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP). In the global effort towards the goal of net zero emissions, countries have and are expected to continue to issue increasingly stringent regulations on ESG standards. Among them, Vietnam's major export markets such as Europe, the US, Australia... force import-export enterprises to make changes in production and business activities.

Guests sharing at the Special Event organized by VietinBank

At the event, in the content of "ESG barriers of major markets for Vietnam's export products and the conversion roadmap, technical solutions for enterprises to meet regulations", Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tho - Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment analyzed the world's regulations on ESG, the current state of Vietnam's green economy , opportunities and challenges for import-export enterprises as well as a feasible roadmap that enterprises should implement to move towards zero net emissions. In addition, Mr. Pham Hai Au - Representative of PwC Vietnam Company Limited also made recommendations for enterprises participating in the topic in repositioning strategies and action groups to focus on to overcome ESG challenges, as well as establish an effective ESG conversion roadmap for enterprises.

VietinBank - Green Support Bridge

At the event, VietinBank launched the “ESG Ecosystem” with the goal of supporting businesses in realizing their sustainable development roadmap. VietinBank has been building diverse partnerships in many areas such as: Providing consulting, assessment, and ranking services... to best support businesses' needs for ESG transformation. These could be the need for loans to invest in upgrading production lines to meet environmental standards; renovating factories to obtain green building certification; supplementing working capital to import high-quality input materials that meet green standards; consulting on preparing emission reduction reports, sustainable development reports... VietinBank and its associates and partners support businesses to gradually complete their goals, overcome ESG barriers and develop sustainably. Particularly for sustainable financial products, VietinBank has built and deployed a comprehensive financial toolkit including 5 main product groups: (i) Credit granting; (ii) Management accounts; (iii) Foreign currency trading; (iv) Capital mobilization; (v) Consulting services. These products are designed to approach international standards, in line with VietinBank's Sustainable Finance Framework, which has been independently assessed very positively by MorningStar Sustainalytics - a leading company in ESG research, ratings and data. By the end of the first quarter of 2024, VietinBank's total outstanding Green credit reached VND 46 trillion for more than 1,000 customers, in 6 main areas: Renewable energy; Sustainable water management in urban and rural areas; Waste treatment and pollution prevention; Recycling and reuse of resources; Green agriculture and sustainable forestry. This result comes from the strong direction of VietinBank's Board of Directors, as well as through the establishment of a governance structure and specialized human resources to serve the ESG needs of customers at both the Head Office and 155 branches. VietinBank's Green Up package with a scale of VND 5,000 billion also offers businesses incentives on short-term and medium-term loan interest rates, a free account maintenance policy, and no requirement for a minimum average CASA level for up to 2 years from the time of application. VietinBank also proactively greens and reduces emissions from its own operations through plans to install new or convert power sources used in office buildings to renewable energy, regulations on limits on paper, electricity, and water use in departments, etc. Thanks to that, VietinBank has reduced 2% of clean water costs and 2% of electricity consumption across the entire system. VietinBank's Headquarters building in Hanoi has been awarded the title of "4-star green energy construction project" by the Hanoi People's Committee. VietinBank's Environmental, Social and Governance Report has a high score compared to the industry average. Also within the framework of the Event, Mr. Tran Hoai Nam - Deputy Director of VietinBank Corporate Banking emphasized: “VietinBank is ready to support businesses in the transformation process; committed to creating the most favorable conditions for consulting and helping customers access sustainable financial products. VietinBank is also a bridge between stakeholders such as management agencies, domestic and foreign financial institutions and businesses, to connect cooperation opportunities in green growth, environmental protection and climate change response; thereby contributing to the development and completion of the sustainable financial ecosystem in Vietnam”.

VietinBank

Source: https://www.vietinbank.vn/vn/tin-tuc/Rao-can-ESG-Lo-trinh-chuyen-doi-va-giai-phap-ky-thuat-cho-cac-doanh-nghiep-20240522165204.html