VCSF 2023: Global Green Race

On the morning of August 23, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) organized the Business Forum for Sustainable Development (VCSF) with the participation of more than 300 domestic and international delegates.

VCSF 2023: Cuộc đua xanh toàn cầu - Từ chiến lược đến thực hành kinh doanh bền vững

Discussion "Promoting natural 'taste' initiatives towards a low-carbon economy" within the framework of the Vietnam Sustainable Development Business Forum 2023 (VCSF), August 23. (Photo: Van Chi)

VCSF 2023 has the theme “Global Green Race: From Strategy to Sustainable Business Practice”. This is the 10th consecutive time VCSF is held.

VCSF was initiated right before Vietnam and 192 countries around the world committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, as well as committing to mitigating climate change at COP 21 in 2015 in Paris (France) as a clear demonstration of the creativity, pioneering spirit and commitment of VCCI in general, and VBCSD in particular, in the journey of persistently supporting the Vietnamese business community on the path of sustainable development.

In September 2023, the United Nations SDG Summit will take place in New York, USA, to review the halfway mark in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and outline a plan to accelerate action towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

At this milestone, it can be seen that the world is still facing more and more challenges from climate change, food security crisis, energy security, epidemics, global economic downturn, geopolitical instability, etc. In particular, the decline in biodiversity, depletion of natural resources, and climate change create heavier pressures for humanity. That also means that solving the environmental problem and climate change will contribute significantly to ensuring the sustainable future that humanity desires.

From this perspective, “natural” business models – businesses that create positive impacts on the environment – are one of the most optimal solutions for the goal of sustainable business development, thereby contributing to the prosperity and well-being of each country and nation. This is also the message conveyed throughout the topics presented and discussed at the VCSF Forum 2023.

Vice President of VCCI, Chairman of VBCSD Nguyen Quang Vinh said that, facing the requirements of sustainable development, the business community needs to redefine the success of a business not only in terms of financial figures but now also includes the ability to adapt, withstand and recover from unprecedented challenges, or businesses need to link their success and long-term growth with the sustainable benefits of the community, society and environment.

"Once they have transformed their mindset, businesses also need to focus on a number of action priorities, which are: transforming their value chains and supply chains towards a more sustainable direction; promoting accountability in businesses and promoting dual transformation (digital transformation alongside green transformation)," VCCI Vice President Nguyen Quang Vinh emphasized.

The VCSF 2023 Forum program also includes a variety of contents from the plenary and thematic sessions with topics on "Promoting natural 'taste' initiatives towards a low-carbon economy", "Enhancing business competitiveness through building a green supply chain" and "Towards natural 'taste' business and green growth from the foundation of ESG practices in businesses".

With the participation of many speakers from pioneering enterprises implementing sustainable business in Vietnam, the series of seminars spread good practices, provided solutions and policy recommendations to support the business community to more effectively implement low-emission production and business models; strengthen sustainable supply chains; promote clean energy transition; improve the effectiveness of sustainable corporate governance practices and ESG framework practices; as well as encourage business participation in biodiversity conservation towards sustainable development goals.

Those recommendations will be collected by VBCSD-VCCI and reported to the Government, serving as useful input information for formulating new policies, facilitating sustainable business development.

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