Recently, the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and the Global Compact Network Vietnam (GCNV) in collaboration with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and under the support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), organised an Introductory Workshop on Sustainability Reporting in Hanoi.
Attending the workshop were more than 60 delegates from businesses, nongovernmental organisations, domestic and international donors, news agencies, academics, and functional departments of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the State Bank of Vietnam, the State Securities Commission of Vietnam, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, and the Environmental Police Department.
Speaking at the workshop, Mr Brigitte Bruhin, Deputy Country Director at the Swiss Cooperation Office, representing SECO in Vietnam, stressed that one of important instruments for businesses to measure and assess the effective implementation of sustainable development strategies is the sustainability reporting. Nowadays, more and more companies recognise the value of sustainability reporting as an instrument to enhance corporate reputation, prove their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation, improve business efficiency, identify opportunities and risks, strengthen employees’ attachment, and boost competitive advantages. SECO is committed to supporting Vietnamese enterprises to perform their corporate social responsibility.
Mr Nguyen Quang Vinh, General Director of the Office for Business Sustainable Development (SD4B) under VCCI, General Secretary of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development, and GCNV Representative, said Vietnam is facing many sustainable development challenges like poverty, urbanisation, financial crisis, food and energy price volatility, climate change, and natural resources depletion. Sustainability Reporting is one of effective tools for tracking and assessing the implementation of sustainable business strategies. However, this vehicle remains new to Vietnamese businesses, administrators and policymakers. Therefore, the launch of sustainability report is an essential requirement in the current period.
Exemplifying sustainability report institutionalisation tendencies in many countries and regions in the world, he cited that in 2012, the Brazilian Securities, Commodities and Futures Exchange (BM&FBOVESP) proposed listed companies carry out sustainability reporting. In 2011, the Singapore Stock Exchange published the Sustainability Reporting Guideline. In 2010, South Africa required all listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to publish annual “integrated report” which covered financial data and sustainable development.
Mr Ernst Ligteringen, Chief Executive of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), said that “To support businesses and markets to build sustainability reporting, it is necessary to provide relevant, reliable, transparent, and easy to use information.” Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the largest network of sustainability reporting organisations in the world. According to statistics, more than 4,000 organisations from 60 countries in the world are now using GRI guidelines to make sustainable development reports. GRI is applied to any type of businesses and organisations at any size and in any industry. The GRI representative said GRI has recently launched its 4th Sustainability Reporting.
Also at the meeting, representatives from some associations and businesses like Deloitte Vietnam, Holcim Vietnam and Bao Viet Holdings shared necessary experience in collecting production data and integrating reported fields with corporate business strategies. According to participants, the reporting helps businesses to recognise their social and environmental contributions and operation-balancing factors towards corporate and social sustainable development. But, the most important condition to complete a sustainable development report is the commitment of senior business leaders to sustainable development strategy. This strategy was realised by the development and implementation of specific social, economic and environment objectives.
The Global Compact Network Vietnam (GCNV), launched in 2007, is a cutting edge initiative developed in partnership between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the United Nations in Vietnam (UN). The GCNV comprises of over 95 members, consisting of national and international companies, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), academics, UN agencies, and government agencies. GCNV members look to human rights protection, working condition improvement, environmental protection and anti-corruption support.
VBCSD affiliated to VCCI is a business-led organisation and strives for excellence in sustainable development through three aspects: economic growth, ecological balance and social progress. In Vietnam, under the direction of the National Council for Sustainable Development and Competitiveness Improvement, VBCSD has made continued efforts to promote and institutionalise assessment tools for sustainable development. In the coming time, VBCSD will collaborate with its members and other stakeholders, including GRI, to build and popularise best practices to the business community and propose the Government to instruct the business community to perform the sustainability reporting.
Thu Ha
Đăng ký: VietNam News
