PAN : Multi-dimensional and valuable perspectives on green growth and sustainable development

Experts, scientists, managers... have presented and discussed valuable and multi-dimensional viewpoints on green growth and sustainable development in Vietnam.

The focal role of the Ministry of Planning and Investment

Mr. Le Viet Anh, Director General of the Science, Education, Resources & Environment Department - the Ministry of Planning and Investment

Mr. Le Viet Anh, Director General of the Science, Education, Resources & Environment Department - the Ministry of Planning and Investment

To promote green growth and sustainable development, acting as the national focal point for matters related to green growth, serving as the standing body of the National Steering Committee, besides advising the Government and Prime Minister on inter-sectoral and inter-regional contents, the Ministry of Planning and Investment will take initiatives to implement the following specific tasks:

(1) Preside over, formulate and guide The Green Growth Action Plan of ministries and provinces; formulate guidelines to integrate the content related to this Strategy's implementation into the socio-economic development strategies, master plans and plans of different levels and branches in order to support line ministries, people's committees, and relevant agencies in reaching an agreement on methodology and approach in concretizing green growth goals.

(2) Build and refine public procurement institutions and policies related to business investment such as: formulate specific incentives for enterprises that participate in the provision of green products and services; refine institutions and policies involving ecological industrial parks, applying the principles of the circular economy in the construction and management of industrial parks and economic zones; or promote innovation ecosystems…

(3) Research and formulate the "Pathway to actualize green growth targets attached to socio-economic development targets with an orientation towards carbon neutrality". Accordingly, the green growth targets need to be expressed in both qualitative and quantitative, based on a multi-criteria analysis, modeling of development scenarios, and fully assessing the economic, societal and environmental impact of the transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050

(4) Formulate mechanisms to supervise, evaluate and report on the implementation of the Strategy along with management tools to aid the implementation, especially formulate systems of statistical indicators related to green growth; formulate and experimentally deploy the "Integrated green growth index" to measure the level of green growth strategy implementation on a national scale; formulate systems of national green classification standards and criteria; identify key green growth tasks and projects.

(5) Mobilize resources, coordinate domestic and international sources of sponsorships, along with climate-related sources of finance. This task plays the most crucial role to realize the national strategy on green growth for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

Identification of challenges and proposals for solutions

Associate Professor, PhD. Nguyen Chu Hoi, Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Association, Member of the Science, Technology and Environment Committee of the 15th National Assembly

Associate Professor, PhD. Nguyen Chu Hoi, Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Association, Member of the Science, Technology and Environment Committee of the 15th National Assembly

In addition to the efforts to implement blue economy, the development of blue economy in our country faces major difficulties and challenges:

Firstly, this is a new concept, therefore, the awareness about green growth and blue economy of all levels, sectors, coastal localities and the people is still incomplete or even varies greatly.

Secondly, sectors and localities are not prepared to shift the marine economic structure from "brown" to "blue", under the condition that the infrastructure of seas, coasts and islands is still weak, outdated, fragmented, with unsynchronized equipment and low efficiency.

Thirdly, there is a lack of scientific and technological data and information on marine natural resources, including marine ecosystems as the basis for the implementation of specific actions related to blue economy development in our country.

Fourthly, the exploitation and use of seas and islands are not efficient and unsustainable, mostly the exploitation of marine resources in physical, non-renewable forms; the functional, non-physical and renewable values ​​of marine resource systems are not paid much attention.

Fifthly, marine environment is polluted, marine biodiversity and marine ecosystems are degraded, more and more untreated waste from river basins and coastal areas, as well as on inhabited islands, are flooded to the sea.

Sixthly, seafood sources decrease, fish populations tend to move further away from shore due to changes in coastal circulation structure, which are results from climate change; and river-sea interaction in the waterfront area has changed significantly.

Faced with the above situation, in order to develop blue economy in our country, it is necessary to protect the marine landscape, eliminate regulations and policies on investment and development that are unfriendly to the environment. Also, we need to strengthen the control of waste sources, and effectively manage plastic waste.

On the other hand, it is necessary to promote blue economy, circular economy through the elimination of waste, the rotating use of resources, and the return of inherent values ​​to nature…

The State also needs to pay attention to restoring and developing natural infrastructure along the coast and on the island, to adapt to climate change and rise of sea levels. It's crucial to encourage the development of renewable marine energy; smart coastal cities; sustainable seafood; marine medicine... Application of science, technology and development of marine human resources shall be enhanced. It's advisable to develop blue economy based on ecosystems and communities, improving partnerships of related parties.

Solutions to facilitate digital transformation for businesses

Ms. Bui Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the Enterprise Development Department - the Ministry of Planning and Investment

Ms. Bui Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the Enterprise Development Department - the Ministry of Planning and Investment

Recognizing the importance of promoting digital transformation in businesses, the National Assembly, Government, Ministries, Sectors and localities have issued a legal framework with many policies and solutions to support and boost businesses to apply modern technological solutions. These are important premises and foundations for Vietnamese enterprises to take advantage and transform their production and business models to adapt to the requirements of the new situation.

In order to successfully implement the digital transformation of business models, and soon achieve the goals of productivity, quality and efficiency towards green, circular and sustainable production, businesses need to proactively apply technologies of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 such as: Cloud Computing, IoT, Robotics, Virtual Reality VR... into business activities, taking advantage of technology to change operational processes, shifting to a green and sustainable production and business model.

A very important factor is to raise awareness about the importance of digital transformation across the enterprise. The awareness about the role and importance of digital transformation in businesses determines the success or failure of the digital transformation process.

Digital transformation is a large-scale alteration that requires adjustments to the business structure, process or basic business culture, however, it shall have a great positive impact on the long-term and sustainable development of a business.

At the same time, it is vital to improve internal management capability to prepare for the transformation. Accordingly, the governance model needs to be organized flexibly, in accordance with the management requirements of each period. Enterprises need to standardize business processes before applying digital technology transformation.

For human resources solutions, digital transformation requires high-quality human resources that are able to master new technologies, supporting the implementation of digital transformation, and that is also what small and medium enterprises find difficult. Businesses need to prepare internal human resources with good expertise to be ready for the digital transformation process.

5 solutions to develop a circular economy towards a blue economy

Associate Professor, PhD. Nguyen The Chinh, former Director General of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment

Associate Professor, PhD. Nguyen The Chinh, former Director General of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment

Firstly, in terms of awareness, Mr. Chinh emphasized, the first and foremost solution is to clearly explain the concepts and definitions of a "circular economy" and a "blue economy", then propagate and convey them to the whole society.

Secondly, in terms of criteria, both the circular economy and the blue economy have their own criteria, thus, what are the similarities and differences between these criteria?

Thirdly, in terms of policy mechanisms, it is necessary to continue to overcome inadequacies in issued policies related to the circular economy and the blue economy. We are simultaneously implementing the "national strategy on green growth" and the "circular economy development scheme"; these must be complementary and work as premises for each other.

Fourthly, in the context of open trade and integration into the world's economy, Vietnam's economy has been integrating deeply with the world's economy, especially through new Free Trade Agreements, with high demands on product quality.

Therefore, the implementation of the circular economy model for commodity products, especially those exported to markets requiring high quality, such as EU, US, Japan, Australia markets…; and the circular economy in the production processes has to meet the requirements of environmental and other criteria, and export products must also be favorable for green criteria with regulations on green labels and eco-labels.

Fifthly, the linkage of the circular economy with other green criteria to aim for a green economy must be maintained.

6 key solutions to develop green agriculture in a sustainable way

Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hong Son, Director of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hong Son, Director of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences

To develop green agriculture in a sustainable way in the future, Vietnam must make great efforts, not only from the Government, but also from the private sectors including businesses and direct producers. Accordingly, some of the main focuses are as follows:

Firstly, we must improve the efficiency of land and water use and limit degradation. It's necessary to restructure crops and livestock to limit the exploitation of natural resources and protect the land and water environment. Input resources must be utilized reasonably, the use of chemicals is minimized.

Secondly, we need to improve transportation system, especially waterway traffic. Also, we have to advance the construction of processing facilities and storage systems.

Thirdly, training shall move towards more in-depth orientations, especially training of skilled workers.

Fourthly, the focus should be on developing basic research in high technology, precision technology and information technology in agriculture, shifting the science and technology for productivity improvement towards improvement in quality, food hygiene and safety.

Fifthly, the industry shall be replanned in the direction of specialized cultivation, concentration and promotion of regional competitiveness. We should also develop production linkage systems using contracts and insurance.

Finally, in order to improve the competitiveness of agricultural products, it is necessary to strengthen the system of product quality certification/information transparency (production linkages). It's crucial to promote trading on electronic trading platforms, on the basis of information transparency and traceability. We should strengthen processing capacity associated with building material areas (to add value and overcome technical barriers); and make the most of agricultural by-products in the direction of developing circular agriculture and deep processing of agricultural by-products.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh, a member of the Party Committee of Xuan Tang Ward, Lao Cai City offers a number of solutions to promote the development of green agriculture in Lao Cai province, including: (1) Supplementing and developing policies to develop commodity agriculture, which focuses on solving problems of land accumulation, land lease, capital contribution by land use rights. Localities base on their potentials, advantages and actual conditions to develop local specialty products in order to promote their identities associated with building new rural areas under the model of "one commune, one product" (OCOP); (2) Organizing to improve production efficiency, ensuring sustainable development through promoting research, selection, breeding, transferring and application of plant and animal varieties, based on market demands; (3) Building a civilized and modern countryside associated with urbanization, preserving traditional culture; (4) Protecting the ecological environment and landscape, adapting to climate change through developing rural landscapes in association with ecological villages, promoting the advantages of each locality, ensuring a green, clean, beautiful, friendly and harmonious environment, and at the same time, building a rural economic ecosystem.

The comprehensive solutions for energy transition

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, Head of Energy Economics Department, Institute of Energy, Ministry of Industry and Trade

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, Head of Energy Economics Department, Institute of Energy, Ministry of Industry and Trade

Especially, recently, the Prime Minister has made a strong commitment at COP26 to achieve net-zero emissions by the middle of this century. Besides, Vietnam also committed to reduce global methane emissions by 2030 compared to 2010; committed to The Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use and The Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement. In that context, energy conversion plays an important role.

The representative of The Institute of Energy also offers conversion energy solutions. Accordingly, the comprehensive solution is energy security insurance, such as: promoting search and exploration to increase the reserves and primary energy production output; making the most of domestic sources of energy, enhancing the autonomy and diversification in energy supply; prioritizing investment in technical infrastructure for primary energy import for electricity production and other purposes; increasing the reserve capacity to meet the petroleum reserve target; maintaining appropriate coal reserves to meet the demands of production.

Secondly, it is necessary to reduce energy consumption synchronously in civil and industrial buildings.

Thirdly, strengthening electrification in economic sectors; increasing the proportion of electric machines/equipment in all economic industries.

Fourthly, developing the electricity industry towards putting a curb on the construction of new thermal power plants; developing with a reasonable proportion of gas-fired power plants with high efficiency and high flexibility; developing a energy conversion roadmap for existing thermal power plants.

Fifthly, developing renewable energy: strongly developing forms of renewable energy, especially focusing on the development of offshore wind power, rooftop solar power, lakebed solar power, renewable energy projects to serve local electricity demand…

Sixthly, developing hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels: Hydrogen fuel; hydrogen based fuels like Ammonia (NH3), synthetic fuels.

Seventhly, Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS): capturing CO2 emitted by industrial manufacturing processes, thermal power plants and hydrogen production processes from coal and natural gas; making effective use of CO2 released from chemical production, building material production, agricultural activities, synthetic fuel production processes; adopting CO2 storage measures.

The need to apply CSI for businesses

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice President of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Chairman of Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD)

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice President of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Chairman of Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD)

The application of CSI will contribute to great benefit gain for businesses by meeting basic indicators and following up advanced indexes, thereby improving their image and reputation, contributing to enhancing the trust of customers and investors. As a result, they are recognized by government agencies for their sustainable business brands and are trusted and highly appreciated by consumers, customers, and investors.

CSI is an effective tool to support enterprises in the compilation of the sustainability reports. It is necessary to institutionalize the preparation of the sustainability report to disclose and manage corporate information. Sustainability reports benefit many parties including businesses, regulators, investors and the public.

Mechanisms should be proposed to integrate / combine requirements / reports of different ministries and sectors into the sustainability report to reduce costs and resources for businesses. CSI is composed of inclusive and comprehensive indicators that relate to protecting labor rights, promoting working environments, protecting the environment, and enhancing the social responsibilities of enterprises. Sustainability reports of enterprises then comprise a lot of information related to different areas of state management, so it will be a good source of information available for state management.

When sustainability reporting becomes a mandatory requirement, it is accompanied by a system/program to monitor the implementation of enterprises. The Government is then required to have a long-term program on building a database on sustainable reports of Vietnam; unifying and standardizing reports so that the report compiling and updating do not become a burden for businesses, and state management agencies will also be easy to access and collect its data.

Enterprises need to be fully aware of the important role of sustainable development and sustainability reports. The publication of sustainability reports is becoming an international practice to help businesses strengthen and promote cooperation with stakeholders, investors and the community, and at the same time, helping businesses improve business risk management and their ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment and compete more effectively in an international economic integration environment. Therefore, businesses need to be proactive in allocating resources and arranging personnel for sustainable reporting.

"Enterprises should actively seek out information related to sustainability reporting. Currently, VCCI is the focal agency assigned to lead and implement guidance on CSI, businesses can contact VCCI and its local branches for technical assistance when necessary", recommended Chairman of VBCSD.

According to Prof., Dr. Nguyen Huu Ninh - Chairman of the Center for Environment Research, Education and Development (CERED), businesses are the backbone of the economy, so it is necessary to focus on supporting business ecosystems, especially a circular and green business ecosystem. More than 90% of businesses are willing to do that. Vietnam is one of the countries that have recovered strongly after the Covid-19, so it has more momentum to support businesses for green and sustainable development.

The determination of leaders is the key for business sustainable development.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Anh, R&D Director, The Pan Group Joint Stock Company

Mr. Nguyen Trung Anh, Director of Research and Development, The PAN Group Joint Stock Company

In order to spread the direction of sustainable development to all employees, since 2017, PAN has developed and implemented the Code of Conduct. At the same time, the regular training sessions for employees in member companies on sustainable development are organized, then the annual monitoring and evaluation at the subsidiaries, farms for proper requirement implementation, followed by timely corrective measures if necessary.

It can be said that PAN is one of the first corporations to build a set of internal sustainable development indicators. It is the effort of the leaders and member companies, which has brought many positive results. One of which is the fact that PAN exports to more than 40 countries, even to the most demanding markets such as Japan, the EU, and the US. In addition, PAN also received investment from big partners such as: IFC, SSI...

However, in the process of implementation, PAN also faced many challenges such as the awareness on the importance of sustainable development in enterprises, investment costs (in infrastructure) as well as business environment factors.

PAN's successful experience in sustainable development shows that the vision and determination of leaders are very important for a business to follow the path of sustainable development. More importantly, it is finding a partner accompanying and sharing with you on that development path. Finally, it is worth mentioning the consensus of employees and workers.

The conference shared invaluable research findings

Ms. Nguyen Le Thuy, Editor-in-Chief of the Economy and Forecast Review

Ms. Nguyen Le Thuy, Editor-in-Chief of Economy and Forecast Review

After more than 3 hours of the conference, the scientists, experts, and participants have shared many invaluable studies, at the same time, discussing and offering practical solutions from the research and contributing to Vietnam's successful implementation of the Green Growth Strategy.

During the preparation of the conference, the Organizing Committee received nearly 100 research papers and articles from managers, scientists, experts and lecturers from all over the country. The Organizing Committee selected 50 quality ones to be introduced in the Scientific Conference Proceedings containing the same ISBN number of the Conference.

The results of discussions at the Conference as well as the research papers introduced in the Conference Proceedings will provide valuable scientific arguments and valuable suggestions for the successful implementation of National Strategy on Green Growth for the period 2011- 2020, vision to 2050, contributing to the victory of the 10-year Socio-economic Development Strategy 2021-2030, and the achievement of national sustainable development goals.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, Ms. Nguyen Le Thuy would like to thank the speakers, scientists, experts... for taking the time to attend and share their findings at the Conference. She appreciates the assistance of Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Company, Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group, Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Offices of the Ministry of Planning and Investment for a successful scientific conference. /

Source: Economy and Forecast Review