Socially responsible practices in the wood and seafood processing industries were under the spotlight at a workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 27 as part of the Responsible Supply Chains in Asia project (RSCA).

At the event, experts emphasized that promoting corporate social responsibility (SCR) and responsible business conduct (RBC) in the business community is important to the country. 

RSCA Programme Manager Fredy Guayacan said the project aims to promote comprehensive and inclusive growth through supporting access to and practice of CSR and RBC in accordance to international tools such as the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (the MNE Declaration) and the ILO. It also strives to create a policy environment favourable for RBC and create more chances for dialogue between stakeholders. 

Another important goal of the project is to enhance the local business community’s capacity to practice CSR and RBC in the long run, thus improving their access to markets in the context of the country deepening integration into the international economy.  

According to the project’s coordinator Tran Minh Tri, the project will also equip State agencies’ employees, policy makers and enterprises with information on CSR and RBC.

Le Van Bang from the Research Centre for Resources and Rural Development suggested more training in CSR and RBC for enterprises, and put in place mechanisms and policies facilitating the connection of links in the supply chains in Vietnam in practicing CSR and RBC. 

The three-year RSCA project is being implemented by ILO and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with co-funding from ILO and the EU in six countries, including Vietnam. In Vietnam, it focuses on the wood and seafood processing industries.