Vice Chairman of VCCI, Chairman of VBCSD Nguyen Quang Vinh presents a souvenir to Chairman of WBCSD Peter Bakker on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Chairman of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD): Challenges are increasing due to escalating geopolitical instability, the trend of a multipolar world, trade protectionism, climate change, risks of energy security crisis, food security... These "headwinds" also create certain impacts on the efforts to realize the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of all countries.

- In the current context, how do you assess sustainable business practices, challenges and opportunities?

Along with unpredictable fluctuations, there are also many potential opportunities. First of all, it is the opportunity from the stable growth momentum of the global economy. According to the latest report of the OECD, global GDP growth is forecast to reach 3.3% in 2025, up slightly from 3.2% in 2024 and remain stable at 3.3% in 2026. Along with that, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) earlier this year was commented to "move away from the discussions on "multiple crises" that were prominent at the 2023 meeting, towards practical measures to solve them", while expressing a constructive optimism, promoting cooperation and specific solutions.

Next, new economic opportunities, especially in the fields of technology transformation, renewable energy and climate change response. As long as climate change remains a “common problem” for all humanity, as long as governments’ Net Zero commitments remain in effect, nothing can prevent the transition to “green energy”, “green production”, “circular economy”, and “economy for nature” on a global scale. Clean energy sources such as wind, solar and hydrogen will continue to receive strong investment. Enterprises developing low-carbon solutions, recycling and waste reduction will benefit from government policies and financial support. And especially, we are in an era where the age of intelligence is changing everything at the same time, in human history, we have never witnessed such a level of change, thanks to the explosion of technology and artificial intelligence (AI). When digital transformation supports green transformation, opportunities will push back challenges, and businesses that grasp and take advantage of these trends will rise to the top and reshape the global "game".

- It is known that you have just attended the annual meeting of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), could you please tell us the main content of this meeting?

I just had a short business trip to attend the WBCSD Annual Meeting (LD Meeting) in Montreux, Switzerland in early April. This is one of two outstanding events that WBCSD has organized continuously for many years, but this year's LD Meeting, which is also the event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of WBCSD's operation, attracted a record number of attendees, up to more than 700 representatives from more than 40 countries, most of whom came from nearly 240 member enterprises of WBCSD globally.

This also partly shows the growing interest in sustainable development (SD), especially from the business community. As the world faces more and more unpredictable challenges, PTBV is the most optimal choice to ensure a sustainable future that we all desire. At the LD Meeting, Mr. Peter Bakker, Chairman of WBCSD, pointed out a number of implications that affect PTBV trends in 2025, including: geopolitical changes, aftershocks of trade wars, cultural conflicts, AI "horizon" (the prospect or future that is opening up of AI).

- What should the Vietnamese business community pay attention to, sir?

According to WBCSD, the current and near-future global trend of sustainable business practices is also shaped by the following main "pillars":

First, it is "increasing physical trends" - meaning that tangible, real impacts such as climate change, natural disasters, resource scarcity, emissions, and environmental pollution are becoming increasingly evident and cannot be ignored. Businesses and governments must face the physical impacts of the climate and environmental crisis head-on.

Second, it is “realism built into transition planning” – green transition is no longer just a “beautiful dream” but must be truly feasible and sustainable, as stakeholders begin to be more realistic: they consider costs, risks, implementation capacity, actual progress, and accompanying social factors.

Third, it is “human-centered transformation”, for example, when applying green technology, businesses need to retrain staff, provide fair support for affected people, and ensure the rights of local communities.

Fourth, is “proactively grasping legal regulations”, in the context of increasingly complex and strict regulations on environment, climate and sustainable development reporting, organizations/enterprises must proactively adapt, monitor and navigate in a rapidly changing legal environment, avoid legal risks and take advantage of policy opportunities. These are also the things that the Vietnamese business community needs to pay attention to when pursuing sustainable business strategies in the present and the future.

2025 marks the 15th anniversary of VBCSD, a proud journey when VBCSD has always been persistent and pioneering in accompanying domestic enterprises in promoting sustainable business development. In addition to annual activities such as CSI, VCSF Forum, we will continue to promote new initiatives such as: initiatives to promote sustainable industrial parks; establishing a Consulting Center, supporting green transformation enterprises; Initiate and deploy working groups to promote green finance, green transformation, ESG practices in the business community…

- Thank you very much!