VCCI Secretary General Nguyen Quang Vinh had a working session this morning with JICA's Chief Technical Advisor Koji Fukuda on JICA-VCCI cooperation of "Support for Planning and Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (SPI-NDC project) at the headquarters of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). 

At the reception, JICA Chief Technical Advisor Koji Fukuda gave a brief presentation on the contents of the Project to Support the Planning and Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (SPI-NDC) in general, and activities to encourage the participation of enterprises in the project in particular, as well as to discuss potential cooperation with VCCI.

As for the promotion of private sector participation in the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) through the VCCI – MONRE – JICA cooperation mechanism, the planned activities include: Designing and implementing corporate training on GHG emission reduction and Business Continuity Plan (BCP) against climate risks; selecting a number of enterprises to pilot BCP and GHG emission reduction plan at the enterprise. 

During the past years, VCCI has actively coordinated with domestic/foreign partners (MONRE, UN agencies, P4G, etc.)  to encourage the business community to do business responsibly and protect the environment, especially in response to climate change.

General Secretary of VCCI Nguyen Quang Vinh said that it is very important to assess the needs of enterprises in making facility level greenhouse gas reports and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as a prerequisite for training activities and businesses supporting in a more effective way. 

At the meeting, General Secretary of VCCI Nguyen Quang Vinh also proposed implementing surveys in the Vietnamese small and medium-sized business community (which accounts for more than 98% of businesses) on the perception of businesses related to climate change. 

Since 2016, VCCI has coordinated with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the General Confederation of Labor to implement the Program on benchmarking and Announcing Sustainable Companies in Vietnam, in order to promote the businesses to implement sustainable corporate governance in particular and change business thinking – from a for-profit business to a responsible business. In 2021, the Program also brings new points with 02 secondary awards on Gender Equality at Work and Children's Rights in Business. 

General Secretary of VCCI Nguyen Quang Vinh suggested that VCCI and JICA, in conjunction with partners, develop and deploy additional awards on circular economy and climate change response to encourage stronger business involvement in this sector for the next years.