CSI 2024 with the theme "Enterprises Rising in the Green Era," marks the 9th milestone of the Program to Evaluate and Announce Sustainable Enterprises in Vietnam. (Photo: Vietnam+)

On November 29, the Ceremony to Announce Vietnam Sustainable Enterprises 2024 (CSI 2024) honored more than 100 outstanding enterprises, showing the strong transformation of the Vietnamese economy towards green development.

CSI 2024 with the theme "Enterprises Rising in the Green Era," marks the 9th milestone of the Program to Evaluate and Announce Sustainable Enterprises in Vietnam, organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and chaired by the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD-VCCI).

Good resilience

VCCI Chairman, Head of the CSI 2024 Steering Committee Pham Tan Cong said that the CSI 2024 Program was implemented under the direction of the Government, aiming to recognize and commend enterprises that have excellently implemented sustainable production and business activities. With the close coordination of the Central Economic Committee, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, VCCI chaired and organized the program. In which, the 2024 Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) is one of the main bases for the Evaluation Council and the Program Steering Committee to evaluate the level of sustainable development of participating enterprises.

According to the organizers, this year's program attracted nearly 500 enterprises across the country with diverse sizes and types. After a thorough screening process, 142 excellent profiles were selected for official scoring. Notably, the rate of domestic enterprises and new enterprises participating for the first time has grown significantly compared to the past 3 years, reaching 62% and 35%, respectively. This is a positive signal, showing that the awareness and actions of Vietnamese enterprises on sustainable development are changing positively.

VCCI Chairman Pham Tan Cong emphasized that in order to seize new opportunities, in addition to making strong breakthroughs in development institutions, removing bottlenecks and barriers, the business community, the main production force, also needs to have a strong change in thinking about business strategy, promoting internal strength. In particular, proactively innovating to transform the practice of humane, creative and sustainable business models, contributing to the progress, prosperity of society and happiness of the people.

VCCI Chairman, Head of the CSI 2024 Steering Committee Pham Tan Cong. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Mr. Pham Tan Cong also affirmed that the results of VCCI's survey of enterprises that have achieved the title of sustainable enterprise over the past decade have proven that enterprises that persistently implement sustainable production and business models will be more resilient to challenges and seize opportunities from green transformation and digital transformation.

The representative of the organizing committee said that one of the highlights of CSI 2024 is the significant improvement of the Index. Specifically, the assessment system is divided into 3 areas: production, trade-services and mixed (including both production and trade-services). In particular, the weighted scores of economic, environmental and social contents will be flexibly adjusted depending on the industry group, ensuring fairness and accessibility for each enterprise.

Thus, the CSI 2024 Index has been updated with contents related to international commitments and important changes in the domestic legal framework. With a total of 153 indicators, of which 62% are compliance indicators and 38% are advanced indicators, CSI 202 can comprehensively assess enterprises in the following aspects: Economic efficiency - Corporate governance - Society - Environment. In fact, the focus on indicators shows that implementing sustainable development is not too difficult, enterprises only need to comply with legal requirements to have a solid foundation.

In particular, CSI 2024 has more quantitative indicators than previous years and emphasizes current issues of sustainable business, such as assessing the two-way impact between enterprises and the environment. On that basis, enterprises calculate figures, such as net revenue from activities in areas with significant impacts on climate; Operating costs/investment costs are allocated to plans/activities related to sustainable development. And, this requires businesses to invest and research more, but also helps them review their operations and allocate resources more effectively for sustainable development.

Success of persistent efforts

The CSI 2024 announcement ceremony honored 100 typical sustainable enterprises, including the manufacturing and trade-service sectors. The Top 10 sustainable enterprises in these two sectors were evenly divided between domestic enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises (FDI), thereby proving that domestic enterprises have made great strides and the sustainable development game is no longer reserved for FDI enterprises. In addition to the main category, the Program also honored pioneering enterprises in two specialized categories: implementing circular economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and building and implementing diverse, equitable and inclusive values.

At the event, Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice President of VCCI, Chairman of VBCSD, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the CSI 2024 Program, shared the importance of strengthening sustainable corporate governance capacity according to the ESG pillar (environment, society, governance) which has contributed to enhancing the "internal strength" of enterprises.

The CSI 2024 announcement ceremony honored 100 outstanding sustainable enterprises, including both manufacturing and trade-service sectors. (Photo: Vietnam+)

In addition, Mr. Vinh also affirmed that the application of the CSI Index will effectively support sustainable corporate governance activities and VCCI will continue to spread this Index more widely in the business community. The establishment of the “CSI Club” creates a new playground for businesses that have been recognized in the Program over the years. This is also a remarkable initiative, creating conditions for businesses to share experiences and learn from each other.

“CSI is always innovating to bring new added values to each activity. The recognition and appreciation of the business community is the driving force for us to continue our efforts to promote sustainable business, responsible business in general, as well as maintain and enhance the Program in particular in the future,” Mr. Vinh shared.

The success of CSI 2024 has been accompanied by major partners, such as Nestlé Vietnam, Coca-Cola Vietnam Beverage Company; British American Tobacco Vietnam; Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Corporation (SABECO) and many other partners and members of VBCSD./.

Established in 2010 under the approval of the Government government, VBCSD is a business-oriented organization, bringing together leading enterprises and prestigious organizations in Vietnam to pioneer in implementing sustainable development.

VBCSD plays an important role as a bridge between the business community, state management agencies and domestic and international partner organizations.