The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) strongly stated: "In addition to businesses specifically targeting children, almost all businesses interact with children, albeit indirectly and unintentionally. Children may work in factories, on farms, be part of the families of workers, and be members of the communities where businesses operate."

Therefore, businesses play a crucial role in shaping the world in which children live through their actions, influence, and utilization of resources, stated Ms. Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice Chairman of VCCI - the national representative agency for the business community in Vietnam, emphasized: "It is important to prioritize the implementation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria because it brings benefits to domestic businesses when accessing the international market, promotes responsible business practices, and contributes to building a sustainable future for all of us, including the younger generation."

The business forum "Responsible Business Conduct for Vietnam’s Thriving Next Generation” was organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and UNICEF on the afternoon of May 30, 2023, in Hanoi. It emphasized the necessity and importance of responsible business practices, promoting businesses to respect the rights of children, as business activities impact children's lives in various ways, even though many businesses may not be aware of this.

Due to the rapid physical, mental, and emotional development of children, any existing or potential negative impact from business activities can have irreversible consequences for children's development.

Within Vietnam's economic scale of over 400 billion USD, the private economic sector has consistently maintained a relatively high growth rate, accounting for 39-40% of GDP. It attracts about 85% of the workforce and plays a significant role in mobilizing social resources for investment in production and business development, economic growth, economic restructuring, increasing state budget revenues, creating employment opportunities, improving people's lives, and ensuring social security.

Meanwhile, children are directly involved in business as they are customers, family members of employees, young workers, and the future workforce and leaders of enterprises.

Therefore, the business community, including private enterprises, state-owned enterprises, foreign enterprises, and other private economic organizations, plays a crucial role in promoting responsible business practices that respect the rights of children.

In particular, Ms. Rana Flowers emphasizes: "In challenging times, it is even more important to pay attention to children. When the economy faces difficulties, it is the workers and families who are most affected, directly!"

In the publication "Children's Rights and Business Principles" (published in August 2017) by UNICEF, all businesses are urged to implement the following principles to promote and respect children's rights. The specific set of principles and other tools for guiding responsible business practices for the benefit of children can be found on the website (crbp.com.vn).

Children's Rights and the 10 Business Principles. Source: UNICEF, VCCI, CRBP.

Meanwhile, the shift in awareness, accompanied by specific actions to integrate business responsibility into every aspect of business operations, is what helps reduce legal risks and damage to the company's reputation and credibility.

This is when businesses need to recognize their social responsibilities and prioritize responsible business practices to bring benefits to society and achieve sustainable success. Some specific and practical programs can be mentioned as follows.

Businesses should implement gender equality activities. Specifically, businesses need to ensure the rights of women during pregnancy and childcare, provide flexible working hours, and be willing to transfer work positions to ensure the health of employees and enable the participation and contributions of women in business development.

Ensuring women's rights contributes to protecting children's rights and helps foster a stronger connection between employees and businesses. As a result, employees are more motivated to commit to long-term loyalty and contribute to the long-term growth of the business.

Furthermore, empowering children plays a positive role in shaping business activities for the better. Specifically, businesses should listen to the opinions of children to develop appropriate products. Meeting the specific needs of children contributes to stable and sustainable growth for businesses, especially during challenging economic times like the present.

To ensure the rights of workers and children are protected and promoted in the context of business activities, enhancing cooperation among trade unions, businesses, and the government is crucial.

Additionally, promoting children's rights in business also requires the collaboration of non-governmental organizations and social organizations. These organizations can make significant contributions to monitoring and evaluating business activities related to children, as well as proposing solutions. Collaboration between these organizations and other relevant parties will also help enhance the effectiveness of child protection activities in business.

UNICEF emphasizes that businesses need to respect the rights of children, which can be demonstrated through actions such as actively collaborating with the government to protect and uphold children's rights. Specifically, businesses should engage in responsible behavior, such as paying taxes to generate revenue for the government. In turn, governments can utilize these funds to fulfill their responsibilities in protecting and promoting children's rights.

In Vietnam, various ministries and departments have recently collaborated with the business community to organize international seminars aimed at raising awareness of children's rights in production and business activities. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has previously partnered with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and VCCI to organize international workshops on international commitments related to the prevention and elimination of child labor.

In reality, the prevention and reduction of child labor in Vietnam have achieved significant results. According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the rate of child labor in Vietnam is not high and has been decreasing over the years. The results of the national survey on child labor show that the percentage of children engaged in work has decreased from 15.5% in 2012 to 6.6% in 2011. The rate of child labor in Vietnam is less than 2% compared to the regional average in Asia-Pacific.

Furthermore, there are several innovative and effective approaches implemented by businesses, government, and social organizations to promote and protect children's rights. These approaches can include organizing workshops and forums to address the specific issues faced by workers and children in different stages.

"Taking care and showing concern for the families of workers will contribute greatly to improving their morale, enabling them to contribute better to the business by enhancing labor productivity or improving the overall atmosphere and culture of the company. Ultimately, this will lead to enhancing the efficiency of business operations and yielding better profits," said Ms. Rana Flowers.

An exemplary case is Unilever Vietnam, which has become one of the highly successful companies in implementing responsible business practices to build a sustainable future for everyone, especially children.

Ms. Le Thi Hong Nhi, Director of Communications, External Affairs, and Sustainable Development at Unilever Vietnam, stated that many people generally believe there is a trade-off between responsible business and business growth.

However, for Unilever, there is no trade-off. In the short term, there may be certain limitations, but in the long term, it creates sustainable and stable growth through a sustainability-oriented development approach. According to Ms. Nhi, there are four driving forces for businesses to fulfill their responsibilities in business.

Firstly, in 2022, the economy began to face many difficulties, and consumers started to change their spending habits to adapt to the challenging times ahead.

However, consumers still greatly value products from businesses that have a focus on child-friendly, environmentally-friendly, and socially responsible development. In fact, 82% of shoppers desire businesses to pursue sustainable development. Therefore, companies or brands that operate with a sustainable approach are more likely to contribute to business growth.

Secondly, sustainable development products have shown remarkable growth, surpassing other industries, emphasized by Ms. Nhi. Thirdly, sustainable development helps save costs. Specifically, Unilever has saved 1.2 billion euros globally by transitioning to the use of renewable energy, which contributes to community health protection. Fourthly, businesses that prioritize sustainable development often have a better market position.

Therefore, focusing on the rights of children in business not only enhances the credibility of the company but also leads to the creation of better products, promotes innovation in production, and achieves sustainable development.

Therefore, to achieve sustainable development, all businesses need to take action in line with the message emphasized by Ms. Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam: "Integrating children's rights into responsible business activities is not only the right thing to do but also an effective tool for decision-making, considering Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors that help businesses create a more sustainable future for everyone."

According to cafef.vn