Vice chairman of VCCI Nguyễn Quang Vinh delivered his speech at the event. Photo baotintuc.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has launched the 2024 sustainable business assessment programme in Việt Nam to assess and praise business performance in three aspects - economy, society and environment.

Vice chairman of VCCI Nguyễn Quang Vinh said over the past eight years, the programme has contributed to helping businesses, entrepreneurs and the Vietnamese business community transform their business mindset from a traditional, profit-driven business model to a more natural, humane and responsible one. 

The programme's Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) is not only a basis for assessing the level of sustainable development of participating businesses but also a tool to support them in implementing sustainable corporate governance effectively, Vinh said during a launch ceremony on Wednesday in Hà Nội. 

This year, the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) has 153 indicators. Up to 62 per cent of indicators are related to legal compliance requirements, while 37 per cent are sustainability indicators.

This year is the ninth in a row that the programme is organised by the VCCI and the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour and the Central Economic Commission. 

Nearly 500 businesses joined last year's programme and up to 23 per cent were participating for the first time. Of them, 100 enterprises were recognised as the top sustainable businesses in Việt Nam in 2023. 

The typical businesses honoured in 2023 were those that had successfully implemented programmes related to sustainability and made great contributions to society for many consecutive years, including Nestlé Vietnam, AEON Vietnam, Vinamilk, Unilever Vietnam and Heineken.

Among the top 10 sustainable enterprises in the fields of trade-services and production, foreign-invested enterprises accounted for 40 per cent and Vietnamese enterprises made up 60 per cent, of which 25 per cent were enterprises with a majority of State capital.

According to the programme's organising committee, the top 10 enterprises in trade and services have contributed nearly VNĐ12 billion (US$506,000) to the State budget, equal to 0.64 per cent of the total budget revenue in 2022. With a total of more than 46,000 employees, the top 10 also achieved total revenues of nearly $10.8 billion.

Similarly, the 10 top manufacturing enterprises also generated revenues of nearly $7.6 billion and contributed more than $1.9 billion to the State budget, equivalent to 2.51 per cent of the total budget revenue in 2022.