Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - As Vietnam grows faster on the global economic stage, the need for sustainability is becoming more urgent. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) principles are now seen not just as international standards but as essential strategies.

“ESG is not a trend – it is an essential strategy,” said Sam Hanna, former CEO & Vice President of Strategy at ASEAN Shell Global Lubricants and current Director of the EMBA programme at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).

Speaking at the forum on digital transformation and ESG as the key to global economic integration hosted by Dan Tri newspaper and VietinBank on Tuesday, Hanna emphasised that Vietnam’s dynamic momentum, marked by strong GDP growth and a substantial rise in foreign direct investment, has positioned the country at a crucial turning point.

The real challenge lies in making sure this growth is sustainable, inclusive and resilient.

“Vietnam is at a crucial juncture, where it must balance two urgent goals — to grow rapidly, but also sustainably,” he said.

Hanna stressed that ESG must move beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

“CSR is voluntary. ESG is a far more structured framework where companies need to report to keep everybody honest,” he explained.

In sectors like sustainable timber, electric vehicles and clean energy, green finance initiatives in Vietnam have already attracted over 120 million USD in international investment. Still, the adoption of ESG principles remains patchy.

80% of Vietnamese companies have either committed to or are planning to adopt ESG standards, but 34% have no ESG programmes in place. Only 15% of Vietnamese firms publish full ESG reports, and over 70% disclose little or no ESG data, Hanna noted.

This gap between intention and implementation is even more concerning in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“Over time, constraints have changed. In the past, we didn’t talk about environment or social responsibility, but now these are key challenges SMEs must address to stay competitive,” said Dr Luong Thai Bao, head of the Department of International Finance at the National Economics University in Hanoi.

ESG and digital transformation can be both goals and tools, depending on the industry and size of the business. Companies facing global competition are more likely to invest in ESG, while many domestic market-focused firms are not yet ready due to high costs and limited support.

According to Bao, currently about 15 banks in Vietnam have internal green credit strategies. In theory, green loans should offer better interest rates, but regulations and risk-sharing mechanisms are still unclear.

“Still, banks need to diversify services, including green finance. Those further along in digital transformation already show more balanced income beyond just lending,” Bao said.

Vietnam has introduced ambitious policies, including Decree 06/2022/NĐ-CP, which mandates emissions reporting for many enterprises. However, both experts argue that the real bottleneck is not policy, but people.

“No matter how good your strategy or technology is, it will fail without capable people,” said AIT Vietnam Director Phung Van Dong. He said he believes that human capital is the single most critical pillar of Vietnam’s green and digital transition.

“ESG requires interdisciplinary skills – people who understand not only finance or technology, but how these interact with environmental and social metrics. And we don’t have enough of them,” he warned.

The numbers are stark. Vietnam will need 700,000 ICT professionals by the end of the year, and only about 550,000 are currently in the workforce. Even among university graduates, just 30% are considered job-ready. In ESG-specific roles, the gap is wider.

VietinBank offers a promising case study. As one of the country’s pioneers in ESG financing, the bank has disbursed around 1.8 billion USD in green loans and launched a support package worth 5 trillion VND (192 million USD) for businesses transitioning toward sustainability. But these successes also bring mounting pressure.

“Businesses need ESG-literate personnel to access and implement green financing – and many simply don’t have that capacity yet,” said Dong.
To address this, he emphasises the need for collaboration between multiple stakeholders including educational organisations, companies, banks and government agencies to deliver flexible training programmes, particularly in underdeveloped provinces and among women-led SMEs.

As Vietnam moves forward, ESG, innovation and digital transformation will change the way businesses grow and how they are evaluated. This journey can’t rely on policy alone. It needs strong leadership, the right technology and, most importantly, skilled people who are ready to build a greener, more competitive economy.

“Vietnam has talent, momentum and vision to lead in ESG, not to follow,” said Hanna./.