As part of the core activities of the project "Promoting sustainable finance in Vietnamese commercial banks", on November 26, the Banking Academy coordinated with Oxfam Novib to organize a scientific conference "Vietnam Banking Industry ESG Forum".
Speaking at the opening of the forum, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Thi Hoang Anh - Deputy Director, Head of the Board of Directors of the Banking Academy emphasized: "The strong shift to a green and sustainable development model, the ESG (environment - society - governance) framework has become an inevitable requirement for financial institutions, commitments to net zero emissions in Vietnam at COP26, the requirement to greening the supply chain from international partners along with strong changes in information standards that are posing an urgent need of the banking system in integrating ESG into strategies and operating models".
The school representative said that in recent times, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued many directives and legal documents to promote green banking and sustainable finance. From an academic and research perspective, the Banking Academy is responsible for accompanying the banking industry in proposing policies, promoting, innovating and disseminating related knowledge to bring green banking, green finance and sustainable finance.
Within the framework of the workshop, Ms. Nguyen Cam Chi - Director of MCG Sustainable Development Consulting Bank affirmed: "ESG is becoming the "backbone" of sustainable development in the banking industry, driven by 3 main drivers from the global and domestic business environment".
The first driver is the change in international capital flows after COP28. New loan conditions, major financial institutions such as IFC, ADB, JICA and the World Bank have integrated ESG, climate and ESRM (Environmental and Social Risk Management) into loan conditions. This is not only a formal requirement but has become a mandatory standard.
This requires banks that want to access low-cost capital to build a solid internal ESG framework and attract businesses to meet international standards.
When implementing the above requirements, Ms. Chi clearly stated the double benefits. When businesses have good sustainability, banks reduce risks, reduce reserve capital and increase credit efficiency sustainably.
In order to promote sustainable development, the international supply chain requires ESG to be considered a second driving force for businesses and the banking industry. Vietnamese enterprises are facing a series of new regulations from major export markets. Banks become strategic partners to help them meet the standards to continue competing.
"Enterprises cannot "swim on their own" in complex regulatory environments such as: CSRD, CSDDD, CBAM, ASEAN Taxonomy, ... the banking industry as a strategic partner will help them be transparent in emissions, improve working conditions and manage the supply chain more effectively. In particular, in 2025, Vietnam will witness severe natural disasters, up to 15 storms, businesses have not recovered in time, and have continued to suffer great damage after accumulating" - Ms. Chi said.
The third driving force, Vietnam enters the compliance and implementation stage with many important policies, orientations and decisions. These are the Green Growth Strategy 2021-2030, the Basel III Orientation - non-financial risk assessment, Decision 167/QD-TTg on the Net Zero 2050 roadmap and Decision 21/2023/QD-TTg - Classification and determination of green projects.
Recognizing the global trend, the Director of MCG Sustainable Development Consulting clearly stated: "As a bank in its role of supporting businesses in sustainable development, the world's leading banks have shifted from simply assessing risks to accompanying businesses". According to Ms. Chi, that is an inevitable trend that Vietnamese banks need to grasp.
