No green certification, difficulty accessing incentives
Starting the "green road" from banana trunks - once considered agricultural waste, Mr. Bui Khanh Dung - Director of Musa Pacta Co., Ltd. - had to sacrifice many efforts, time, money and even will with the principle of "closed - circulating - no waste".
However, despite persistently pursuing sustainable development, Mr. Dung's business still cannot affirm that the product is "green" because there is no certification for the production process and product evaluation. Lacking this "travel ticket", accessing incentives from banks and financial institutions is still difficult. "The business's production process is almost closed, without waste; if there is, it is only wastewater equivalent to domestic wastewater. However, we still have to borrow under a regular credit package, with a minimum interest rate of 7.5%, not yet an incentive for a green project" - Mr. Dung said.
According to Mr. Dung, to ensure fairness and transparency for green projects, there needs to be a specialized organization to advise, evaluate and support the completion of green business dossiers. "We are willing to pay service fees, provide complete dossiers, financial statements, operating procedures and open factories to be evaluated whether the business meets green criteria or not, and at what level it meets" - Mr. Dung expressed.
Not only is it a "travel ticket" to help businesses receive "worthy" incentives from commercial banks or credit institutions, that assessment result can become an effective marketing tool. "When bringing products to the market along with certification or assessment from a reputable organization on the level of meeting the green criteria of the business, the product will be more convenient in the process of approaching the market" - Mr. Dung shared.
Having a team of specialized assessment experts not only helps businesses determine the level of "greening", but also creates a basis for continuing to complete green dossiers, expanding sustainable development models in Vietnam. Notably, the State Bank is submitting to the Government a draft decree to support 2% interest rate from the State budget for private enterprises, business households, and individual businesses to borrow capital to implement green projects, circular economy and apply ESG standards.
Expecting a boost from interest rate support policies
Commenting on this proposal, Mr. Nguyen Nhat Minh (photo) - Institute of Banking Science Research, Banking Academy - said that if approved and effectively implemented in practice, interest rate support policies will create three positive impacts.
First, this will be a direct boost in capital costs for the private economic sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. Better interest rate incentives will help many projects meet financial feasibility, thereby encouraging businesses to boldly innovate technology and transform production models.
Second, this policy will create a very important market orientation signal. Accordingly, when the State uses the budget to support interest rates, bank capital flows will be led and will be more strongly directed towards green projects. The interest rate support policy will play a catalyst role in continuing to expand the scale of green credit in the economy, thereby promoting sustainable growth.
Third, interest rate support policies will encourage businesses to improve management standards. Because to access incentives, businesses are forced to be more transparent about sustainable development criteria. This is not only a condition for preferential loans but also an important condition for businesses to participate in supply chains, exports and access international capital sources in the future.
