At a seminar organized by VPBank in collaboration with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Ms. Truong Minh Trang, Director of Business Consulting FPT Digital - FPT Corporation, pointed out this reality.
She believes that data is not a "necessity" of ESG. Data is the backbone, the foundation for banks to assess the environmental and social impacts of credit activities, build green financial policies and standardize sustainable reporting.
According to FPT representatives, one of the biggest challenges that banks are facing is segmented and disjointed ESG service data. Each department has different ways of collecting, using and storing data. There is no "common data language" that makes it impossible for units to talk to each other using the same reference system.
As a result, every time it comes to the period of publishing sustainable development reports or self-assessment reports, banks spend weeks, even months, to synthesize data from many sources. The time spent is not for strategic analysis, but for standardization and comparison operations.
The key is not how much technology the bank invests in, but how the data is standardized. When data is standardized according to the general definition, the system will be able to automate. When automation occurs, humans have time to analyze and apply strategic thinking.
In that process, technologies such as document digitization, process automation and centralized data warehousing play a key role. However, Ms. Trang noted that technology does not replace humans, but replaces operations that humans do not need to do. That is, the machine processes data, while humans process thinking. The machine synthesizes information, while humans make decisions.
When data is connected, ESG is no longer the single task of a sustainability department. It becomes a part of the culture of decision making. The risk department can evaluate the credit portfolio based on the emission level of each industry. Human resources can accurately measure social impacts within organizations... And senior leaders can track sustainable progress based on real-time data, instead of according to reporting cycles.
This also helps banks shift ESG from promise to action. Instead of announcing emission reduction targets in general, banks can clearly define targets for each industry segment, each business group, and each credit product. Data creates measurement. The ability to measure creates the ability to adjust. The ability to adjust creates real results.
In this journey, the bank that can master the data first is likely to take the lead in the conversion. A bank that owns a clear, continuous and traceable ESG data system will have the ability to implement a sustainable strategy confidently and responsibly.
