On June 9, in Hanoi, the State Bank of Vietnam in coordination with the German International Cooperation Organization (GIZ) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment organized a seminar "Credit solutions to promote green economy, circular economy and ESG - International experience and practical implementation in Vietnam".
The event is within the framework of the Macroeconomic Reform/Green Growth Program supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.
Speaking at the seminar, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Ngoc Canh said that green growth, circular economy and implementation of environmental and social risk management are no longer an option but have become an urgent requirement in the context of climate change, environmental degradation, and resource depletion increasingly clearly impacting economic development and social stability.
According to the Deputy Governor, the transition to a green growth model, economic development in parallel with environmental protection and efficient use of resources is an inevitable trend for Vietnam to move towards a sustainable, inclusive and prosperous future.
In recent years, promoting the green economy, circular economy and sustainable development has been of particular concern to the Vietnamese Government through the completion of the Law on Environmental Protection, the national policy framework on green growth, projects, strategies and national action plans on climate change response, circular economic development, encouraging sustainable business, and energy development.
In which, developing a circular economy, applying environmental, social and governance standards is not only an environmental solution, effective use of resources but also a new development model, contributing to improving productivity, resilience and deeper participation in the global value chain.
Deputy Governor Nguyen Ngoc Canh said that the Banking sector has proactively implemented many synchronous solutions to promote green growth and sustainable development. The State Bank has developed orientations and set goals for credit institutions in deploying green credit, green banking, and environmental and social risk management in banking sector development projects and strategies, in line with national goals on green growth and Vietnam's commitments at international forums.
On the side of credit institutions, the Deputy Governor said that units have raised awareness, increasingly prioritizing capital allocation to green sectors, circular economy models, and gradually integrating ESG factors into development strategies and business operations.
The results show that green credit has had strong growth in both the number of participating credit institutions and the scale of outstanding loans. To date, 82 credit institutions have generated outstanding green credit loans, with outstanding loans reaching 828,000 billion VND, the average growth rate in the period 2017-2025 reaching over 20%/year.
Outstanding loans assessed for environmental and social risks reached over 5.1 million billion VND, nearly 25 times higher than at the end of 2017, accounting for 27.7% of total outstanding loans of the economy.
At the seminar, Dr. Michaela Baur - GIZ Country Director in Vietnam - said that green financial cooperation between Germany and Vietnam is a strategic investment for green growth and improving the competitiveness of both sides.
She expects the seminar to contribute to raising awareness about green finance, circular economy and ESG; strengthening the enforcement capacity of financial institutions; and promoting public-private partnerships to mobilize resources for Vietnam's sustainable development goals.
GIZ is committed to continuing to accompany Vietnam and the banking industry in the green transition process.
Within the framework of the Macroeconomic Reform/Green Growth Program, GIZ coordinates with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and relevant agencies to complete the classification for green, circular projects and the ESG implementation framework accompanied by incentive mechanisms; and at the same time strengthen the capacity of banks in governance, data, appraisal and sustainable financial products.
At the seminar, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment also shared information guiding the identification of green, circular projects and the application of environmental, social, and governance standard frameworks. International experts from DZ Bank and KfW shared international experiences on ESG standard frameworks, ESG implementation at banks and capital financing for circular economic projects.
