This is the assessment of Mr. Mac Quoc Anh - Vice Chairman cum General Secretary of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Hanoisme) - when exchanging with Lao Dong Newspaper about the entry of businesses in the face of the greening trend.
Sir, how do you assess the level of "engagement" in green transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises today?
- I think that the level of "engagement" in green transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises today has clearly changed, but not evenly, not deeply enough and has not become a common management capacity in the entire business sector.
Many businesses have begun to pay attention to energy saving, using environmentally friendly materials, wastewater treatment, reducing plastic packaging, digitizing production processes, applying ESG standards, traceability and emission management. Some businesses in the fields of textiles, footwear, agricultural products, food, logistics, construction, materials, and exports have clearly felt the pressure from the international market, especially the green standards of the EU, USA, Japan, and Korea.
However, it is necessary to look directly at the reality that most small and medium-sized enterprises are still in the "recognition" and "experimentation" stages, not yet strongly shifting to the systematic investment stage.
I assess that there are currently three groups of businesses. The first group is the pioneering group, mainly export businesses, businesses participating in the global supply chain, which have started measuring emissions, applying green certificates, and standardizing production. The second group is interested but still confused, not knowing where to start, lack of capital, lack of experts, lack of guidance. The third group is still standing outside the game, considering green transformation as a cost but not seeing this as an opportunity to improve productivity, reduce long-term costs and expand the market.
What are the difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises when implementing green transformation, sir?
- The biggest difficulty is the disparity between the very high demands of the market and the limited capacity of businesses.
The first is the capital difficulty. Green transformation requires investment in machinery, technology, clean energy, waste treatment systems, emission measurement software, standard consulting, and human resource training.
Second is the difficulty of technology and data. To green production, businesses must know how much electricity, water, raw materials they consume, how many carbons they emit, and how waste is treated. But many small and medium-sized enterprises currently do not have a good enough internal data system. If they cannot measure, they cannot manage; if they cannot manage, they cannot prove themselves green to banks, importers, investors or consumers.
Third is the difficulty in support mechanisms. Small and medium-sized enterprises really need green credit packages, green credit guarantees, technical advice, emission measurement centers, industry standards, and shared databases. But in reality, many policies are still fragmented, access procedures are still difficult, and banks are not bold enough to lend if businesses cannot prove the financial efficiency of green projects.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are not lacking in aspiration for green transformation, but are lacking in a "green transformation support ecosystem".
What solutions do you propose to make green transformation more effective?
- The first solution is to build a set of green transition criteria suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is not possible to apply a set of too complicated standards from multinational corporations to small businesses. There needs to be a roadmap according to levels: basic level, advanced level and international integration level. For example, in the early stage, businesses need to know how to save energy, reduce waste, be transparent about raw materials, manage labor, and comply with the environment. The next stage is to move towards greenhouse gas inventory, ESG certificates, carbon credits, and sustainable development reports.
The second solution is to develop green credit for small and medium-sized enterprises. The State needs to have a guarantee mechanism, interest rate support for energy-saving projects, technology innovation, environmental treatment, and cleaner production; at the same time, commercial banks need to design simple and accessible green financial products.
The third solution is to support businesses in dual transformation, combining digital transformation with green transformation. Businesses need to apply data and software to manage energy, raw materials, traceability, supply chain management, and emission measurement. Digital transformation is a tool, green transformation is a goal, and productivity and competitiveness are the results.
Thank you, sir!
