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Summary from the VOV Traffic Forum, broadcast on 23 July 2026, featuring MSc. Tran Quoc Bao – Deputy Executive Director of ESG Services, Anh Consulting and Auditing Co., Ltd. (ACAC).
At the VOV Traffic Forum on the theme “ESG and Green Transition in Businesses – A Driving Force for Ho Chi Minh City’s Sustainable Development,” experts reflected on the journey the city’s business community has travelled: from an era when ESG was treated as a communications tagline, to the present moment when ESG must become a genuine operational capability. Representing ACAC at the forum, MSc. Tran Quoc Bao brought the perspective of a practitioner who has provided legal advisory and audit services to numerous export-oriented businesses – organisations for which ESG commitments are no longer optional, but are inextricably tied to their ability to remain in global supply chains.
From Decorative Layer to Corporate DNA
According to Mr. Bao, only a few years ago many businesses viewed ESG as an embellishment – something to layer on once a company had grown large enough. But as social awareness has evolved, ESG has shifted from a peripheral add-on to a core element of a company’s operational identity.
“ESG has become the DNA of a business – no longer an ornament to put on once you’ve grown big enough.”
MSc. Tran Quoc Bao, ACAC
He also highlighted a significant recent development: on 29 June, the market for trading emission quotas and carbon credits officially commenced its pilot operation. As large emitters begin receiving and committing to quotas from the regulatory authority, pressure will naturally cascade down through entire supply chains — including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have never previously engaged directly with international partners. Businesses that do not embed ESG into their operations now will face the risk of being excluded from the supply chains of lead firms.
Three Bottlenecks: Awareness, Data, and Human Capital
In discussion with Mr. Tran Anh Tuan – an expert from the CIRCO Hub Vietnam Circular Economy Network – Mr. Bao identified three common bottlenecks that Vietnamese businesses of all sizes face in implementing ESG.
The first bottleneck lies in awareness and organisational structure. Many businesses continue to assign ESG responsibilities to existing departments such as HSE, marketing, or HR and administration, rather than establishing a dedicated function. While leveraging existing resources reduces short-term costs, it lacks the specialisation and long-term strategic direction that ESG demands.
The second bottleneck is data infrastructure. Mr. Bao likened ESG data to the readings on a ship’s control panel: if data is not properly collected and processed, a business will drift off course without realising it, ultimately incurring far greater costs in remediation.
The third bottleneck is dedicated human capital. According to Mr. Bao, a genuine Chief Sustainability Officer must command all three “languages” simultaneously – environmental, social, and governance – while maintaining a direct reporting line to the board to ensure that risk alerts are fully received and acted upon. In practice, this role at most Vietnamese businesses is still held on a part-time basis, lacks the necessary depth of expertise, and is not remunerated in a manner commensurate with the weight of responsibility it carries.
Practical Experience with International Green Regulatory Mechanisms
A topic of particular interest to export-oriented businesses was how to navigate the European Union’s green regulatory mechanisms – especially the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Mr. Bao drew on a real advisory case: a Vietnamese business exporting goods to a partner in the United Kingdom, which then sold those goods onward into Europe. The shipping carrier demanded that the Vietnamese company declare all emissions data within seven to ten days, with the risk of penalties that could amount to as much as half the shipment’s profit margin.
By carefully analysing the transaction chain – in which the UK party was the direct buyer and had left the European Union following Brexit — the advisory team helped the business correctly identify that the disclosure obligation rested with the UK partner, while still proactively maintaining up-to-date data to support the partner in fulfilling its reporting obligations to Europe. Mr. Bao noted that the advisory team is also working directly with customs declaration agents in Europe to help the more than 6,000 Vietnamese businesses exporting to that market avoid penalties arising from data inaccuracies.
The Role of the State and the Data Synchronisation Challenge
In response to questions about the role of the public sector, Mr. Bao expressed support for the establishment of a centralised national sustainability data platform. He pointed to the current reality in which many ESG reporting platforms – including international platforms used by listed companies – are experiencing data discontinuities, as businesses fail to update their figures consistently from year to year, making it difficult for international investors to comprehensively assess the seriousness of their sustainability commitments. A synchronised data system, he argued, would benefit national-level reporting, supply chain lead firms, and smaller enterprises within the supply chain alike.
He also cited the Apple Watch – a product that has been declared carbon-neutral and is shipped without air freight – as an example of a pragmatic approach: rather than committing to carbon neutrality across an entire product portfolio, a business can select one flagship product line for a pilot initiative, measure and demonstrate results, and then scale up. A similar approach is being adopted by some Vietnamese exporters: ring-fencing a dedicated production line serving the European market to pilot emissions measurement and control, providing a verifiable basis for demonstrating commitment to international partners.
Recommendations for Businesses
From an advisory standpoint, the speakers agreed that businesses – particularly SMEs – should begin by identifying material issues, meaning those that directly affect business performance, before broadening their scope to longer-term environmental and social objectives. A viable 90-day roadmap might include: identifying priority issues, launching a specific pilot project (such as energy efficiency or production by-product utilisation), measuring both the economic and environmental outcomes of that project, and using those results to make the case to senior leadership for expanded investment.
Mr. Bao also emphasised a factor that many businesses overlook: “G – corporate governance” is often the weakest link in the ESG triad in Vietnam, as it demands changes to organisational structure, delegation of authority, and internal control processes — not merely the tracking of environmental or social metrics that lend themselves to direct measurement.
Conclusion
The forum closed with a shared message: Ho Chi Minh City’s journey towards green transition and ESG implementation has moved beyond the era of slogans – the time has come for concrete, measurable steps. Speaking on behalf of ACAC, MSc. Tran Quoc Bao affirmed that businesses need not wait until every condition is perfectly in place before taking action. Proactive, step-by-step implementation — underpinned by transparent, independently verified data – is the foundation upon which Vietnamese businesses can maintain their standing in global supply chains that are increasingly demanding in their sustainability standards.