The Green Action Gap in Việt Nam is quite large. — Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

Although 99 per cent of Vietnamese enterprises set sustainable development goals, less than half (47 per cent) have or are implementing comprehensive strategies to take action on their commitments.

Schneider Electric, the global pioneer in digital transformation, energy management and automation has announced the results of its annual sustainability survey "Sustainability Survey 2023".

The survey aimed to identify the intention-action gap among companies by examining the rift between organisations' declared commitment towards their sustainability goals and the investment or tangible actions towards achieving them.

Đồng Mai Lâm, General Director of Schneider Electric Vietnam and Cambodia, said: “We see a positive increase in awareness and commitment of Vietnamese businesses in setting sustainability goals. However, the survey indicates that there is still much work to be done to bridge the gap between intention and action. Many organisations may be pursuing sustainability, but still lack an overall roadmap, and are focusing on short-term goals rather than mapping out a sustainability journey. Business leaders need to allocate resources more rationally, as ESG trends will require a lot of changes.”

Schneider Electric and its partner Milieu Insight surveyed 4,500 mid to senior leaders in the private sector in 9 Asian countries. The companies surveyed range in size from over 1,000 to less than 50, spanning many industries, such as real estate, transportation and information technology. Other countries participating in the survey include: Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia.

The survey examines each country’s “Green Action Gap”: a Schneider Electric identified metric used to estimate the gap between companies that claim to have sustainability goals and targets, and companies that have or are implementing comprehensive sustainability strategies.

On a regional scale, the Green Action Gap stands at 50 per cent, highlighting the difference between the number of companies that have set sustainability goals (94 per cent) and those that have implemented their own sustainability plans (44 per cent).

However, this gap in Việt Nam is quite large, at 52 per cent, only lower than South Korea (58 per cent). The smallest gap in the survey area belongs to Taiwan (East Asia) and Singapore (Southeast Asia), at 37 and 38 per cent, respectively.

Companies believe sustainability enhances innovation and competitiveness (47 per cent), creates new business opportunities (42 per cent) and improves brand reputation (41 per cent). Risk management and state regulations are among the top five factors to motivate businesses to make decisions on sustainability strategies.

Lâm added: “As we recognise the urgent need for sustainable development, it is imperative that businesses proactively drive change, partner with government, expand business alliances and leverage innovative solutions, not only for the benefit of their businesses, but also for the well-being of the region and the planet as a whole.” — VNS