Green transition and ESG increasingly vital for Vietnamese SMEs

The event brought together business representatives, experts and guests to discuss green transition, effective governance and sustainable development solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Opening the event, Editor-in-Chief of Dantri Newspaper and head of the Vietnam ESG Forum's organising committee,  Pham Tuan Anh, said the ESG Company Tour was an important part of the Vietnam ESG Forum 2026.

According to Pham Tuan Anh, implementing ESG, including the green transition, is no longer a concern limited to large companies but is increasingly relevant to SMEs.

He said this represented an opportunity for SMEs to strengthen their competitiveness.

"The question facing businesses today is no longer whether to implement ESG, but where to start and what priorities are appropriate for each business. Green transition is one of the important areas that businesses need to address," Pham Tuan Anh said.

If ESG is viewed merely as a set of criteria or reporting requirements, businesses may see it as an additional cost burden. But when approached through practical operational challenges, ESG can help companies use energy more efficiently, manage risks better, improve productivity and expand their operations, he said.

This was one of the reasons the Vietnam ESG Forum's organisers launched the ESG Company Tour 2026.

Pham Tuan Anh said he hoped the programme would not only inspire the business community but also give companies an opportunity to visit and learn from ESG practices, share experience and establish meaningful partnerships.

Tanakorn Theeramankong, chief executive of Prime Group, thanked the organisations and individuals involved in supporting the programme.

Sustainable development is not a journey that a company can undertake alone, he said.

"I believe that when it comes to sustainable development, we cannot move forward alone. We need to move forward together, step by step," he said.

Wichet Chuchaeu, Vietnam regional executive director for cement and building materials at SCG and vice-chairman of SCG Vietnam, said the green transition could be challenging for many businesses, particularly SMEs.

Environmental standards, carbon requirements and ESG expectations are changing rapidly, prompting many companies to ask where they should begin, how much the transition will cost and whether they are ready for it, he said.

However, the green transition does not necessarily have to start with a major change implemented all at once. Businesses can begin with practical measures such as improving energy efficiency, reducing waste or using digital tools to improve operations, he said.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, head of sustainable development at Prime Group, presented on "Green materials in the Net Zero era through ESG practices at Prime Group".

As markets tighten requirements on carbon footprints and environmental standards, green materials are becoming increasingly important for manufacturers, Tam said.

Prime Group aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25-30 per cent by 2030 compared with its 2020 baseline, raise renewable energy to more than 30 per cent of total energy consumption and recycle or treat 100 per cent of its wastewater.

The proportion of industrial waste recycled is expected to reach 8.9 per cent, with a target of 5.2 per cent in 2026.

To achieve these goals, Prime is implementing a 5R circular economy model focused on reducing raw material consumption and reusing and recycling waste.

The company is applying IoT technology in production, investing in biomass gasification furnaces, recovering heat from kilns and gradually adopting solar power and electric vehicles.

Some waste materials, including broken tiles, coal ash and wastewater, are treated and returned to the production process.

However, Prime Group said high investment costs for green technology, a shortage of ESG personnel and price competition remained major barriers.

The company called for greater incentives for investment in green technology, a transparent carbon market and policies encouraging the use of green building materials in public investment projects.

Tam stressed that ESG should be viewed as a long-term strategy rather than a burden.

"ESG is not a burden but a long-term strategy. Your support is the driving force behind Prime Group's efforts to accelerate its journey towards Net Zero 2050," she said.

On the morning of August 12, business and association representatives, speakers and experts, together with Dantri representatives and SCG executives, toured the Prime Tien Phong factory.

The delegation observed solutions including biomass fuel, heat recovery, IoT applications and solar power, as well as the product packaging line and canteen serving workers.

The ESG Company Tour 2026 is part of the Vietnam ESG Forum 2026, an initiative launched and organised by Dantri with support from SCG and Prime Group.

Unlike previous conferences and panel discussions, the Company Tour brought businesses directly to a factory for the first time, allowing them to see how ESG principles are translated into practical production and governance solutions.