Vietnamese businesses have been urged to participate in the United Nations Global Compact (GC) Network Vietnam , a forum for firms to share experiences on how to operate more efficiently and establish partnership.

“The network will connect domestic firms with 5,000 international firms which are members of the global United Nations GC network,” said Nguyen Quang Vinh, Deputy Director of the Office for Sustainable Development under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) during the network’s first membership meeting in Hanoi on Aug. 20.

“Established in 2007 by VCCI with support from the United Nations Development Programme, the network aimed to encourage the Vietnamese business community to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their operations,” Vinh said.

The VCCI has also been implementing a two-year project to highlight the CSR in Vietnam through the GC Network Vietnam as its first and most important activity.

The second component of the project focused on incorporating information about the CSR into Vietnam through research, introducing the CSR into university curriculum and creating a CSR network inside and outside the country, Vinh noted.

“Implementing the CSR is an essential trend that all enterprises need to be a part of to know where they are,” said Ha Linh Ltd Co Director Dang Cong Thang.

Thang acknowledged that the GC Network Vietnam would be a channel of information and communication where member enterprises could connect and find partners.

“Participating in the network will help the firms make a difference in their branding strategy, influence sustainable development and improve their reputation in the eyes of the partners. However, participating in the network would not be the hard part-maintaining connections would be much harder,” he said./.