Green economy forum: green growth becomes mainstream trend

HCM City (VNA) – Green growth, green economy and circular economy are becoming mainstream trends in the world economy, experts said at the Green Economy Forum in Ho Chi Minh City on April 22.

As such, green economy and green growth are opening up the road to sustainable development for businesses after the period of crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shifting to green economy and green growth will help businesses increase their competitiveness and catch up with trends on the domestic and foreign markets, experts said.

On the other hand, changes in consumers’ behaviours in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic require suppliers and retailers to supply goods meeting “green” standards with transparent information. The rising trend of “green” lifestyle has posed new requirements for Vietnamese businesses in the race to enhance their competitive capacity.

According to Director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy (BCSI) Vo Tri Thanh, two factors behind green growth is digital transformation and circular economy. Under free trade agreements, if firms do not adopt “green” production and business, their products will not be chosen by consumers, thus their competitive edge is lost, Thanh said.  

“Green growth is prompted by the market’s demand, not just by policies or legal regulations,” he said, adding that reality has shown that green growth has helped firms and brands gain better resilience in both medium and long term.

Vietnam has issued a national strategy on green growth and a national plan of action on sustainable production and consumption for 2021-2030 with key targets related to green economy.

Dao Xuan Lai from UNDP Vietnam said the transformation to green growth requires big investment at the start, and policy on investment support is necessary for the business community./.