Green economy and sustainable development are inescapable global trends, and businesses need to embrace them to enhance their reputation and competitiveness, a seminar heard in HCM City on Tuesday.

The green economy simultaneously promotes environmental sustainability, social inclusiveness and economic growth, delegates told the "High-quality Vietnamese goods and opportunities for success in the green economy" seminar.

Võ Tân Thành, vice president of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the country has signed 15 free trade agreements, including several new-generation ones that have strict environmental and sustainable development clauses, he said.

“International customers nowadays require not only low prices and good quality from a product, but also environmental friendliness. Also, consumers in the domestic market are increasingly demanding and supporting a green consumption trend. Businesses, manufacturers, and service providers need to catch up with and adapt to the trend.”

Economist Phạm Chi Lan said Vietnam has made strong commitments to green growth and so the business community needs to improve its awareness and ability to achieve it.

“Vietnamese consumers, especially genZ who are significant influencers of future consumption trends, are very supportive of the green trend. Many surveys have found that genZ is willing to pay more for green products and boycott products that harm the environment.

“Those businesses that go green have a better competitive advantage in the market. Enterprises that want to survive and compete in the market must go green.”

Businesses, society and the Government need to join hands to achieve a green economy, she added.

A report by the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Products and the Business Study and Assistance Centre shows that many green start-ups has developed rapidly and their products have penetrated many international markets, including Europe, the US, Korea, and Japan.

Therefore, in its High-quality Vietnamese Goods programme this year, the association has come up with new activities to promote green growth, Vũ Kim Hạnh, its chairwoman, said.

"The High-quality Vietnamese Goods programme is constantly innovating to meet the increasing requirements in the domestic market and increasing pressure from foreign markets when exporting. And going green helps Vietnamese goods and its economy reach new levels.”

Nguyễn Hoàng Linh, deputy director general of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality, hailed the association’s initiatives as proactively developing standards to help Vietnamese producers improve quality.

“Countries are increasingly deploying new standard systems, and so Vietnamese associations and businesses need to be up-to-date to adopt suitable business strategies and appropriate standard systems in their production.”

Lê Anh, the sustainable development director of Duy Tân Plastic Recycling, shared the story of his company giving new life to used plastic bottles.

Last year it collected and recycled more than 1.3 billion bottles, he said. They are sorted, washed, flaked, and pelletized to produce high-quality recycled plastic resin, he explained.

“Our products have got 15 different international certificates for plastic materials used in food packaging. We provide recycled plastic packaging to many global brands.”

Last year his company exported 4,000 tonnes of recycled plastic resin to the US alone and has customers in 12 other countries, he added.