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“The bigger the business, the higher the level of responsible business practices”

06/05/2021

This is one of the comments made by UNDP in the report “Research and Evaluation of Awareness and Implementation of Responsible Business Practices in Enterprises in Vietnam”, which was just published on 22 April 2021.

The report indicated that “The level of awareness of responsible business practices among enterprises in Vietnam, especially domestic private enterprises, remains low. 42% of surveyed businesses see responsible bussiness in a narrow sense, which is to fulfill corporate social responsibility (7%) or comply with the country’s laws (35%). Regarding the level of responsible business conduct, up to 62% of enterprises only stop at fully complying with the provisions of Vietnamese law, and up to 27% of enterprises do not fully comply with the requirements of the Vietnamese law. The larger the enterprise, the deeper its involvement and integration into the global supply chain, the higher the level of responsible business practices.

Responsible business is a global trend and increasingly affects Vietnam. The implementation of responsible business practices is becoming urgent, especially in the context of Vietnam’s deeper and broader integration into the world economy with the recent ratification of 2 Free Trade Agreements like EV FTA and CPTPP. Participating in the global supply chain brings many challenges as well as opportunities for Vietnam, especially opportunities for responsible business practices, towards the sustainable development of the economy and society. 

The COVID 19 pandemic is a big shock to the global economy, and Vietnam cannot stay out of that vortex. COVID 19 seems to add to the systemic vulnerabilities of the Vietnamese economy, making the need for a strong and sustainable recovery urgent, requiring businesses to take the initiative and responsibility to respect human rights, actively practice responsible business with society, with the community, with the environment and with the ecosystem in which the enterprise is operating.

From 2018 to 2021, the Center for Development and Integration (CDI) collaborated with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Institute (FES) to implement the project “Business and Human Rights in Global Trade and Supply Chain in Vietnam” funded by the European Union. One of the main objectives of the project is to raise awareness and promote the implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and to support the implementation of the Sustainable Trade and Development Chapter (Chapter 13) of of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

As part of the project, CDI, together with FES, strives to promote responsible business through a number of key activities:

(i) Compilation of a set of United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGP), which includes three brochures of UNGP Basics for Business, Trade Unions and Lawyer; and 2 Handbooks on Implementation of the Business and Human Rights Guiding Principles – A Reference for Corporate and Social Organizations. 2 handbooks have been developed to help businesses and civil society organizations (CSOs) understand and fulfill their responsibility to respect human rights under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP).

Document Links:

http://bhrvietnam.net.vn/…/tai-lieu-huong-dan-thuc-thi…/

http://bhrvietnam.net.vn/vi/871-2/

(ii) Coordinate with the Enterprise Development Federation (EDF) under VCCI to conduct 3 training courses on UNGP for Textile, Garment and Footwear enterprises. The main content of the training is: (i) Helping businesses see the benefits, not only short-term but long-term ones when practicing responsible business;

(iii) Compiling a document on the Mechanisms for receiving and handling complaints for employees in the supply chain (Mechanism to overcome problems that employees encounter at the workplace). 

CDI Vietnam.