Vietnamese group, Singaporean firm establish sustainability links

Vietnamese conglomerate Bamboo Capital will use the ESGpedia platform of Singaporean environmental, social and governance (ESG) data and technology solutions provider STACS to support corporate sustainability, a release said Tuesday.

The memorandum of understanding signed by both sides makes Bamboo Capital Group the first Vietnamese business entity to use the platform.

The agreement will also support ESG reporting for businesses in Vietnam.

The signing ceremony was attended by government officials, financial institutions and corporate sector representatives including EuroCham, AmCham and SingCham.

The release said the move was a prerequisite to meeting Bamboo Capital’s sustainable growth targets, facilitating the building of a transparent data system of carbon emissions in Vietnam and setting up a market for renewable energy certificates (REC) in the country.

The first step to corporate sustainability was awareness and an understanding of the company’s own carbon footprint. Integrated with data, analytics, and assessment tools, ESGpedia can assist companies to have insights into their emissions and build their own “green” plans.

Covering over five million sustainability data points, with leading banks and corporate clients onboard, ESGpedia is a one-stop ESG registry that aims to empower financial institutions and companies to achieve strategic sustainability goals.

The platform is live across Asia, powering the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN) Asia-Pacific Green Deal digital assessment, and functioning as a technology platform partner for the ASEAN Single Accesspoint for ESG Data (SAFE) Initiative pilot by the Sustainable Finance Institute Asia.

Impacts from climate change, deterioration of natural resources, and environmental pollution have prompted major markets like the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Korea to set up more sophisticated ESG standards.

Higher ESG scores related to reduction in carbon emission, green production, environmental protection, and material recycling can help firms attain more orders.

With an estimated 785,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up more than 98% of the total number of businesses in Vietnam, SMEs in Vietnam play a pivotal role in being key suppliers to global businesses. As a result, in the decarbonization of global supply chains, SMEs are increasingly expected to decarbonize in order to meet regulations and remain competitive, amid Vietnam’s bold statement of net-zero emission in 2050 made at the COP 26, the release said.

Through the partnership, Bamboo Capital will help companies in its eco-system carry out ESG reporting and thereby prompt other enterprises to utilize ESGpedia in their own green transitions, it added.

While Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are key instruments in Asia’s transition to a net zero economy, transparency and traceability presented a current industry challenge, it noted, adding that the partnership will help address it.

Bamboo Capital will utilize ESGpedia to promote greater transparency of the REC’s lifecycle by immutably recording all attributes, allowing market participants to comprehensively access all attributes and data of the certificates via a common registry to facilitate transparency, tracking, and investment decisions.

Andy Tan, Group Strategy Director at Bamboo Capital, said: “There is an increasing trend of ESG awareness and requirements in Vietnam today as Vietnam becomes increasingly important in the global supply chain. Yet, many of the businesses lack the expertise and resources to start. We are delighted to be partnering with STACS’s ESGpedia to empower businesses in Vietnam to achieve corporate sustainability and make ESG reports.”

Benjamin Soh, founder and managing director at STACS, said: “Through our partnership with Bamboo Capital Group, we aim to provide a seamless and digital end-to-end experience for all companies in Vietnam and across ASEAN to now be able to gain awareness of their sustainability profile and greenhouse gas footprint, and take steps to manage their greenhouse gas emissions through active decarbonization strategies and energy transition measures.”

Bamboo Capital is a leading multi-sector conglomerate in Vietnam, operating in key sectors including renewable energy, construction & infrastructure, real estate, financial services & insurance, and manufacturing.

It has made a distinctive mark in the field of renewable energy. Ranked among the top three renewable energy companies in Vietnam, Bamboo Capital’s vision encompasses sustainable development, actively contributing to clean energy transition and Vietnam’s net zero goals.

BCG Energy, a member of the Bamboo Capital Group, owns a 600 MW renewable energy portfolio under operation and has plans to implement 670 MW in the near future. Its target is to achieve a total capacity of 1.5-2 GW of renewable energy by 2025.