{"id":1831,"date":"2026-05-31T09:11:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T02:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/?p=1831"},"modified":"2026-06-06T23:29:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T16:29:30","slug":"doing-business-right-in-vietnam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/doing-business-right-in-vietnam\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Business Right in Vietnam &#8211; Why Social Responsibility Is No Longer Optional"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There was a time when &#8220;doing good&#8221; was seen as a bonus \u2014 something a business might do once the profits rolled in. Donate to a local school, sponsor a community event, plant a few trees. Nice to have, but not essential. That time is passing fast, and Vietnamese businesses are feeling the shift.<\/p>\n<p>Today, social responsibility isn&#8217;t a charity checkbox \u2014 it&#8217;s a business strategy. From the factory floors of Binh Duong to the boardrooms of Hanoi&#8217;s tech startups, a quiet revolution in how companies operate is underway. And the stakes have never been higher.<\/p>\n<h3>Vietnam at a crossroads<\/h3>\n<p>Vietnam&#8217;s economic growth story is remarkable. Over the past three decades, the country transformed from one of the world&#8217;s poorest nations into a dynamic middle-income economy. SMEs are the backbone of this story \u2014 they account for over 95% of all enterprises, employ more than half the workforce, and contribute over 40% of GDP.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row row-small row-full-width align-equal align-center row-divided row-box-shadow-2 row-box-shadow-3-hover\"  id=\"row-1949407513\">\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1438302264\" class=\"col medium-4 small-12 large-4\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\" style=\"background-color:#e6dada;\" >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t<div id=\"text-2337095702\" class=\"text\">\n\t\t\n<div class=\"stat-num\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>95%<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat-label\" style=\"text-align: center;\">of Vietnam&#8217;s enterprises are SMEs<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n\t\t\n<style>\n#text-2337095702 {\n  color: #c75032;\n}\n#text-2337095702 > * {\n  color: #c75032;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#col-1438302264 > .col-inner {\n  border-radius: 6px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1637481507\" class=\"col medium-4 small-12 large-4\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\" style=\"background-color:#e6dada;\" >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t<div id=\"text-2865229368\" class=\"text\">\n\t\t\n<div class=\"stat-num\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>51%<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat-label\" style=\"text-align: center;\">of the workforce employed by SMEs<\/div>\n\t\t\n<style>\n#text-2865229368 {\n  color: #c54929;\n}\n#text-2865229368 > * {\n  color: #c54929;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#col-1637481507 > .col-inner {\n  border-radius: 5px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\t<div id=\"col-2125715538\" class=\"col medium-4 small-12 large-4\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\" style=\"background-color:#e6dada;\" >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t<div id=\"text-3909036326\" class=\"text\">\n\t\t\n<div class=\"stat-num\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>&gt;40%<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat-label\" style=\"text-align: center;\">of GDP contributed by SMEs<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n\t\t\n<style>\n#text-3909036326 {\n  color: #c54929;\n}\n#text-3909036326 > * {\n  color: #c54929;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#col-2125715538 > .col-inner {\n  border-radius: 5px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n<style>\n#row-1949407513 > .col > .col-inner {\n  padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px;\n  border-radius: 8px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\"  id=\"row-1393580593\">\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1700421842\" class=\"col small-12 large-12\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n<p>But growth brings scrutiny. As Vietnam deepens its integration with global markets \u2014 through trade deals with the EU, partnerships with US brands, and FDI inflows from Japan and South Korea \u2014 international buyers and investors are asking harder questions about how products are made, who makes them, and what impact that has on people and the planet.<\/p>\n<h3>The ESG rules are changing \u2014 fast<\/h3>\n<p>Vietnam has made real legislative strides.<\/p>\n<p>The Law on Environmental Protection (2020), revised in December 2025, and expecting another revision in October 2026, tightened emissions and waste controls. In May 2026, the Government issued the Decree 110\/2026\/ND-CP on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), requiring manufacturers and importers to take financial or operational responsibility for the post-consumer lifecycle of their products and packaging.\u00a0The Labor Code (2019) and \u00edt guiding documents provides for a legal framework for compliance with labour standards. Recent adoption of the Law on Social Insurance (2024), Law on Employment (2025), Law on Health Insurance, Revised (2024), Law on Fire Prenvention, Fighting and Evacuation (2024), demonstrate the government&#8217;s commitment in strengthened safety at rights at work.\u00a0The Anti-Corruption Law, Revised (2025), applicable also to the private sector, further strengthens asset disclosure requirements by raising declaration thresholds, broadening the scope of officials required to file annual reports, and tightening oversight mechanisms to improve transparency.These aren&#8217;t just words on paper. Exporters and listed companies are now subject to growing compliance obligations tied to them.<\/p>\n<p>Globally, the pressure is even more direct. Europe&#8217;s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Deforestation Regulation are reshaping what it means to sell into European markets. Germany&#8217;s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act obligates large German companies to monitor their entire supply chain for human rights and environmental risks \u2014 right down to Vietnamese sub-suppliers. In 2025, South Korea reintroduce the mandatory human rights and environment due diligence bill for large companies.\u00a0Vietnam&#8217;s government has also launched a pilot Emissions Trading Scheme in 2025, targeting heavy-emitting industries, with a national carbon market planned by 2029.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row row-collapse row-full-width align-middle\"  id=\"row-220861058\">\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1704628019\" class=\"col medium-6 small-12 large-6\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\" style=\"background-color:#bc9dca;\" >\n\t\t\t\n\t<div class=\"is-border\"\n\t\tstyle=\"border-color:rgb(123, 31, 108);border-width:0px 0px 0px 3px;\">\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n<h3 class=\"callout-label\"><em>The bottom line<\/em><\/h3>\n<p><em>For export-driven Vietnamese businesses, embedding responsible practices into operations is now a prerequisite for market access \u2014 not an optional extra. A credible ESG strategy is increasingly essential to attract foreign investment, retain global brand partnerships, and access new markets.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#col-1704628019 > .col-inner {\n  padding: 5% 5% 5% 5%;\n  max-width: 520px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\t<div id=\"col-569220984\" class=\"col medium-6 small-12 large-6\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_823861422\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"226\" height=\"223\" src=\"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/images.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_823861422 {\n  width: 76%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\"  id=\"row-1956432728\">\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1749332431\" class=\"col small-12 large-12\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n<h3>But it&#8217;s also a genuine opportunity<\/h3>\n<p>This isn&#8217;t all about compliance and pressure. Businesses that lead on social responsibility are seeing real commercial benefits. They build stronger employee loyalty, earn the trust of consumers, and open doors to impact investors. They&#8217;re more resilient to regulatory changes and reputational crises. They&#8217;re more attractive to the next generation of Vietnamese professionals, who increasingly want to work for companies whose values align with their own.<\/p>\n<p>The companies winning in Vietnam&#8217;s next growth chapter won&#8217;t just be the fastest or the cheapest. They&#8217;ll be the most trusted. And trust is built not by what a company says, but by how it acts \u2014 day after day, in its supply chains, its workplaces, its communities, and its impact on the environment.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 85%;\">ESG is no longer a choice or a matter of dressing up reports \u2014 it is becoming a prerequisite for businesses to survive and grow sustainably.&#8221; \u2014 Dr. Le Duy Binh, Director of Economica Vietnam, at a workshop held within the ESG Vietnam Forum 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<section class=\"section\" id=\"section_1895251991\">\n\t\t<div class=\"section-bg fill\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<div class=\"section-content relative\">\n\t\t\t\n<p>Because doing business right isn&#8217;t just the ethical choice. It&#8217;s the smart one.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">RBV &#8211; May 2026<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<style>\n#section_1895251991 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n  padding-bottom: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/section>\n\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There was a time when &#8220;doing good&#8221; was seen as a bonus \u2014 something a business might do once the profits rolled in. Donate to a local school, sponsor a community event, plant a few trees. Nice to have, but not essential. That time is passing fast, and Vietnamese businesses are feeling the shift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-goc-chuyen-mon-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1831"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1881,"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831\/revisions\/1881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbv.com.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}