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The Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (BeLuxCham), the Embassy of Belgium in Vietnam, and DEEP C Industrial Zones are proud to announce the upcoming conference, “ESG: Evolving to the Next Level,” which will take place November 30 – December 1, 2023 at the prestigious Pullman Saigon Centre Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This two-day conference will focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) best business practices, particularly as they relate to implementation of the EU-VN Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and Vietnam’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The conference will also celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and Belgium, Luxembourg and Vietnam, as well as the 20^th anniversary of BeLuxCham in Vietnam.

ESG practices have recently gained prominence in Vietnam, largely driven by the Vietnamese government’s efforts to promote sustainable investment and development in addressing the country’s numerous social and environmental challenges and opportunities. The “ESG: Evolving to the Next Level” conference aims to promote awareness and understanding of ESG best practices within the Vietnam context among private sector and government stakeholders, with a focus on fostering collaboration and growth between Belgium, Luxembourg, greater Europe, and Vietnam.

The “ESG: Evolving to the Next Level” conference consists of one plenary session, 12 breakout sessions, and a closing gala dinner. The plenary session will facilitate high-level dialogue among distinguished participants including Belgian, Luxembourgish, and Vietnamese government representatives and key private sector leaders and stakeholders. Break-out session topics include sustainable agriculture, carbon emission reduction, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, smart manufacturing, and transparent supply chain management.

Objective:

Belgian and Luxembourg companies in Vietnam are actively contributing to this goal and through this 2-day conference BeLuxCham, together with the support of the Belgian Embassy in Vietnam and the Luxembourg Embassy in Thailand, wants to show the Vietnamese market how the companies are building up their ESG knowledge and mindset.

Through this 2-day conference, BeLuxCham Vietnam aims to show what ESG in all its facets stands for, how the EVFTA enables focus and awareness of ESG in Vietnam, and how companies can learn from each other, from clear examples and case studies and how to start implementing ESG in all its different aspects.

• 61% of companies yet to commit cite lack of knowledge as the key barrier.

• 67% rank absence of transparent regulations as key challenge.

• 29% of respondents who said that there are board involvement in ESG are confident in their Board’s capabilities on ESG matters

—– PWC Vietnam

According to the Vietnam ESG Readiness Report 2022, conducted by PwC Vietnam and the Vietnam Institute of Directors (VIOD), 61% of companies are yet to commit to ESG and cite lack of knowledge as the key barrier. Therefore, during this 2-day conference, BeLuxCham will focus on introducing ESG, the EVFTA and give clear examples and case studies on what has been done by both Belgian and Luxembourg companies. Break-out sessions will focus on every aspect of ESG and highlight industries like agriculture, logistics and transportation and bring speakers from Vietnam and Europe together for information sharing.

At the end of the 2-day conference, we will celebrate the 20 years with a gala dinner in which we will award our ESG contributing members. The profit of this gala dinner will be donated to charity to which our members have made their life’s purpose.

Please join us in this event and celebrate, learn and share together with participants from all over the world the anniversaries, and what is still to come to increase growth for the collaboration between our loved countries.

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Agenda

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Getting there

*For those who are not based in HCMC, in case you would like to book accommodation at the venue itself – Pullman Saigon Center, please send an inquiry to Ai.NGUYEN@accor.com and mention corporate code “BeLuxCham” to request the special rate.