Current Status of ESG Practices at Vietnamese Enterprises: Difficulties and Solutions

The definition of business success today has changed when society not only looks at economic indicators, but also looks at how the factors of that business affect environmental protection, contribute to society and community benefits. Therefore, sustainable business and development is an inevitable choice for businesses, helping businesses create long-term advantages, values, and trust with stakeholders. At the same time, it contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of businesses, helping businesses survive and grow strongly. From there, contribute to the cause of promoting sustainable development of the national economy. ESG (abbreviation for three phrases: Environment, Social and Governance) is a set of standards used to measure factors related to sustainable development of businesses, helping businesses increase business efficiency and increase reputation, reduce risks and costs, in accordance with the trend market direction and requirements. This article uses descriptive statistics and meta-analysis methods on a survey sample of 234 responses from different types of businesses to learn about the level of commitment and ESG practices of businesses in Vietnam. At the same time, discuss the current status of applying the set of sustainability measurement standards as well as analyze the difficulties and challenges that Vietnamese businesses face such as lack of knowledge about ESG, challenges in financial capacity, and business scale and lack of transparency in ESG data. From there, we recommend a number of corresponding solutions to make the application of the ESG sustainability measurement standards in Vietnamese businesses convenient and successful.