SWITCH-Asia

The Challenge

Major buyers of Vietnamese products, including transnational corporations (TNC), are tightening their procurement guidelines to comply with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) requirements in the fields of environment and labour. Although this will improve labour practices and environmental impact, it can be a serious constraint for many Vietnamese enterprises. Over 90% of the enterprises are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and they do not have sufficient capacity to comply with the strict requirements.

The Objectives

Overall objectives of project are to improve the environmental and social performance of Vietnamese SMEs, enhancing the integration of Vietnamese SMEs into global supply chains through an increased awareness, understanding and adoption of triple-bottom-line (TBL) corporate social responsibility (CSR) thus strengthening cooperation between Europe and Asia.

The Way Forward

• Awareness and understanding of a triple-bottom-line (TBL) CSR approach among Vietnamese SMEs, consumers and other relevant stakeholders increased.
• Compliance with CSR procurement standards, among Vietnamese SMEs increased
• Policy and regulatory recommendations for promotion of sustainable production practices and behaviour identified through participatory processes