Circular economy forum promotes green Vietnamese future

The circular economy is becoming an inevitable trend and is considered by many countries in the world as the green industrial revolution of the 21st century. The nation therefore identifies the circular economy as a key solution to innovate the growth model, improve quality, efficiency, competitiveness, and labor productivity, while also creating new and highly efficient value-added chains, whilst also ensuring green growth and moving towards sustainable development.

The Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress has identified building a circular economy as one of the country's development orientations for the 2021 to 2030 period, with a vision towards 2045.

The Vietnam Circular Economy Forum 2024 runs with the theme of "From Plan to Action" to reflect the overall picture of orientations, policy mechanisms, as well as the current status and innovative solutions to promote circular economy development in Vietnam. It will also touch upon the role of the private sector when it comes to implementing the circular economy.

At the plenary session of the event, both domestic and international partners will come together to discuss the path to the circular economy in Vietnam, opportunities, challenges, and necessary resources, as well as ways to boost the circular economy nationwide. This will make Vietnam a pioneer country in ASEAN as it seeks to establish a comprehensive institutional and legal framework for the circular economy.

Speaking at the opening of the forum, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Quy Kien said that realizing the national action plan for implementing the circular economy will contribute to creating fresh momentum for boosting innovation, improving labour productivity, developing good practices, and creating green culture and lifestyle.

This is in addition to promoting green job creation whilst also developing new value chains in the circular economy sector. Opinions at the forum will help ministries and sectors to fine-tune policy mechanisms as a means of spurring forward the circular economy to create a green and sustainable Vietnam in the new era.

During the dialogue session on promoting the circular economy, “Vietnam: From planning to action”, representatives from state management agencies, international organizations, and business representatives discussed opportunities, challenges, and resources needed to promote the circular economy in the coming time.

Sharing on the sidelines of the forum, Ramla Khalidi, resident representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), emphasized that to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, the nation needs to prioritize four major tasks. Firstly, it is necessary to integrate eco-design and circular design into policies whilst including measurable targets in the Vietnamese circular economy roadmap, promoting innovation and competitiveness.

Second is to prioritise key industries such as agriculture, electronics, plastics, textiles, and construction materials to help the country to meet international standards and open up more opportunities for the cause of sustainable growth.

Thirdly, ensuring effective institutions and sound governance structures will reduce barriers and boost innovation.

Ultimately, the transition to a circular economy must be a whole-of-society effort, putting people and social equity at the centre while leveraging partnerships such as the National Plastic Action Partnership and the Vietnam Circular Economy Network to turn vision into action.