State Securities Commission in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) ) organised a training programme on “Gas Inventory and Reporting” for listed companies in Ha Noi and HCM City. — Photo courtesy of HoSE

In the face of increasing concerns about climate change as well as corporate responsibility in sustainable development, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) said it was considering deducting points of businesses who does not include information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the annual report period of 2022.

Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department under the State Securities Commission, said that in Viet Nam, standards, regulations and guidelines are helping information disclosure under ESG (Environment – Society – Governance) become more popular such as the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection, Decree No. 06/2022/ND-CP on mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and protection of the ozone layer, Decision No. 01/2022/QD-TTG promulgating a list of sectors and establishments emitting greenhouse gases that must carry out an inventory.

Accompanying Decision 01/2022 is a list of 1,900 enterprises required to declare greenhouse gas emissions, divided into six areas: energy; transportation; construction; industrial processes; agriculture, forestry and land use; and waste.

According to Tran Anh Dao, deputy general director of HoSE, in the 2021 annual report, few listed companies have reported basic data on greenhouse gases as the information is not compulsorily disclosed.

Therefore, HoSE is currently considering a requirement for listed firms to include GHG reporting in the 2022 annual report, and those businesses that fail to include this will receive a penalty point from HoSE.

Dao also emphasised the necessity and compulsion of the declaration of greenhouse gases so that management agencies and enterprises can help build Viet Nam's stock market in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible way. This shows the determination of the management agencies to work with the Government on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In order to support enterprises to develop a GHG Report in accordance with the requirements of sustainable development information disclosure, this month, the State Securities Commission in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) organised a training programme on “Gas Inventory and Reporting” for listed companies in Ha Noi and HCM City. The studies presented in the seminar were conducted by experts from the UK National Standards Institute (BSI) with the active participation of listed companies operating in many different fields.

Through the training programme, participants learned about the international context of climate change, causes and mechanisms of climate change and sources of greenhouse gas emissions, ISO 14064, and received guidance on contents included in the report, as well as the process of how to organise a GHG inventory and report, define GHG emission boundaries, quantify emissions and greenhouse gas removal, in accordance with ISO 14064-1:2018.

With the legal framework related to the GHG emissions reporting, the training programme provided businesses with the most common knowledge based on relevant regulations for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, as well as industry-specific determination methods. Through that, listed companies can be ready to fulfil their reporting obligations to relevant authorities.

Besides reporting to serve the information disclosure obligations of enterprises, the implementation of greenhouse gases declaration is also a move for enterprises to review their production and business activities. There will be adjustments and cuts to suit the business's operational goals as well as the prevention and management of operational risks. — VNS