In the current context, preventing and responding to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions have become increasingly crucial and a shared global responsibility. Viet Nam is therefore striving to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, regarding this as a strategic objective to promote sustainable growth, enhance competitiveness, and proactively integrate into the global economy.
To realise this goal, Ho Chi Minh City has issued the Green Growth Action Plan for the 2024–2030 period to implement the National Green Growth Strategy and promote sustainable development within the city during 2021–2030.
Accordingly, the city seeks to promote a circular economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate change, contribute to poverty reduction, and create a driving force for sustainable economic growth.
Under this plan, the city has outlined key task groups including: green finance; high-quality human resources; green connectivity; green energy; clean and circular water use; circular materials; green consumption; green transport; green buildings and energy efficiency; green science-based start-ups and innovation; urban greenery and green agriculture; and the green ecosystem of Can Gio. These are all essential areas to accelerate the city’s sustainable economic development and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
Experts note that one of Viet Nam’s advantages in attracting investment and promoting economic growth lies in its participation in numerous free trade agreements (FTAs), particularly new-generation ones such as the CPTPP and EVFTA.
These agreements impose stringent production standards regarding green energy and clean materials, creating both opportunities and challenges for Vietnamese enterprises, especially in modernising production processes and meeting international sustainability standards. Therefore, promoting green logistics is an urgent requirement for Ho Chi Minh City to transform its growth model.
Discussing green logistics development, Cao Minh Nghia, Deputy Head of the Economic Development Research Department at the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, explained: “Green logistics refers to logistics activities that aim towards sustainable development goals — being environmentally friendly, protective of the ecosystem, and minimising negative environmental impacts.”
The criteria for assessing the level of “greening” in a company’s logistics operations consist of five areas: corporate strategies and policies; warehousing; transportation; logistics information systems; and reverse logistics.
Experts suggest that regarding the first criterion, corporate strategies and policies, enterprises must adopt environmental safety strategies and policies, apply ISO 14000 environmental management systems, issue regulations and procedures for responding to environmental incidents and addressing pollution, and set emission-reduction targets within their business objectives.
For warehousing, businesses should use renewable energy sources, deploy eco-friendly equipment and vehicles, apply technology to optimise warehouse operations, establish waste management procedures, and contract professional waste treatment companies.
In transportation, companies should prioritise waterway and railway transport over road transport, use vehicles meeting Euro 4 emission standards or higher, implement periodic vehicle maintenance regulations, replace petrol and diesel vehicles with electric or biofuel alternatives, and apply technology to optimise packaging operations.
Logistics information systems should adopt electronic data systems to replace paper documents and simplify administrative procedures to accelerate the circulation of goods.
Terry Tan, Director of Sunny Auto, noted that: “With global sustainability goals, demand for green logistics solutions is increasing. Businesses must develop systems for collecting and processing returned products, packaging, and waste.”
Statistics show that logistics activities account for 11–12% of global CO₂ emissions. Therefore, logistics play a significant role in the climate crisis, and addressing its impacts requires a comprehensive approach encompassing technology, policy, and behavioural change.
Cao Minh Nghia emphasised that to develop green logistics in Ho Chi Minh City and nationwide, relevant authorities must accelerate digital transformation and promote the application of information technology.
At the same time, it is necessary to complete a coherent legal framework for green logistics activities, particularly regulations on air pollution control, emission adjustments, and limits on CO₂ emissions from transport vehicles. Policies should also be introduced to encourage enterprises to develop green logistics and establish a set of indicators to measure green logistics development capacity and performance.
