On the morning of April 16, in Hanoi, the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated to organize the APEC Workshop on Promoting green logistics for comprehensive and sustainable growth.
The workshop was held to assess the opportunities and challenges in implementing green logistics activities in APEC, thereby raising awareness of the role of green logistics development at the economic and business levels.
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| Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department Luong Hoang Thai said that logistics digitalization is not only a responsibility but also helps businesses improve their competitiveness and brand. Photo: The Duy |
Opening the workshop, Mr. Luong Hoang Thai - Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department said that logistics is a field related to service activities, playing an important role in maintaining connections and promoting economic and trade flows, especially trade in goods and services.
According to a 2021 study by the International Energy Agency (IEA), up to 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to transport, one of the most important parts of logistics operations. Developing economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America are expected to triple their demand for freight transport by 2050, leading to a doubling of greenhouse gas emissions. In the new context, sustainable and inclusive development is the trend of all economies, and developing green logistics is more urgent than ever.
However, according to Director Luong Hoang Thai, in many developing economies, including Vietnam, green logistics is still a relatively new concept. The concept and factors affecting green logistics activities are not fully and accurately understood. Therefore, to promote green logistics for comprehensive and sustainable growth in Vietnam, it is important to understand the nature and role of green logistics.
“Greening logistics is not only a responsibility but also helps businesses improve their competitiveness, enhance their brand image, and move towards more sustainable and comprehensive development,” Director Luong Hoang Thai emphasized, adding that the APEC Workshop on Promoting Green Logistics for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth is a contribution of the Vietnamese Government to the common effort to achieve the Bangkok Goals on Bio-Green Economy (BCG) approved by APEC Leaders in November 2022.
Within the framework of the Workshop, with the participation of a large number of scholars, policy makers, representatives of enterprises, organizations as well as associations in and outside the Asia-Pacific region..., the Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department believes that the workshop will discuss and propose feasible and appropriate initiatives, recommendations, and policy solutions for APEC cooperation in this field in the coming time.
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| Ms. Rebecca Orme - Legal Executive Director of Southeast Asia of Fedex Express said that in order for the logistics industry to be green and grow sustainably, it is necessary to proactively coordinate to build an ecosystem. |
Quoting Robert Swan's famous saying " The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it " , Ms. Rebecca Orme - Legal Executive Director of Southeast Asia of Fedex Express said that in order for the logistics industry to be green and grow sustainably, first of all, countries and businesses need to proactively coordinate to build a green logistics ecosystem, not only within the scope of one country but also reaching out to the region and the world.
“ The size of the electric vehicle market in the ASEAN region is expected to increase from 0.86 billion USD in 2023 to 3.54 billion USD in 2028, so there is a need for capacity and resources to meet this growth, including energy, components, infrastructure...” - Ms. Rebecca Orme shared and said that, to promote green logistics for comprehensive and sustainable growth, countries need to facilitate trade, help reduce cross-border transportation costs, thereby promoting export growth. At the same time, countries also need to apply technology, automate customs procedures, and digital solutions to the greening process of the logistics industry.
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| Mr. Ngo Khac Le - Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Logistics Business Association shared about the challenges of businesses in the process of moving towards green logistics. |
On the sidelines of the workshop, Mr. Ngo Khac Le - Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association emphasized that in the current context, if businesses do not quickly and immediately implement the criteria to green the logistics industry, in the future, businesses will face many difficulties and gradually be "eliminated" from business, trade and import-export activities domestically and globally.
Pointing out the challenges in greening the logistics industry of domestic enterprises, Mr. Ngo Khac Le said that, first of all , it is due to the awareness and understanding of enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises, about the story of greening the logistics industry. " Many enterprises do not understand the concept of green logistics correctly. They plant trees, flowers... in the enterprise and consider it green logistics. Or small enterprises but learn the green logistics methods of large enterprises and corporations..." - Mr. Le cited and said that green transformation is a trend and mandatory requirement of each enterprise, but must choose the appropriate solution and plan for each enterprise and field.
The second is financial resources. The third is the challenge of qualifications and capacity, of which the most important is the human issue. The fourth is the issue of information technology and the fifth is infrastructure.
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| The workshop, with the participation of many scholars, policy makers, representatives of businesses, organizations as well as associations in and outside the Asia-Pacific region... |
Offering solutions to help businesses accelerate and comprehensively green the logistics industry, the Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association said that the solution lies in each difficulty. First, it is necessary to change the perception of the concept of green logistics. Communication must be continuous and maintained regularly. However, communication alone is not enough, it requires the participation and support of the Government and management agencies, including specific and clear policies, for example on tax policies...
Mr. Ngo Khac Le proposed to exploit inland waterways and coastal roads better and more effectively, both to increase the volume of transported goods and reduce emissions from means of transport. At the same time, domestic enterprises must promote innovation, creativity, and digital transformation; strongly deploy green logistics, smart logistics, and logistics to effectively serve the import and export of goods.
Promoting green logistics for comprehensive and sustainable growth is not only a requirement of Vietnam but also a requirement of the whole world for a common trend. Therefore, domestic enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises, must learn and save themselves, both to help improve competitiveness and build a more beautiful and prestigious image and brand with the foreign business community, thereby moving towards more sustainable and comprehensive development.
The APEC Workshop on Promoting Green Logistics for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth will take place on April 16 and 17, 2024 in Hanoi with discussion sessions related to topics such as: Obstacles in greening the logistics industry from the perspective of inclusive and sustainable growth of academia and international organizations; Obstacles in greening the logistics industry from the perspective of inclusive and sustainable growth of the private sector; Good practices in green logistics towards growth and inclusiveness...
The results of the discussions at the Workshop will be reported to the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) to soon turn the orientations and policies into reality.
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