From Compliance to Green Leadership

On Monday afternoon, 14 September 2026, the webinar “From Compliance to Green Leadership: Solving ESG Data Gaps & EPR Execution” took place online, organised by NEPA and the Green Leaders Community (GLC). It was an official Side Event of the World Circular Economy Forum 2026 (WCEF) — the circular-economy forum initiated by Sitra (Finland), held this year in Gandhinagar, India, on 15–18 September 2026 — and the first time Vietnamese voices presented the Twin Transition and Planetary Boundaries frameworks on this platform.

Opening the session, moderator Nguyễn Ngân Sophie recalled the recent severe flooding in the Mekong region and Central Vietnam: the backdrop against which businesses can no longer stop at “passive compliance”. The three talks that followed went straight to the question facing Vietnamese businesses ahead of the 2027 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) declaration.

The three talks

EPR: legal risk, and a ticket into green supply chains

Atty. Trần Quốc Bảo (Executive Lawyer, Pantheon Law) set out the framework: Decree 110/2026/NĐ-CP took effect on 25 May 2026, and the 2027 declaration is based on 2026 data. The risk lies in recycling contracts without legal safeguards — double-counted certificates, acceptance on the wrong basis, audits years later — and in missing the deadline to register a recycling plan. On the upside, he called EPR “the ticket into global green supply chains”: the EU’s new packaging regulation (PPWR) requires food-contact PET packaging to contain at least 30% recycled plastic from 2030, pulling demand for traceable recycled plastic from Vietnam.

Data: what is not measured cannot be managed

Nguyễn Công Minh Bảo (Co-Founder, Green Transition; Country Manager of GRI in Vietnam) described the pressure on an export-oriented economy: EU rules such as CBAM, CSRD and EUDR, alongside domestic requirements on greenhouse-gas inventories and environmental and social disclosure. He presented a five-stage model of green transformation, starting from awareness and compliance, in which data is the hinge: without a baseline, nothing after it works. Businesses can start from reporting frameworks such as GRI, rating tools such as EcoVadis or CDP, and — at product level — life cycle assessments (LCA) and environmental product declarations (EPD).

Supply-chain traceability: from smallholders to importers

Markus Klemmer (Chairman cum General Director, Planetzero.earth) addressed traceable data for coffee, cacao and rice bound for export: importers need accurate data that cannot be manipulated, while smallholders face real hurdles in collecting it. The answer needs the whole chain on board, with digital tools simple enough for farmers. With the data to prove it, farmers who work sustainably earn a higher price and buyers get validated low-carbon products.

Q&A: three things an SME can do right away

The Q&A covered common EPR compliance mistakes, contracts under EUDR and Vietnam’s position in export markets, with further comments from Dr Trần Quý. Asked what an SME should do straight after the session, the speakers advised:

1. Establish your baseline data — what is not measured cannot be managed.
2. Start now with small, practical steps, whether the trigger is compliance or cost savings. Like learning to ride a bicycle, starting is the hardest part.
3. Don’t tackle the whole supply chain alone — reach out to experts, partners and communities of practice.

Roadmap to the 2027 EPR declaration

From the checklist Atty. Trần Quốc Bảo shared at the event; all steps are carried out on the national EPR information system (epr.mae.gov.vn):

• Q3–Q4 2026: review your products and packaging against Annexes I and II of Decree 110/2026/NĐ-CP; establish whether you fall under EPR (revenue threshold of VND 30 billion a year from listed products and packaging).
• Q4 2026: register a national EPR account; compile volumes placed on the market per product code, reconciled with the accounting books and customs declarations; choose a compliance route (recycle yourself, contract a recycler, authorise a third party, combine, or pay into the Fund).
• Q1 2027: sign recycling contracts or prepare the declaration file; have contracts legally reviewed before signing.
• Before 1 April 2027: register the recycling plan, report and declare on the system; pay contributions to the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund before 20 April 2027.

Staying connected with GLC & NEPA

The organisers thank the speakers and everyone who attended. The recording and event materials are sent separately to Delegate and Expert ticket holders. Details of the capacity-building workshops and cooperation programmes introduced at the close of the session will be announced on this website.

Contact the organisers: [email protected]