Carbon labeling rollout for Vietnamese enterprises

The measurement of carbon footprints and the implementation of carbon labeling offer practical and long-term benefits for businesses: it enhances competitiveness, opens international market access, optimizes production costs, promotes sustainable consumption, and reduces risks when participating in global trade.

Experts highlighted these benefits at a conference on “Methods for measuring carbon footprints and implementing carbon labeling for enterprises,” organized on April 10, 2026 by the Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and international partners including UNOPS.

Cause: rising carbon requirements for export-oriented firms

Vietnam has committed to reducing emissions and achieving Net Zero by 2050. At the same time, export-oriented sectors face increasing pressure from international markets, including the EU’s CBAM.

Nguyen Trung Thuc, Director of the Institute of Technology and Innovation at VCCI, said major markets such as the EU, the United States, and Japan are setting new technical barriers based on product carbon footprints. He noted that from 2026, mandatory reporting of carbon emissions for exported goods to these markets will become a “survival challenge” for businesses.

Nguyen Hung Minh, Deputy Head of the Carbon Market Division at the Department of Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that as the world shifts toward a low-carbon development model, international markets are tightening requirements for transparency of greenhouse gas emissions, carbon tracing of products, and environmental standards.

“This is not only a challenge but also an opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to transform, boost competitiveness, and integrate more deeply into the global value chain,” Minh said.

Development: carbon labeling as both a technical tool and a business advantage

Minh emphasized that carbon labeling is not merely a technical tool. It is expected to deliver tangible and long-term benefits for businesses, including enhancing competitiveness and access to international markets, improving brand reputation and customer and partner trust, optimizing production costs, promoting sustainable consumption, and strengthening risk management and proactive compliance with regulations.

He also linked carbon labeling to broader policy and market mechanisms such as carbon taxes, border adjustments (CBAM), and expanding green standards. In this context, having a carbon label is intended to help products meet export market requirements, particularly in developed markets.

Experts further noted that mastering carbon footprints can help enterprises adapt to domestic and international legal frameworks, reducing legal, financial, and reputational risks when engaging in global trade.

Data and program design: voluntary pilot to build MRV capacity

A key development highlighted by experts is the voluntary carbon labeling pilot program in Vietnam under the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP). The program is coordinated by UNOPS with the Department of Climate Change and the MoNRE.

Through training, workshops, communications support, and technical guidance, participating enterprises are expected to standardize emission management, establish scientific standards, and build internationally standardized methodologies to quantify CO2 emissions across production and business processes.

According to program experts, the pilot will help enterprises measure, verify, and display their carbon footprint (CFP) to improve market access. The program is designed with six core components to standardize the calculation and labeling of CFP at the product level, aligning with international standards such as ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol.

The initiative also supports enterprises in identifying major emission sources and applying measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the product level.

Impact: consumer awareness, market credibility, and alignment with international systems

The pilot aims to raise consumer awareness of low-carbon products and influence purchasing decisions toward environmental responsibility. It also seeks to build national capacity in MRV (Measuring, Reporting, Verification) of greenhouse gases at the product level and strengthen policy connections among carbon labeling, green public procurement, and national climate targets.

Project experts said the implementation will focus on high-emission sectors and export-oriented industries. In the initial phase, labeling will be voluntary, with the intention of moving toward future mandatory application and expanding to more sectors and product categories.

The initial pilots will cover three sectors: chemical (fertilizers), food processing, and paper.