Vietnam not only needs more investment capital, but truly requires higher-quality investment. Long-term investment must go hand in hand with developing domestic supplier capacity and improving energy efficiency and emissions reduction.
Chairman of NordCham Vietnam Thue Quist Thomasen emphasized this at the Green Industries Summit 2026 themed “Powering Vietnam’s Green Industry 4.0,” recently organized by the Nordic Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (NordCham) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
The event attracted more than 200 leaders from government agencies, business, finance, and the international business community.
Mr. Thomasen also noted the gap between ESG reporting and actual changes in production.
Disclosure does not equal decarbonization. A well-written sustainability report has never reduced the cost per unit of product or won a single order, he said.
Nordic business experience shows that green transition is increasingly tied to cost, productivity, and the ability to meet export market standards, rather than being seen only as an environmental goal.
Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E. Johan Ndisi, cited Sweden’s experience: between 1990 and 2022, the economy grew about 79% while greenhouse gas emissions fell by more than 50%. According to him, this outcome was linked to investment in innovation and clean technology.
At LEGO’s factory in VSIP III (in the former province of Binh Duong, now part of Ho Chi Minh City), environmental factors were integrated right from the design stage. The plant was designed with a lifespan of over 50 years, combining rooftop solar with a direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) and the industrial park’s battery storage system.
Senior Vice President of Asia Manufacturing & General Manager, LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam Jesper Hassellund Mikkelsen said the factory aims to run on 100% renewable electricity. It already meets most of its power needs from renewable sources, with the remainder still supplied by the national grid.
In the beverage industry, Carlsberg Vietnam has approached green transition through factors directly affecting operating costs. At its Hue brewery, the company switched heat sources to biomass and biogas in 2022, installed a 2 MW rooftop solar system, and is preparing for a wind power DPPA project expected to operate in 2028.
Carlsberg Vietnam’s representative Peter Wachenschwanz said the brewery currently consumes about 2.1 liters of water per liter of beer and has achieved zero landfill waste since early 2026.
These cases show that industrial green transition is not only about changing energy sources. Companies must also calculate efficiency in water, raw materials, waste, equipment, and data traceability throughout the production process.
Digitalization to measure and cut costs
If energy and resources are the “material” part of the green transition, data is becoming the infrastructure layer that helps businesses measure and optimize the process.
President and CEO of Ericsson Vietnam and Myanmar Rita Mokbel argued that data is often underestimated in green transition.
“We cannot reduce what we cannot see, and we cannot optimize what we cannot measure,” she said.
According to Ms. Mokbel, competitive advantage in manufacturing is shifting from low cost to smarter operations and the ability to prove a product’s carbon footprint.
The common lesson shared at the conference is that green transition only creates economic impact if it goes beyond the pilot stage and is implemented at scale.
That sets requirements for businesses, industrial parks, energy systems, and digital infrastructure. Companies need access to clean electricity at reasonable costs, data to measure emissions and efficiency, and the ability to integrate new solutions into existing production activities.
Nhu Quynh
