The State Bank of Vietnam published a write-up of a workshop on sustainability reporting practices in banking and the use of artificial intelligence (AI), organised by Banking Times and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). The article highlights remarks by FPT Digital Deputy Chief Executive Officer Lê Hùng Cường that AI can help firms address environmental, social and governance (ESG) data constraints, simplify reporting processes and facilitate access to green funding from banks and other financial institutions. Supporting detail included a survey of more than 200 Vietnamese firms in which 67% had not yet, or only partially, identified ESG-related indicators, 47% did not understand how to collect and process ESG data, 71% lacked sufficient knowledge of the data needed for reporting, and 70% did not publish or rarely published ESG reports. The discussion contrasted manual ESG reporting challenges such as fragmented data and limited alignment with international frameworks like the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) with AI-enabled reporting systems that can automate data collection and standardisation from sources such as enterprise resource planning systems and Internet of Things feeds, map disclosures to GRI and ISSB criteria, and generate reports with automated data checks. The FPT representative cited international examples including the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Gprnt platform for simplifying SME ESG data capture and scoring, and Project Gaia led by the Bank for International Settlements, the European Central Bank and other central banks using AI to analyse over 2,300 documents across 187 financial institutions to track 20 climate-related KPIs, alongside FPT’s deployment of its VertZéro solution in Vietnam for Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas inventories at a local bank.
State Bank of Vietnam 2025-05-21
State Bank of Vietnam features workshop discussion on using AI to automate ESG reporting and unlock green finance
The State Bank of Vietnam's workshop on sustainability reporting and AI in banking emphasized AI's role in overcoming ESG data challenges. A survey of over 200 Vietnamese firms revealed significant gaps in ESG indicator identification and reporting knowledge. The discussion contrasted manual reporting difficulties with AI-enabled systems that automate data collection and align with international frameworks like the Global Reporting Initiative and the International Sustainability Standards Board.