European sustainability regulation is changing how global supply chains work, including in Vietnam. That was the focus of the keynote by Prof. Dr. Tracy Dathe, Professor of Finance & Accounting at IU International University of Applied Sciences, at a DAAD Alumni Workshop in Hanoi on 18 September 2026. The workshop was held at the Vietnamese-German Centre (VDZ) and dealt with German-Vietnamese research cooperation in sustainable development, ESG and climate change response.
From voluntary responsibility to mandatory due diligence
From voluntary responsibility to mandatory due diligence
In her talk, "ESG Principles & Global Value Chains: Opportunities for German-Vietnamese Research Collaboration", Prof. Dathe traced how corporate sustainability has developed:
- from voluntary corporate social responsibility in the 1950s to 1970s
- to the sustainable development agenda of the 1980s and 1990s
- to investor-driven ESG criteria in the early 2000s
- to today's binding regulation
She linked this history to the development of global value chains, from hyper-globalisation (2001–2015) to the geopolitical fragmentation since 2018.
The main part of the talk dealt with EU and German rules that extend ESG requirements across entire supply chains:
- the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD)
- the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), which requires companies to address child labour, forced labour, unsafe working conditions and environmental harm among their suppliers
- the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which introduces standardised, audited reporting and double materiality
- the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires climate transition plans aligned with the Paris Agreement and introduces civil liability for harm in supply chains
Prof. Dathe concluded that ESG compliance is no longer optional, including for suppliers outside Europe. For Vietnam, a key manufacturing hub in global value chains, this creates a growing need for research and expertise in sustainability management.
Practical ESG implementation
In the afternoon, Prof. Dathe presented her book Implementing ESG Principles for Sustainable Businesses: A Practical Guide in Sustainability Management and discussed it with participants.
Other contributions covered green transition and ESG consulting in Vietnam, green finance education at the Vietnamese-German University, ESG and environmental protection in university teaching, digital solutions for sustainable transport, and climate adaptation projects. Speakers came from Vietnamese universities and the climate consultancy KLINOVA.
