VertZéro – a Made by FPT IS solution that accelerates the green transformation

The recent FPT IS online webinar “Roadmap to ISO 14064-1 Compliant GHG Inventory” provided a comprehensive view on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory practice in accordance with ISO 14064-1:2018 standard while equipping participants with the knowledge and tools required to create accurate emissions reports.

Many leading ESG executives and technology experts attended the workshop, including: Mr. Quan Nguyen – PhD in Environmental Science with over 10 years of experience in carbon credit trading, waste management, and a member of GHG Protocol, and Mr. Tuan Pham – Master of Business Administration, PhD candidate in Climate Finance in Europe, Product Director of FPT IS’s VertZéro. Approximately 500 representatives from companies across the country joined the webinar.

In Vietnam, since the beginning of 2023, about 1,920 GHG-emitting facilities in the proposed list have started to conduct periodic GHG inventories. Starting from 2025, thousands of businesses will be required to conduct GHG inventories as required by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. As a party to the Paris Agreement, Vietnam has committed to mitigating GHG emissions, with a target of reducing 15.8% (with its own means) and 43.5% (with international support) by 2030 compared to the Business-as-Usual scenario.

According to Dr. Quan Nguyen, PhD in Environmental Science with over 10 years of experience in carbon credit trading, waste management, and a member of the GHG Protocol, in order to conduct a GHG inventory, enterprises need to comply with many international standards, such as: ISO 14064 set of standards – GHG emissions and removals, carbon storage for organizations, enterprises, and projects; ISO 14067 – GHG emissions quantification associated with the life cycle stages of a product; ISO 14068 – Climate change management, transition to net zero, carbon neutrality; GHG Protocols; Corporate/Organization standards; Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard – Indirect Emissions, etc.

Mr. Quan pointed out ways to determine organizational boundaries.

In particular, ISO 14064-1:2018 is the most important standard following the ISO 14001 set of standards related to GHG management. The ISO 14064-1 standard sets out the requirements for the design, development, management, reporting, and verification of an organization’s GHG inventory; evaluation of baseline emissions and annual emissions; identification of GHG sources and sinks; and primary data about the organization’s processes.

Mr. Quan said that applying the ISO 14064-1:2018 standard brought many benefits to enterprises, such as: enhancing reputation (demonstrating commitment to environmental protection, building a green image, and being responsible to the community); improving management (guiding enterprises in identifying, monitoring, and reporting GHG emissions); reducing costs (controlling and cutting emissions); and increasing competitive advantage (meeting the greenhouse gas emission requirements of customers and partners).

To conduct a GHG inventory, Mr. Quan emphasized that businesses should not attempt it alone since this is a process that requires high authenticity, transparency and accuracy. Therefore, businesses need to coordinate with three parties to:  (1) define the relevant scope and boundaries, (2) verify the information and data provided by the first party, (3) and have the competence for validation (ISO 14065).

Mr. Quan emphasized that the GHG inventory process requires the participation of three parties.

Sharing the same view on this issue, Mr. Tuan Pham – Master of Business Administration, PhD candidate in Climate Finance in Europe, Product Director of VertZéro, said that the GHG inventory process requires five steps: (1) defining organizational boundaries and emission sources; (2) collecting operational data and emission factors; (3) calculating the GHG emissions from each source (fuel, electricity, purchase, etc.); (4) determining emission reduction targets; (5) and reporting emission reduction results.

However, Mr. Tuan also said that many Vietnamese businesses are facing challenges in GHG inventory, such as: time-consuming data collection; lack of familiarity with complex standards and regulations; and absence of environmental data.

“In that context, FPT IS is currently one of the first organizations providing carbon accounting solution – VertZéro in Vietnam. This digital solution comprehensively digitizes the process of environmental data collection, calculation, management, reporting of GHG emissions, meeting global reporting frameworks for GHG removals such as ISO 14064-1, GHG Protocol, and other standards,” said Mr. Tuan.

VertZéro helps organizations calculate and reduce emissions, create reports, and automate the GHG inventory process.

VertZéro helps businesses to define boundaries, and calculate emissions according to scopes 1, 2, 3, identify multi-dimensional emissions, and access global emissions factors. Businesses can then use this information to set emission reduction targets (based on scope, time, and government regulations) and monitor actual emissions. Once the information is transparent, the solution helps businesses create GHG inventory reports that meet the requirements of the Vietnamese government (Decree 06/2022/ND-CP, ISO14064-1:2011), the European Union (CBAM), and other global regulations (GHG Protocol, IPCC, EPA, ISO 14064-1:2018). Thus, with VertZéro, organizations hold the key to automating the GHG inventory process from complying with regulations and standards, updating emission factors to connecting data from suppliers, and automatically generating reports.

VertZéro is being deployed for FPT Software, aiming to help the company proactively inventory GHG under the three scopes, connect and synchronize data from 30 countries, build standard emissions factors, and customize by region. The deployment process is designed to meet global standards and frameworks, closely following the requirements of sustainable development in the global technology supply chain.

VertZéro is supporting many businesses on their green transformation journey.

With practical implementation experience, a solid technological foundation, and a global network of experts and partners from Europe, Germany, Japan, Australia, and other regions, FPT IS expects to accompany Vietnamese businesses quickly access the roadmap to implement green transformation in accordance with global standards with the goal of becoming sustainable development organizations.