Speaking at the opening of the discussion, CIEM Deputy Director Nguyen Hoa Cuong said that innovation is one of the important keywords of Vietnam in recent times and has been expressed in the National Development Strategy, in the Government's action plan, in international cooperation activities, investment attraction, and research activities. According to the Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking report published by WIPO in 2022, Vietnam ranked 48/132 countries/territories, continuing to maintain outstanding performance for the 12th consecutive year, maintaining its position ranked in the top 3 leading innovation economies in low-middle income countries/territories.

Besides, green growth and sustainable development have also been Vietnam's goals for many years. At the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2021 (COP26), Vietnam made a strong commitment to the international community to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and a roadmap to eliminate coal-fired power and replace it with renewable and clean energy sources.

A representative of the research group on the project "Promoting green innovation in SMEs in Vietnam" said that green innovation can be any innovation or improvement for businesses related to product innovation and/or process innovation. At the same time, a number of criteria are provided to determine whether SMEs have innovative activities. According to the research team, there are 3 criteria to determine SMEs with innovative activities: 1) Enterprise scale; 2) Innovation activities; 3) Socio-economic impact.

Regarding enterprise scale, according to the research team, it needs to meet the following criteria: 1) the number of employees participating in social insurance/year is 10-200 people (in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; industrial and construction sectors) and 10-100 people (trade and service sectors); 2) Total revenue of the year reaches 3-200 billion VND (agriculture, forestry, fishery; industry and construction sectors) and 10-300 billion VND (trade and service sectors).

Regarding innovative activities, the research team determined that in product innovation, enterprises have carried out at least 1 innovation activity in the last 2 years: have introduced new products to the market (new to the enterprise's market), launch new products to the market (new to businesses only), and introducing improved products to the market. And etc.

At the seminar, delegates shared and exchanged a number of related presentations, such as current status and policy recommendations to support innovative enterprises; Some new tools, policies, and resources in environmental protection play a role in promoting the transition to a green economy and circular economy in Vietnam; The need for innovation in SMEs in Vietnam - Challenges and opportunities; Innovation in enterprises with the goal of sustainable development and low emissions; Circular economy contributes to green transformation for businesses.