The event, the 18th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP), was organized by the Institute for Circular Economy Development (ICED) under Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, in collaboration with partner organizations.
The conference focused on bridging science and industry to accelerate the dual transition — digitalization and green transformation — across key industrial sectors to support carbon neutrality. It was held as part of the side events of the Autumn Economic Forum 2026, directed by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.
At the opening ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Minh Tam, Vice President of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, highlighted opportunities to connect scientific knowledge and international experience with practical needs. He commended cooperation with the Ho Chi Minh City Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (HCMC C4IR) and stressed the importance of helping small and medium-sized enterprises access technology, upgrade skills, and secure green financing.
Mr. Hoang Van Tam, Head of the General Planning Division at the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department of Science, Technology, and Digital Transformation, said policymaking should be grounded in scientific evidence and reliable data. He called on researchers to contribute recommendations that would make policies practical, measurable and responsive to business needs.
Presenting Japan's circular economy strategy, Dr. Sho Nakamura, Director for Promotion of Circular Society & Environmental Regeneration, at Japan's Ministry of the Environment, outlined policies and plans to promote resource circulation and recycling. He said Asian countries should reconcile their distinct cultural characteristics with shared regional goals, citing a cooperative waste-to-energy plant project in Bac Ninh Province as an example.
Professor Gopalakrishnan Kumar of the University of Stavanger in Norway examined how digitalization and green transformation can reinforce each other. Emerging economies such as Vietnam should learn from successful models to improve resource efficiency, he said.
Drawing on Norway's extensive coastline and biomass resources, Professor Gopalakrishnan Kumar highlighted the potential of biorefineries to convert seafood byproducts and organic waste into biomaterials, packaging and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
For Vietnam, he proposed exploring the production of single-cell protein (SCP) from carbon dioxide, recovering nitrogen and phosphorus from seafood byproducts, and strengthening collaboration among scientists, businesses and policymakers.
Ms. Akiko Yamamoto, Head of the Environment and Energy Team for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), called for incorporating circular economy indicators into green transition assessments and harmonizing product standards, trade regulations and green finance frameworks across ASEAN.
She also highlighted UNDP initiatives involving material flow analysis in Hue, plastic waste reduction in tourism across six ASEAN countries, and improved livelihoods for 135,000 informal waste collectors. Ms. Akiko Yamamoto proposed establishing regional pilot zones to help develop circular value chains.
