FLAT LAW FIRM
Request a consultation

Corporate Legal Services

Measuring Factory Carbon Footprints in Vietnam: Methods and Service Providers

3 min readFLAT LAW FIRM

Measuring a factory’s carbon footprint in Vietnam now runs on two parallel drivers: the domestic greenhouse gas inventory duty for large emitters, and supply-chain reporting demands from EU, US and Japanese customers. Both share one methodological base — but differ in inventory boundary and verification depth, and confusing them makes many factories report twice.

The GHG inventory frame and measurement methods

  • The domestic inventory duty — Decree 06/2022/ND-CP: facilities on the mandatory GHG inventory list (issued in Decision 13/2024/QD-TTg) — in energy, industry, transport, construction and waste with emissions from 3,000 tCO2e per year — must inventory every two years and report results to the regulator.
  • Standard calculation methods — inventories follow IPCC guidelines and emission factors published by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (the national grid factor for indirect emissions from purchased electricity); for international reporting, methods align with the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1 so one dataset serves both.
  • Three scopes to delimit from the start — Scope 1 (direct: fuel combustion, process) and Scope 2 (purchased electricity and steam) are the mandatory inventory core; Scope 3 (supply chain, travel, waste) usually arrives via customers and parents and needs its own data plan.
  • Independent verification — inventories used for official reports and major customers should be verified by a competent verification body under ISO 14064-3/14065; a self-calculated, unverified report is the first weakness ESG diligence finds.

A first carbon footprint measurement path for a factory

  1. Determine whether the factory is on the mandatory inventory list under Decision 13/2024/QD-TTg and its reporting cycle — the legal milestone not to miss.
  2. Build one data system serving both uses: fuel and electricity invoices, output volumes and process logs standardised to both Decree 06/2022 and the GHG Protocol.
  3. Engage a consultancy with recognised inventory experience and consider independent verification from the first cycle so the baseline dataset is trustworthy for later-year comparisons.

A good carbon footprint is one dataset measured once and used many times: filed with Vietnamese authorities, reported to the parent and answered to EU customers. FDI factories that design their data system to both standards from the first inventory avoid the era’s common disease: rebuilding a different report every year for every asker.

Frequently asked questions

What is a carbon footprint measurement for?

Meeting the GHG inventory duty where applicable (Decree 06/2022/ND-CP), reporting to the parent company, and answering EU customers’ supply-chain and CBAM-related demands.

Which methods are internationally recognised?

IPCC inventory guidelines, the GHG Protocol for companies and ISO 14064-1 for quantification; results verified under ISO 14064-3 by a competent body.

How often must we measure?

Listed facilities must inventory GHG every two years under Decree 06/2022/ND-CP; customer and parent reporting usually runs annually.

This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council

Related articles