BIDV Becomes the First Vietnamese Bank to Join PCAF
As of May 14, 2026, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) officially became a member of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting in Finance (PCAF)
As the first bank in Vietnam to join this organization, BIDV has achieved a significant milestone on its journey to enhance its capacity to measure and manage greenhouse gas emissions, promote transition finance, and realize its sustainable development strategy.
The Role of Measuring “Financial Emissions”
As climate change continues to cause severe damage and have far-reaching impacts on the economy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions has become an inevitable global trend. For the banking sector, the majority of emissions do not stem from direct operational activities but arise indirectly through financial activities (financial emissions). According to a report by the World Resources Institute, financial emissions account for nearly 100% of a bank’s total emissions. Therefore, to develop a substantive emissions reduction roadmap and effectively implement a sustainable development strategy, measuring financial emissions is a prerequisite. However, this remains a challenging area due to a lack of input data and the ability to implement solutions across the entire loan portfolio.
In response to this need, the launch of PCAF is seen as a crucial initiative within the global climate finance ecosystem. Founded in 2015, PCAF is now an alliance of more than 750 financial institutions worldwide working together to develop and apply a unified methodology for quantifying emissions in the financial sector. To date, PCAF is the first and only organization to issue standards for measuring and disclosing financial emissions that are harmonized, transparent, and comparable. PCAF’s standards are currently used by many financial institutions worldwide to quantify emissions levels, determine baseline emissions, and support climate-related disclosures.
BIDV’s New Step in Promoting Sustainable Development
Signing the commitment to join PCAF opens up opportunities for BIDV to gain deeper access to international methodologies and various resources to support practical implementation. Through this network, BIDV can utilize a set of emission factors developed and regularly updated for various countries and economic sectors, thereby expanding its ability to calculate emissions across its portfolio. At the same time, PCAF provides a standardized framework for assessing data quality, helping to improve the consistency, transparency, and reliability of measurement results. Furthermore, BIDV has the opportunity to enhance its professional capabilities through the PCAF Academy online training platform, technical support activities, and the network connecting PCAF members and partners in the region and globally.
By leveraging PCAF’s methodologies and resources, BIDV will gradually refine its data platform and financial emissions measurement system, laying the foundation for developing an emissions reduction roadmap aligned with the bank’s portfolio characteristics and development strategy. At the same time, BIDV will continue to strengthen its risk management capabilities, expand the provision of green finance and transition finance products and services, and support customers on their journey toward a sustainable growth model.
Joining the PCAF also reaffirms BIDV’s commitment to creating sustainable value for customers, shareholders, and the community; while actively contributing to green development goals and realizing Vietnam’s “Net Zero” emissions commitment.
