Policies and Incentives for Green Buildings in Vietnam Today

Key Documents and Strategies for Green Buildings

Legal Document / Strategy	Main Content Related to Green Buildings / Green Construction
Decision 21/2025/QĐ-TTg (issued on July 4, 2025) – “Regulation on environmental criteria and certification of investment projects under green classification”	Provides a unified set of criteria to identify and certify green projects. Enhances transparency in applying incentives for “green” projects.
Decision 882/QĐ-TTg (2022) – National Action Plan on Green Growth 2021–2030	Includes measures to promote green buildings, energy-efficient buildings, low-carbon buildings, and “Net Zero” buildings. Covers the roadmap, standards, certifications, benchmarks, and technical guidelines.
Law No. 77/2025/QH15 – Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Efficient Use of Energy	(Effective from January 1, 2026) – strengthens the legal framework for energy efficiency, with potential expansion to green buildings.

Types of Incentives / Support

Type of Incentive / Support	Details / Proposals
Tax exemptions / reductions, financial incentives	Proposals include preferential loans, interest rate support for green building investors, and tax/fee support for issuing green bonds.
Support for certification / green building standards	Systems such as LOTUS (VGBC), EDGE, LEED, and Green Mark are used for certification; Decision 882 and action programs emphasize building standards and technical assessments for green and low-emission buildings.
Mandatory codes and technical standards	Example: QCVN 09:2017/BXD on energy-efficient buildings; government requirements in design, appraisal, and performance evaluation phases.
Development plans / long-term roadmaps	National Action Plan on Green Growth 2021–2030, decarbonization roadmap for the construction sector by 2050, and targets for the number of certified green buildings by 2025–2030.
Support for management, monitoring & enforcement	Proposals include strengthening inspection and monitoring of green building standards, conducting energy audits in buildings, and enhancing the capacity of consultants and designers.

Limitations and Challenges for Green Buildings in Vietnam

– High upfront investment costs: Green buildings typically require higher costs for design, materials, and construction (about 1.2–10% more than conventional buildings).

– Human resources & expertise: Shortage of skilled designers, builders, and operators for green buildings; insufficient knowledge of green materials and energy-saving technologies.

– Fragmented standards / certification frameworks: Multiple certification systems exist; mandatory application of technical standards is inconsistent; inspection and approval remain weak.

Consulting Services at ISD Engineering

With more than 5 years of experience in green building consulting, ISD Engineering is a pioneer in Vietnam in LEED and EDGE certifications.

We are proud to be the first and only green building consultancy in Vietnam recognized as both:

• LEED Proven Provider by USGBC/GBCI — acknowledging our consistent excellence in delivering LEED projects, and
  
• EDGE Premier Service Provider by IFC/World Bank Group — an honor granted to firms demonstrating exceptional expertise and performance in EDGE certification.
  

We provide comprehensive solutions:

• Strategic consulting to achieve certification for each type of building.
  
• Assessing current conditions & developing detailed, cost-optimized roadmaps.
  
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References

• Decision 21/2025/QĐ-TTg: Regulation on environmental criteria and certification of investment projects under green classification.
  Source: VGBC – National Green Taxonomy
  
• Decision 882/QĐ-TTg (2022): Approving the National Action Plan on Green Growth 2021–2030.
• QCVN 09:2017/BXD: National technical regulation on energy-efficient buildings.
  Source: Ministry of Construction Vietnam
  
• IFC (2019). Green Buildings: A Finance and Policy Blueprint for Emerging Markets.
  IFC Report.
  
• VGBC (2023). Vietnam Green Building Market Report. Vietnam Green Building Council.
  
• UNDP Vietnam (2021). Promoting Energy Efficient and Green Buildings in Vietnam.
  
• Journal of Construction (2020). More effective incentive policies needed for green building investors.
  
• Vietnam News (2018). Green construction incentives needed.
  
• VNEEC (2023). Policies and solutions to promote green building development.