Environmental protection and occupational health and safety have become essential requirements for enterprises, particularly manufacturers and exporters, due to increasingly stringent regulations and buyer expectations. In Vietnam, however, workplace accidents and environmental noncompliance remain persistent challenges, often linked to inadequate training, fragmented management practices, and limited technical capacity. Although many enterprises pursue ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification for environmental management systems and occupational health and safety management systems, respectively, these systems are often implemented separately, which can limit their contribution to productivity improvement and effective risk management.

To address these challenges, the APO Secretariat and the Commission for Standards, Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ), Vietnam, implemented an online Technical Expert Services (TES) project titled Capacity Building on Environmental, Health, and Safety Integrated Management System on 18–20 and 26–27 November 2025. Sixteen Vietnamese consultants participated in the training and were guided by a resource person from Japan. The project aimed to strengthen the participants’ capacity to design, implement, and maintain an integrated environmental, health, and safety management system based on ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 using a practical PDCA (plan, do, check, act) approach.

The five-day program combined expert lectures, interactive discussions, assignments, and case studies, enabling participants to develop practical skills in integrated risk assessment, documentation, internal audits, corrective action, and continual improvement. The project strengthened national consultancy capacity, supported safer and more sustainable business practices, and laid the foundation for wider replication in Vietnam, contributing to safer workplaces and sustainable business practices.