Could Your Cold Chain Investment Qualify as a Green or Circular Project in Vietnam?

A new government framework, Decision 46/2026/QĐ-TTg, issued on 17 September 2026 and effective from 1 November 2026, provides guidance for identifying green projects, projects meeting circular-economy criteria, and the application of ESG frameworks.

At the same time, Vietnam's private-sector development policies provide for 2% annual interest-rate support for private-sector enterprises, business households and individual businesses borrowing to implement eligible green and circular projects or apply ESG frameworks, subject to the applicable conditions and procedures.

For companies investing in cold-chain logistics, this deserves attention.

From "cold-chain equipment" to "green logistics investment"

Traditional temperature-controlled distribution often relies on:

• refrigerated trucks;
• mechanically powered refrigeration;
• diesel consumption;
• multiple temperature-controlled vehicles;
• energy-intensive cold storage;
• single-use EPS packaging;
• packaging waste;
• low vehicle utilisation in some delivery configurations.

An alternative model is emerging.

Instead of mechanically refrigerating the entire vehicle compartment, passive temperature-controlled containers can maintain the required temperature around the product while the vehicle itself operates without active refrigeration.

This can allow companies, depending on their logistics configuration, to:

consolidate deliveries → reduce refrigerated vehicle requirements → reduce fuel and refrigeration energy → reduce emissions → reduce packaging waste → increase asset utilisation.

This is where solutions such as Olivo Cold Logistics can become part of a broader green or circular logistics investment project.

What makes a project potentially "green" or "circular"?

Decision 46 does not simply label an individual product as "green". Instead, the project itself must fall within the applicable categories and satisfy the relevant technical and environmental criteria.

This distinction is essential. A company purchasing an insulated container does not automatically have a certified green project.

However, a broader investment programme designed to transform its logistics system — for example through energy efficiency, emissions reduction, reusable assets, circular logistics and potentially renewable-energy integration — may warrant an assessment against the relevant green and circular criteria.

The new framework therefore creates an opportunity to document the environmental performance of an investment before financing it, rather than treating sustainability as an afterthought.

The Olivo Green & Circular Project approach

To help companies explore this opportunity, Provigood has developed an Olivo Green & Circular Project Certification File. The tool is designed to structure the information required to assess a proposed cold-chain transformation project. It brings together five dimensions.

1. Operational transformation

Before: refrigerated trucks

• mechanical refrigeration
• diesel consumption
• multiple temperature-controlled vehicles
• disposable packaging

After: ambient vehicles where operationally appropriate

• Olivo passive temperature-controlled containers
• eutectic plates
• consolidated deliveries
• reusable assets

2. Energy efficiency

The project can quantify:

• diesel consumption avoided;
• refrigeration energy avoided;
• vehicle utilisation improvements;
• kilometres and trips potentially avoided;
• energy consumption per delivered kilogram or order.

The objective is to move from a generic statement such as "Olivo is more sustainable" to a measurable statement such as:

The proposed logistics transformation is expected to reduce energy consumption by X MWh/year and diesel consumption by X litres/year.

3. Carbon impact

The tool calculates the potential reduction in kg or tonnes of CO₂e per year, based on the customer's actual logistics baseline.

This provides a measurable basis for:

• ESG reporting;
• carbon-management programmes;
• sustainability targets;
• green-finance discussions;
• internal investment decisions.

The calculation remains project-specific: the actual environmental benefit depends on the customer's current and proposed logistics configuration.

4. Circularity

Olivo containers are designed for repeated use over many years. This allows the project to assess:

• reusable versus single-use packaging;
• EPS reduction;
• number of reuse cycles;
• asset lifetime;
• repair and maintenance;
• material efficiency;
• end-of-life considerations;
• potential pooling, rental or sharing models.

This is particularly relevant when the project replaces disposable thermal packaging with a reusable cold-chain asset.

5. Financing readiness

The final section connects the technical business case with the financing opportunity. The company can build an evidence pack covering:

CAPEX → operational savings → energy savings → CO₂ reduction → circularity benefits → ESG documentation → green / circular project assessment → financing discussion.

This is where sustainability becomes a potential financial advantage rather than simply a reporting exercise.

What could this mean financially?

Vietnam's Resolution 198/2025/QH15 provides for 2% per year interest-rate support for eligible private-sector borrowers financing green and circular projects and ESG-related investments, subject to the applicable eligibility requirements.

This potentially changes the economics of an investment.

For example, consider a company investing VND 10 billion in a logistics transformation project. A 2 percentage-point annual interest-rate support, if the project and financing meet all applicable requirements, would represent up to VND 200 million per year on VND 10 billion of eligible outstanding borrowing.

This should not be interpreted as an automatic subsidy for an Olivo purchase. The project, borrower, financing and supporting documentation must satisfy the applicable rules.

But it provides a compelling reason for companies to ask:

Can our cold-chain transformation be structured as an eligible green or circular project?

A new way to look at cold-chain ROI

Traditionally, a cold-chain investment is evaluated through:

CAPEX → operating cost → savings → ROI

The new approach adds another dimension:

CAPEX → operating savings → energy reduction → CO₂ reduction → circularity → financing eligibility

This can potentially make projects that were previously considered "too expensive" financially more attractive.

For a retailer, food manufacturer, seafood exporter, pharmaceutical distributor or logistics operator, the question is no longer simply "How much does the new equipment cost?" It becomes:

What is the total financial value of transforming our cold chain?

Who should investigate this opportunity?

The approach is particularly relevant to companies with:

• refrigerated delivery fleets;
• multi-temperature distribution;
• significant last-mile delivery volumes;
• high diesel consumption;
• mechanical refrigeration costs;
• EPS or disposable thermal packaging;
• ambitious CO₂-reduction targets;
• ESG reporting requirements;
• green-financing objectives.

Potential applications include food retail, F&B, seafood, dairy, pharma, healthcare, 3PL, e-commerce and food manufacturing.

From pilot project to financed transformation

Provigood's objective is not to tell companies that every Olivo investment automatically qualifies as a green project. Instead, we propose a more rigorous approach:

Measure → Document → Assess → Structure → Finance

We first establish the customer's actual logistics baseline. We then model the proposed Olivo solution and quantify:

• financial savings;
• energy savings;
• CO₂ reduction;
• packaging reduction;
• circularity benefits.

Finally, the project can be assessed against Vietnam's applicable green and circular project framework and prepared for discussion with the company's financial partners.

Decision 46/2026/QĐ-TTg provides the framework for this assessment and becomes effective on 1 November 2026. Vietnam has also launched a Sustainable Business Support Programme for 2026–2030, creating a broader policy context for companies developing sustainable business models.

Could your cold chain become a Green & Circular Project?

Provigood can help companies answer that question. We can assess an existing cold-chain operation and build an Olivo Green & Circular Project File covering:

Business case + ROI + Energy + CO₂ + Circularity + ESG + Financing readiness

The result is designed to give management, sustainability teams, supply-chain teams and financial institutions one common evidence base for evaluating the project.

Your cold chain may not simply be a logistics cost. It may become an investment in energy efficiency, circularity and sustainable growth.

Provigood — We Do. You Grow. Authorized distributor of Olivo Cold Logistics in Vietnam and Cambodia.