How Cushman & Wakefield conquered Vietnam’s real estate hurdles by combining cautious optimism with a steadfast dedication to ESG principles.
For Vietnam’s real estate sector, 2023 was among the most challenging years in recent memory. A combination of factors slowed project development and customer sales to a crawl, forcing the industry to take a hard look at itself.
Cushman & Wakefield, the real estate services company, was no exception.
“We already had a clear business plan at the start of the year and expectations for business performance,” said Trang Bui, the firm’s Vietnam head. “But given the situation, we tried to have a backup plan for different scenarios, covering what would be feasible for us while being creative in providing for our client base.”
This led to an overall approach of “cautious optimism” while remaining ready to embrace any potential positive developments during a challenging year. According to Trang, this did not distract from Cushman & Wakefield’s detailed approach to ESG company-wide.
“We are walking the walk, and that means clear criteria or action every year on how we pursue ESG,” she said. “On the Environmental side, we have a solid action plan, along with detailed analytical measures on how you follow through as a firm.”
Under the Social category, Trang and her team pursue six topics, namely human rights, non-dis – crimination, employee wellbeing, employee attraction and retention, diversity and equal opportunities, and occupational health and safety.
Finally, under Governance, Trang outlined priorities including business ethics and integration.
“In terms of business ethics, every employee has to do compliance training, and adhere to these guidelines every step of the way in their work process,” she said.
“The goal, Trang explained, is to make sure employees do the right thing when no one is watching. This aligns with the most important lesson she has learned in her two decades in real estate: “Act, and do the right thing.”
Over the years, Trang has seen many examples of people and companies doing the same thing the same way over and over again.
“Just because everyone is doing something, doesn’t mean it is the right thing,” she added. “The common thread of success at the personal level and the organizational level is doing the right thing.”
