Vietnam has been making significant strides to strengthen its environmental regulations and introduce circular economy (CE) measures. The packaging sector is considered a top priority for the development and implementation of CE initiatives due to its substantial economic significance and resource consumption. With over 14,000 enterprises, the sector consumes millions of tonnes of various materials annually [17]. However, the sector faces several challenges, including unreliable and out-of-date resource use data, compounded by the dominance of informal labour in the recycling industry.
To address these challenges, this policy brief collects insights from industry experts and lifecycle data to map material flows within Vietnam’s packaging sector. Four packaging industries are studied: plastic, paper, glass and aluminium. For each sector, six CE indicators are evaluated to benchmark industries and identify areas of improvement. The research findings provide quantitative evidence to support the development of suitable policy solutions for the next phase of Vietnam’s transition to a CE within the packaging industry. In particular, the research has contributed to the National Action Plan on the Circular Economy (NAPCE) which was published in January 2025.