Navigating the Green Path: A Metafrontier Analysis of Electricity and Water Efficiencies of Vietnamese Enterprises in Environmental Sustainability

ABSTRACT Vietnam's economy is transforming impressively, becoming a preferred destination for manufacturing. Utilizing the metafrontier disaggregate efficiency analysis method, this study evaluates 114 major Vietnamese industrial enterprises from 2018 to 2022, focusing on sustainable resource management practices. In general, the heavy industry performs better than the light industry with respect to both water and electricity meta‐technical efficiencies. The electricity meta‐technical efficiency of the heavy industry keeps improving in the data period. Encouraging employee ideas and initiatives through incentives fosters resource efficiency improvements. This study concludes with practical implications derived from successful environmental responsibility‐driven strategies implemented by benchmark companies, whose efforts integrate and support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and suggestions for future research in this area.