V tejto epizóde nášho podcastu Udržateľnosť vo financiách sa venujeme integrácii udržateľnosti v praxi a jej dopadu na malé a stredné podniky. Hosťom je Eva Bučová, ktorá je vedúcou korporátneho sektora a tiež predsedkyňou udržateľnej komisie v ING banke v Prahe s nespočetnými rokmi skúseností s témou urdžateľnosti. Eva nám poviem viac o prístupe ING k udržateľnosti v malých a stredných podnikoch. Čo je váhou udržateľnosti a na čo sa banky pozerajú napríklad pri poskytovaní úverov? Sú rozdiely v prístupe k urdžateľnosti medzi veľkými a malými firmami? Je urdžateľný biznis menej senzitívny na vonkajšie šoky? Aký je prístup Česka a Slovenska k urdžateľnosti? Ide urdžateľnosť na úkor ekonomiky? Odpovede na tieto a ďalšie otázky plus reálne príklady z praxe si vypočujete v tejto časti nášho podcastu. Preto si nenechajte ujsť túto epizódu!

V tejto epizóde nášho podcastu Udržateľnosť vo financiách sa venujeme integrácii udržateľnosti v praxi a jej dopadu na spoločnosti na Slovensku. Jana Ružická, riaditeľka pre poradenstvo v oblasti udržateľnosti v spoločnosti Mazars s viac ako dvadsaťročnými skúsenosťami v tejto oblasti, nám poodhalí tajomstvá riadenia environmentálnych a sociálnych rizík a zlepšovania ESG stratégií. Dozvieme sa, ako Mazars definuje udržateľnosť a prečo by mala byť pre firmy kľúčovou prioritou. Aké sú trendy v tom, ako sa zostavujú výročné správy a aké informácie obsahujú? Jana nám poskytne zákulisné informácie o príprave výročných správ, správ o udržateľnosti, ako aj o dôležitosti dodávateľského reťazca podľa rôznych smerníc vrátane globálnej iniciatívy GRI a európskych štandardov pre podávanie správ o udržateľnosti (ESRS). Okrem toho sa dozvieme o príkladoch stratégií a iniciatív, ktoré slovenské spoločnosti realizujú s cieľom dosiahnuť dobré výsledky v oblasti udržateľnosti. Ak vás zaujíma, ako spoločnosť Mazars pomáha v tejto oblasti v strednej a východnej Európe, nenechajte si ujsť túto epizódu!

This month we are joined by Bart Dujczynski, the founder of Proventus Renewables Ltd. Bart is a seasoned renewables expert and has two decades of experience with the renewable energy value chain. He has a wide knowledge of energy efficiency, wind performance, sustainable investing, accounting and much more. Using his range of expertise, Bart provides insight into the energy sector in the Central and Eastern region of Europe.   He offers an explanation of power purchase agreements and their capacity to promote stability in the renewable energy market. He also provides an optimistic view of the future of renewables in CEE. Believing that CEE offers great potential to investors for solar and offshore wind, he states, “I’m optimistic and so excited about the region personally.” Bart’s optimism rubs off as he shares valuable perspectives about the future of clean energy as it continues to rise in popularity. To end the episode, he offers advice for anyone looking to go into the renewable energy sector.   

In this episode, we had the pleasure of welcoming none other than Eila Kreivi, the Chief Sustainable Finance Advisor at the European Investment Bank. EIB is one of the world’s main financiers of climate action and environmental sustainability. In 2022, the share of EIB investments that went to climate action and environmental sustainability projects rose to €36.5 billion, or 58%. Eila started her career at the Union Bank of Finland and Société Générale, and later joined the financing arm of the European Union. For more than two decades she headed the Capital Markets Department of the EIB, as its Director, and became the Chief Sustainable Finance Advisor at the European Investment Bank last year, in February 2022. Eila also chaired the Executive Committee of the Green Bond Principles in 2015-2018 and represented the EIB at the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance created in 2018, working on EU green bond standards. Eila shares her experience working on sustainable finance, the main changes she perceived on ESG throughout all these years working for the EIB and the key developments for sustainability in the financial sector. She elaborates on the actions the EIB takes to normalise the inclusion of ESG considerations into investment decisions, green bond principles and standards.

In this episode, we explore ESG-related questions from the perspective of journalism. We discuss how media can influence the latest thinking on sustainable finance. We spoke Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker, editor at Responsible Investor, one of the oldest and most prominent daily news publications dedicated to sustainable finance and ESG. Responsible Investor is also the main media partner of the CEE Sustainable Finance Summit happening in Prague, 15-19 May 2023.  Lucy walks us through her career in journalism in the Central and Eastern European region, where she spent 12 years covering banking and the financial sector. She talks about the challenges she faced while covering emerging markets, the main differences and similarities she perceived regarding the CEE banking sector compared to the UK, and finally, her current focus at the Responsible Investor.

For this episode, we had the pleasure of welcoming renowned sustainable finance expert, who brings not only a great understanding of ESG regulations in both the EU and the UK, but also practical experience of building sustainable finance solutions and taxonomies globally.  Nadia walked us through her career path and important milestones and achievements across the field of sustainable finance, her work as a former co-rapporteur at the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on sustainable finance and as a current observer of the Platform on Sustainable Finance (data and usability sub-group), while simultaneously working as a manager for Bloomberg.  Closely following the development of the EU Taxonomy, Nadia shared her insights on the Taxonomy’s usability, necessary developments and future implementation - all this, and much more!

Peter has spent decades working in finance, with an extensive focus on climate and energy efficiency. He started his career at J.P. Morgan in corporate finance, eventually moving to found impact-led NGOs and acting as a successful social entrepreneur. He founded Climate Strategy & Partners in 2009, a strategic consulting group in clean energy, innovation and energy efficiency that works with leading companies and policymakers.   Among other roles, he is a founder and advisor to the Climate Bonds Initiative, member of the Ashoka Support Network, a member of the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets, and an active advisor to many other initiatives. Having all this comprehensive experience, Peter shares his valuable insights about the upcoming trends in climate and energy efficiency issues, explains the benefits of an EU Renovation Loan that broadens the access to energy efficiency finance for homeowners in Europe, and, last but not least, he shares important career advice.

In the newest podcast episode we are welcoming Sean Kidney, CEO of Climate Bonds Initiative, Professor at SOAS University of London, Global Capital magazine’s “Most Influential Champion” of the sustainable finance market, Advisory Board Member of ISFC, and last but not least, our excellent CEE Sustainable Finance Summit speaker. This 35-minute discussion looks into the deeper meaning of value creation across our societies and how it relates to green bonds and other sustainability-linked financial instruments. Simply put, we need to urgently mobilise global capital for climate action - and we now have the tools to do so. 

“The same way we have a common universal language for financial information, we desperately need a recognised and accepted universal language when it comes to non-financial information” - explains Maud Gaudry, former Lead Project Manager at the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). This one-on-one discussion with an inspirational sustainable finance practitioner and leader, which sheds light on the work of EFRAG and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), compares sustainability approaches in the US vs the EU, and includes personal insights from Maud’s distinguished career in sustainable finance. Would you like to learn more? Watch / Listen to the panel discussion on the Future of sustainability standards, recorded during the CEE Sustainable Finance Summit in May, 2022.

Over the last few years, reporting requirements and pressures have grown exponentially. While most regulations currently apply to large enterprises (500+ employees), this is expected to change imminently. Because of the pressures on larger companies to report on their suppliers, CEE companies will also be required to report emissions and sustainability performance. What are the advantages of moving early on climate transition planning and reporting? Listen to this intriguing panel discussion from the CEE Sustainable Finance Summit 2022 about the strategic gathering and usage of data, reporting on scope 1 & 2 emissions (with more flexibility on scope 3) and leveraging on taxonomy indicators, moderated by Vesselina Haralampieva, Senior Counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Speakers: Robert Adamczyk - Senior Environmental Advisor, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Maria Ibisz - Senior Manager, Sustainability Consulting Central Europe, Deloitte Petr Koblic - Chairman and CEO, Prague Stock Exchange Filip Gregor - Head of Responsible Companies Section, Frank Bold, Member of Sustainability Reporting Board, EFRAG Michael Zimonyi - Policy & External Affairs Director, IFRS Foundation

How could we improve the CEE innovation ecosystem? What steps could governments, policymakers and the financial sector take to improve the environment and outcomes? In this episode our speakers focus on the innovation ecosystems in the CEE regions, moderated by Andrew Gray, Impact investor from Tilia Impact Ventures. The episode was recorded during the CEE Sustainable Finance Summit in May 2022. Speakers Senta Čermáková - Chief Innovation Officer, Deloitte Michal Košina - Senior Mandate Manager, Equity - European Investment Fund Markus Raunig - Chairman, Austrian Startups Marian Gazdik - Managing Director, G-Force Jan Burian - Head of Manufacturing Insights EMEA, IDC Europe

This panel discussion, moderated by Nadia Humphreys from Bloomberg, was recorded during the second CEE Sustainable Finance Summit in May 2022.The participants discuss the EU’s Sustainable Finance Agenda which has pioneered the development of new standards for financial reporting and instruments. At the same time, the politicisation of the EU taxonomy has taken the wind out of the sails of the European leadership when it comes to standard setting for sustainable economic activities.  Speakers Eila Kreivi - Chief Sustainable Finance Advisor, European Investment Bank Ingmar Jürgens - Managing Director, Climate & Company Maud Gaudry - Partner, Global Sustainability Services, Mazars

The war in Ukraine has created shockwaves across the EU, but especially in the Central and Eastern region where memories of Soviet oppression are still strong. The new security situation calls into question the EU’s Green Deal, its Fit for 55 package and most importantly, its Sustainable Finance agenda – not least because of the need to rethink Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and the economic interlinkages with Russian businesses.   The discussion was recorded during the second CEE Sustainable Finance Summit in May 2022 and moderated by Dirk Buschle from Energy Community. Speakers Julia Patorska - Partner Associate, Deloitte Vazil Hudak - Vice-Chairman, GLOBSEC & Advisory Board Member, International Sustainable Finance Centre Ivan Mikloš - Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Slovakia, & President of MESA10 Attila Steiner - State Secretary for the Development of Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy, Ministry for Innovation and Technology, Hungary Tomáš Provazník - Partner, Evermore Capital Management

This special discussion between Martin Spolc, the Head of Sustainable Finance, at DG FISMA, European Commission, and Linda Zeilina, the Founder and CEO of the International Sustainable Finance Centre, was recorded during the second CEE Sustainable Finance Summit in May 2022. This episode explores the EU's Sustainable Finance Agenda - what it is, what to expect going forward, and why it matters a lot for the Central and Eastern European region and beyond.

The 2022 CEE Sustainable Finance Summit started with a special conversation between Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group, and Professor Alexander Stubb, Director of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute, moderated by Linda Zeilina, CEO of the International Sustainable Finance Centre, recorded on 9 May 2022. As two of the foremost experts and thinkers on global security, they discussed the broader context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.