The summit brought together politicians, experts not only from Mazars, financiers and other dignitaries to discuss the future of sustainability, especially in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. During the summit, a new ISFC report was published - outlining steps for sustainable investment in this part of the old continent.
The war in Ukraine changes perspectives. The energy crisis underlines the importance of green resources and sustainability.
During the war in Ukraine, the European Union became fully aware of the risks of dependence on energy raw materials. The European 27 has therefore decided to speed up the transition to sustainable resources. What measures and investments would help her? How has armed conflict changed the perception of the Green Deal and sustainability?
"The topic of sustainability is crucial for Mazars, not only in Slovakia. The planet is sounding the alarm and no Earth number 2 is available. Companies can make a significant contribution to protecting the environment as well as meeting emission reduction targets. It is no longer just a question of trend or good marketing. It's a matter of survival. More and more customers are making decisions based on their values and are refusing to support companies that are unsure about sustainability. This allows companies to gain a competitive advantage,” explains Mickaël Compagnon, Managing Partner at Mazars in Slovakia. As public interest and social responsibility are among the core values, Mickaël Compagnon believes that this summit can help fulfill them.
Watch the panel recordings of our experts
Mazars experts, who deal with the topic of sustainable business at international and local level, were an active part of the summit's agenda. You can find the recordings of all public discussions on the Summit's website.
The EU’s Sustainable Finance Agenda has pioneered the development of new standards for financial reporting and instruments. While the US has been slower at implementing sustainable finance principles; the topics have gained momentum after the last US elections. At the same time, the politicisation of the EU taxonomy has taken the wind out the sails of the European leadership when it comes to standard setting for sustainable economic activities.
• What are the most urgent actions and what can be done in the near to medium term to improve “alphabet soup” of standards, frameworks, and ratings?
• Is there hope for ensuring alignment between EU and US standards?
• How can we ensure that reporting is meaningful and useful for the financial sector and for regulators on both sides of the Atlantic?
• Will the IFRS and the ISSB resolve the existing issues?
Speakers
Eila Kreivi - Chief Sustainable Finance Advisor, European Investment Bank
Mardi McBrien - Managing Director, Climate Disclosure Standards Board
Ingmar Jürgens - Managing Director, Climate & Company
Maud Gaudry - Partner, Global Sustainability Services. Mazars
Moderator
Nadia Humphreys - Business Manager, Sustainable Finance Solutions
Capital markets in the CEE region are relatively under-developed and lack the scale often desired by large institutional investors. Yet, new sustainability-linked financial instruments are on the rise, as is sustainable investing. In the last few years, green bond issuance has grown significantly, and there is rising interest in transition finance from different CEE stakeholders.
During this session, ISFC will announce the launch of a new initiative.
• What should be the priorities for the CEE region?
• What are the approaches, tools, and instruments that are best suited for the CEE countries?
• How are the governments and the private sector tackling the challenges, where is there room for improvement or re-prioritisation?
Speakers
Sean Kidney - Co-founder and CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative
Theodor Cojoianu - Associate Professor in Energy Finance, University of Edinburgh & Co-founder, RoSIF
Martin Komínek - Founder & Managing Partner, Smokestack
Helena Horská - Chief Economist, Raiffeisenbank
Martin Špolc - Head of Sustainable Finance, DG FISMA, European Commission
Moderator
Răzvan Butucaru - Partner, Financial Services & Advisory Leader, Mazars Romania
With societal expectations increasingly permeating corporate governance, companies need to evolve their business models to embrace lasting value creation that benefits not only the shareholders, but also internal and external stakeholders as well as wider society.
Every business is different, whether that’s in size, ambition, or even geography. But all of them have a connected topic that needs to be addressed: sustainability.
