19.09.2023.
As part of the traditional conference of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Let's Support Sustainability, the ESG rating award was presented for the first time, one being handed over by Luka Balen, the director of the Fund, together with Ivana Miličić from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This recognition for the best sustainable medium-sized company was presented to AquafilCRO for its continuous work on the protection of workers and human rights, investment in the community, and its commitment to building a resilient, sustainable and ethical supply chain."The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, through schemes that are co-financed from national funds, and those for which EU funds have been provided, promotes the transformation of our economy into a green, digital and resource-efficient one," said director Balen. "The Croatian Chamber of Economy is aware of the need to adapt business operations and the impact of the business community on the environment and society. We are working on domestic and EU regulations to achieve sustainable goals in a way that is not too restrictive for businesses, and we are committed to making sources of financing as accessible and appropriate as possible for companies. We inform and educate the economy through our already traditional ESG academy, and reward companies that have the best ESG score", said Luka Burilović, president of the Croatian Chamber of Economy.
ESG rating is a score given to organisations based on their approach to the environment, society and adopted governance practices. In addition to developing a national evaluation model, the Croatian Chamber of Economy has also designed an award they plan to present every year to the companies with the best results.
In the CCE ESG rating category, the winner for the best sustainable small company was Schiedel chimney production, while the best large sustainable company was Muraplast, which recycles 96% of waste, reuses used water, and gets 86% of energy from renewable sources.
The Financial Agency (FINA) proved to be the best sustainable public company, while Erste&Steiermärkische Bank was the best sustainable financial institution, while Ericsson Nikola Tesla won the award in the CCE ESG rating for the best sustainable business model.
The Conference Let's Support Sustainability brought together all relevant participants around sustainability topics, including international experts and leading Croatian companies. The keynote speaker at the main lecture was Mark Esposito, an international expert of the World Economic Forum and advisor to national governments in the field of megatrends, the fourth industrial revolution and business strategy, who sees climate change as a geopolitical issue. Nicolas De Santis, a strategic visionary expert and technology entrepreneur, explained what visioneering was – a corporate technique of visioning the future that could be helpful to sustainable leaders. On the other hand, Cradlenet CEO Elin Bergman, who is dubbed the “Circular Economy Queen of Sweden”, emphasized that such an economy was also very profitable, although ROI took a little longer than with traditional business models.
