Extreme climatic and weather events such as prolonged rainfall shortages, heat waves, sudden downpours and their consequences, droughts, widespread fires and floods are becoming more frequent and severe. Our current systems and infrastructures are no longer able to cope with all this, and there is an urgent need to adapt to changing climatic conditions. This is also important because the positive effects of mitigation measures on the climate are not immediate. Moreover, in Hungary we are more exposed to the negative impacts of climate change than our contribution to global GHG emissions.

According to the World Economic Forum Global Risk 2025 report, surveyed leaders rank extreme weather conditions as the second biggest risk factor in 2 years and the first in 10 years. Only environmental and climate challenges are in the top four.

The problem is urgent and growing, so climate adaptation was the topic of this year’s BCSDH ‘Transform Talks’ CEO Roundtable, where top executives from member companies participated and shared their thoughts. The events were led by Irén Márta, BCSDH Executive Director.

In general, climate change mitigation is the primary focus for companies, and adaptation has been less of a focus, while the impacts of climate change are increasingly felt in their day-to-day operations.

It was also clear that there are more and more events that require intervention at a strategic level, whether it is unexpected phenomena that previously occurred only rarely but have now become common, changed working conditions or a product portfolio that requires rethinking. During the discussions, we came across many good practices, and there are companies for whom climate change is a business opportunity, as it opens up new solutions and markets. It is certain that every company and industry is affected in some way, the question is how quickly they can react and act meaningfully, ensuring business continuity and evaluating risk as an opportunity. The importance of thinking in the whole value chain also came to the fore, as this is the only way to manage complex processes well, and the responsibility in this is mutual.

The concrete results of the ‘Transform Talks’ CEO Roundtable discussions and the resulting recommendations will be presented at the BCSDH Business Lunch on 7 October, together with corporate best practices.

Special thanks to the event hosts for providing the venue. Related photos and LinkedIn posts can be viewed by clicking on the link:

	6 May Sió-Eckes Kft.	Photos	LinkedIn post
	13 May BKM Nonprofit Zrt.	Photos	LinkedIn post
	15 May Prímaenergia Zrt.	Photos	LinkedIn post
	21 May Graphisoft Park SE	Photos	LinkedIn post

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On 13 May, the Ministry of National Economy submitted to the Parliament its bill on the foundation of Hungary’s 2026 central budget, which introduces several significant changes to the ESG law.
This article summarises the proposals contained in the submitted draft, with the final vote (and publication of the final changes) expected in mid-June. Follow our online platform where we will keep you updated on the latest developments.

Narrowing of the scope of the affected companies

The new changes will significantly narrow the scope of companies covered by the Act. Following the entry into force of the amendment, the obligation under Article 1(1)(b) of the Act will apply only to large companies which:

• carry out their principal activity in the sectors listed in the Annex to the ESG Act, and
• their annual net turnover exceeds HUF 90 000 million, and
• employ at least 500 persons at the balance sheet date of the financial year.

Large enterprises of public interest will continue to be covered by the law, and certain financial services providers will also be covered by the law on the basis of sectoral classification.
Small and medium-sized enterprises of public interest are excluded from the scope of the Act.

Simplifications in the area of reporting

For ESG reporting for the financial years 2024, 2025 and 2026:

• no certification is required,
• no need to send the report to the Authority,
• no need to publish it publicly.

However, the ESG report must be prepared by the companies concerned for these years as well, and approved by the company’s management body.

Request for information

The government also wants to reduce the burden on SMEs, therefore:

• Until 30 June 2027, micro or small enterprises will not be required to provide ESG data, nor will they be obliged to provide ESG data in the form of a contract or written declaration (the latter provision also applies to medium-sized enterprises).
• It is expected that small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to fulfil their ESG reporting obligations by obtaining an ESG certification from a public ESG certification body, and will not have to fill in supplier questionnaires.

Changes to corrective actions

The scope of corrective actions is also being refined:

• instead of 3 months, companies will only be obliged to suspend business relations with their direct supplier for 30 days if corrective action fails,
• companies will no longer be obliged to cease doing business with their direct suppliers of high-risk activities.

Implementation of the Omnibus package has started

Also on 13 May, a bill on certain tax obligations and amending certain tax laws was submitted to transpose Directive 2025/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council, adopted as part of the Omnibus package.
Under this measure, CSRD Wave 2 and 3 companies will have to start applying the legislation two years later.

Is action on the net-zero targets already visible in companies? Where are there improvements and challenges? Is climate adaptation really as important as climate protection? What collaborations and solutions can help to achieve meaningful progress and systemic change? What is the roadmap for the Hungarian construction industry to become carbon neutral and what are the tools to help achieve this? On 15 April, the Net Zero Advisory Board, set up to promote the carbon neutrality of the Hungarian economy, met again.

Hosting the event at the British Ambassador’s residence, Paul Fox, the UK Ambassador to Hungary, welcomed the participants and emphasized in his speech that they remain committed to meaningfully promoting climate-neutral actions in Hungary, and highlighted the need to give climate adaptation a more prominent role.

Attila Chikán Jr., President of the Business Council for Sustainable Development of Hungary (BCSDH), in his welcome speech at the multi-stakeholder platform, stressed that as global and European trends have the effect of softening sustainability goals and expectations for decisive action, this situation requires even more effort and cooperation from committed companies and other actors.

Irén Márta, Director of the BCSDH, stressed that whatever happens to climate targets, the consequences of climate change are already having a serious impact on the performance of companies. And this will only increase, at an accelerating rate. For this reason, the need for climate action is not an issue. Every company needs to assess where changes may present a business risk or even a new opportunity. The BCSDH’s Towards Net Zero survey published in January 2025 found that 91% of companies are feeling the effects of climate change, but only 16% have a climate adaptation action plan.

Andrea Nagy, Project Manager of the BCSDH Race to Zero programme, presented the further results of the research. 66 percent of Hungarian companies committed to a sustainable transition have specific climate change targets, and the number of companies measuring their emissions along the entire value chain has doubled. According to the survey, 26 percent of the leading companies in Hungary have scientific emission reduction targets that meet the 1.5 degree target. While this is higher than the global average, it is still far below what is needed to achieve it.

Gábor Szarvas, President of the Hungary Green Building Association (HuGBC), gave an insight into the work and achievements of his organisation. He presented their roadmap for the decarbonisation of the Hungarian construction industry and a guide to help them achieve this.

Board members participating in the event shared future goals and plans with other members, identifying numerous points of connection and joint collaboration opportunities in order to strengthen synergies and expand impact.

Participants of the Board meeting:

• Zsombor Barta – Parlamentary Senior Counselor, National Council for Sustainable Development
• Attila Chikán Jr – President, BCSDH
• Paul Fox – Ambassador, British Embassy
• Anikó Juhász  – Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture
• Csaba Kandrács Dr.  – Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Hungary
• András Kárpáti – President, Future Mobility Association
• Kocsis Kriszti – Attache, Senior Policy Officer, British Embassy
• Csaba Kőrösi  – Strategic Director, Blue Planet Foundation, former President of UN General Assembly
• Irén Márta – Director, BCSDH
• Andrea Nagy – Race to Zero Project Manager, BCSDH
• Gábor Szarvas – President, Hungary Green Building Council (HuGBC)

For a photo gallery of the event CLICK here.

The Net Zero Advisory Board, a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral Advisory Board of Hungarian industry and business leaders, government and professional organisations, was established in January 2021 at the initiative of the British Embassy and BCSDH.

CSRD: „Stop-the-clock”

On 3rd April 2025, the European Parliament voted in favour of the European Commission’s “stop-the-clock” proposal to delay the implementation deadlines for key sustainability regulations – the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

What does the proposal contain?

• Large companies with more than 250 employees would start reporting CSRD in 2028 for the financial year 2027, while listed SMEs would start reporting one year later.
• The first group of companies covered by the CSRDD, including EU companies with more than 5,000 employees and a turnover of €1.5 billion, would start applying the rules from 2028, with an additional year for Member States to transpose the rules into national law.

The European Commission has also instructed the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to finalise technical advice on the CSRD’s European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) within seven months. This could allow companies to optionally implement the new standards as early as the 2026 financial year.
The decision was approved by the European Council on 14 April. The proposal requires Member States to transpose the changes into national law by 31 December 2025.

Amendments to the ESG law expected

On 19 March 2025, the Ministry of National Economy submitted a draft law amending the ESG legislation for public consultation. Under the proposed changes, large companies covered by the law will have an additional two years to prepare their first certified ESG report, so that they will have to publish their first public report in 2028.
Another important element is that under the amendment, domestic micro, small and medium-sized enterprises would be fully exempted from all ESG reporting obligations until mid-2027, after which they would only have to complete a significantly shorter questionnaire.
Information on the public consultation has been shared by BCSDH with all its member companies.

More information: EUR-Lex