What European-level collaborations can support both European and Hungarian companies in achieving their climate goals and climate adaptation? What partnerships can advance the sustainability objectives of the Green Deal domestically, and promote the spread of clean technologies and green industries?

November 5, 2024 – These questions, among others, were the focus of a high-level delegation meeting held at the National Assembly Office Building, timed to coincide with the Hungarian EU presidency.

The National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) and the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH) hosted the European Technology Chamber (EUTECH), whose mission is to empower European businesses to leverage technology for Europe’s benefit. The meeting included members of the Net Zero Advisory Board, as well as ministry and university leaders.

On behalf of the NCSD, Zsombor Barta, Senior Parliamentary Advisor, welcomed the guests. Florian Von Tucher, the Chairman of EUTECH and leader of the 7-member delegation, highlighted in his opening address the importance for EUTECH of establishing European-level collaboration between regulatory bodies and companies that share a commitment to sustainability.

Irén Márta, BCSDH Director, moderated a discussion aimed at strengthening cooperation between European businesses and regulatory bodies, with a focus on the sustainability goals of the Green Deal and the opportunities for innovation linked to emerging global technology trends. In her introductory remarks, Irén Márta emphasized the need for systemic changes to halt climate change and adapt to the new conditions, with companies at the forefront, yet advocating for even closer cooperation with social organizations and regulators.

As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed on a joint initiative to promote environmental sustainability and innovation. They set a goal to develop cooperation opportunities in clean technologies and green industries identified during the discussions.

Participants: 

Florian Von Tucher, Chairman, EUTECH Chamber 

Henning Vom Stein, Board Member, EUTECH Chamber 

Igor Gladkov Dr., Director, EUTECH Chamber 

Mohamed Garbhi, Climate Action Alliance Board Member, EUTECH Chamber 

Yves Decadt, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Biolingus 

Mariem Harmassi Dr., Head of Quality Department -IT Education, IT School, Université Centrale 

Esteban Remecz, CIO VP Information Technology & Digital Iochpe-Maxion S. A., Maxion Wheels 

Zsombor Barta, Senior Parliamentary Advisor National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) 

Anikó Juhász, Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture 

András Kárpáti, President, Future Mobility Association 

Gábor Szarvas, President, Hungary Green Building Council 

Irén Márta, Managing Director, BCSDH 

Andrea Nagy, Race to Zero Project Manager, BCSDH 

Barbara Botos Dr., Ambassador at Large for Climate, Ministry of Energy 

Réka Matheidesz, CEO, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) 

A large number of exceptional applications were submitted for the 2024 Sustainable Future Awards. The awards, which recognize outstanding corporate and leadership achievements aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and driving systemic change, were presented based on the decision of the professional jury. Tesco, K&H Bank, SolServices, Saint-Gobain, and Continental Automotive were the winners of the various corporate categories. Károly Nyári (Grundfos) received the Change Leader Award, while Anikó Körmendi (Arriva Hungary) and Zsuzsa Nagy (E.ON Group) were honored with the Leading Woman Award. The award ceremony took place at the business lunch of the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH) on October 10.

Márta Irén, Director of BCSDH and a member of the professional jury, stated: “For the eighth time in 2024, we received an outstanding number of high-quality applications for the Sustainable Future Award. The business world and the environment around us are changing rapidly, continuously challenging companies. This should encourage us even more to take swift action and transform our systems to become more sustainable. The Sustainable Future Award evolves along with changes in the business environment, responding to current challenges. This year, we focused the award on areas where companies have the greatest impact on transforming systems. It is encouraging to see, through the applications, an increasing number of solutions that create real change and [involve] companies integrating sustainability into their operations.”

The six-member professional jury, consisting of Dr. Gábor Bartus, Szilvia Krizsó, Márta Irén, Éda Pogány, István Salgó, and Prof. Dr. Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, selected the winners.

Winners of the 2024 Sustainable Future Awards:

CHANGE LEADER AWARD:

Károly Nyári
Vice President, Head of Group Finance
Grundfos A/S

Károly Nyári is a visionary, forward-thinking leader and a true driving force, leading his company and partners toward the realization of sustainability through a complex understanding of it.

LEADING WOMAN AWARD:

Anikó Körmendi
CEO
Arriva Hungary Ltd.

Anikó Körmendi is an inspiring, innovative, and integrative leader who works tirelessly to promote electromobility and more sustainable operations at the corporate, industry, and regional levels.

Zsuzsa Nagy
Managing Director
E.ON Hungária Group / E.ON Energy Solutions Ltd.

Zsuzsa Nagy is a people-centered and inclusive leader whose innovative solutions significantly benefit her company, its partners, and, indirectly, the country’s green energy transition.

BEST BUSINESS SOLUTION AWARD:

Climate Protection and Adaptation Category:

K&H Bank – K&H Agricultural CO₂ Calculator

K&H Bank supported the agricultural sector in taking a significant step forward by helping farmers with credible, science-based carbon footprint measurement, which was developed with the help of a Hungarian team of experts.

The award was received by Zoltán Demeter Agribusiness Manager of K&H Bank.

Biodiversity Preservation and Restoration Category:

Saint Gobain – Biodiversity Program

Through professional partnership, the program laid the foundation for a self-sustaining ecosystem during quarry reclamation that has served as an inspiration and example for other companies.

The award was received by Daniel Domini, Managing Director of Saint-Gobain Hungary.

SolServices – Next-Generation Solar Park Professional Guide

The initiative involved developing an outstanding industry-level guide and solution that innovatively supports the establishment of solar parks that preserve biodiversity.

The award was received by Krisztina Kulcsárné Dr. Takács, CFO and Gábor Dr. Farkas, Managing Director of Solservices.

Human Value Category:

TESCO Global Stores Ltd. – “Combatting Menstrual Poverty”

Committed to addressing societal and women’s issues, Tesco has taken significant steps to help reduce menstrual poverty.

The award was received by Eszter Varga, External Communications Manager of TESCO.

CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION AWARD:

Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd.

Continental is systematically progressing toward full carbon neutrality and circularity throughout its entire value chain, integrating sustainability as a core part of its operations.

The award was received by Zoltán Dapsy Managing Director of Continental Automotive Hungary

CONGRATULATION!

Main sponsors of this year’s awards: Essity, Market, SPAR
Sponsor of the Leading Woman category: McDonald’s.

This year’s BCSDH weekend offered an exciting programme for the 20 participating business leaders and partners, despite the bad weather.

On Friday, the professional programme started at SIÓ’s factory in Siófok, where the host Dezső Mészáros, Managing Director of SIÓ-Eckes, welcomed the participants and gave an insight into the company’s sustainability strategy. The presentation of the responses to the challenges of climate change in the fruit juice industry and the steps taken to achieve the ambitious climate targets was followed by a factory tour led by experts.

The next day, the team was hosted by Masterplast Plc and welcomed by Dávid Tibor, CEO, who presented their solutions for sustainable change in the construction industry and their insulation solutions for climate adaptation.

We thank the host, SIÓ-Eckes and Masterplast managers and staff for the professional programme and hospitality.

The Circular Economy Working Group met for the third time this year on 3 September at IFUA Horváth&Partners Ltd. During the working group meeting, we sought answers to questions concerning ESG reporting such as: What is the role of reporting and measurement in the circular economy transition? What voluntary tools are available on the market? How do CSRD and ESRS requirements affect companies?

Ivett Takács, Manager of the Circular Economy Platform, presented the latest developments in reporting and measurement tools. She highlighted that with the increase of available data, more and more extensive standards systems are emerging in the market, such as the new ISO Circular Economy Standards Package, which will be available from May 2024. These offer a comprehensive toolkit for implementing the circular economy, from principles to measurement, and provide a global consensus among countries on a common definition and principles of the circular economy. The Global Circularity Protocol standardisation framework, modelled on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, is currently being developed and will be implemented in 2026.

At EU level, voluntary standards have been joined by mandatory requirements such as the EU Taxonomy and the CSRD and ESRS standards. If a company is subject to reporting under CSRD and, after conducting a double materiality analysis, it is determined that the circular economy as a topic is material in its impact or financially for the company, it is required to report on this under ESRS E5. The circular economy indicators included in this report were presented by Nóra Stancsics, Senior Consultant at IFUA Horváth and Dr. Viktória Bodnár, Managing Director. They pointed out that many of the indicators under the CSRD E5 standard are narrative, and that measuring quantitative indicators is a challenge for companies. Not only the measurement, but also the design of the systems and the comparison of the results is difficult – there is no equivalent as for example for GHG emissions. Also, feedback from participants suggests that data collection is the biggest difficulty for companies.

From the summer of 2025, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank will prepare a recommendation for Hungarian credit institutions and financial companies on the integration of ESG risks into credit risk and risk modelling, Renátó Ritter, MNB staff member, said in her presentation. The core of this is a minimum ESG questionnaire that banks will require banks to complete when applying for a loan from a corporate client for an amount of HUF 500 million or more, so this will also impose important obligations on companies from summer 2025.

This year, the Circular Economy Platform will focus on showcasing successful partnerships that are already in place and promoting further cooperation. One successful example of this is the Rossman x Respray refillable vending machine innovation, which was presented by Rossman’s Managing Director László Flórián and Respray’s CEOs Andor Réti and Gergely Zámbó. Respray combines an innovative valve and nozzle technology with an in-house developed refill machine that allows refilling of bottles in the customer’s environment thanks to different functions. The successful project was launched in autumn 2020, with two rounds of investment and a total of HUF 70 million raised so far with the participation of investors. The rechargeable deodorants available in stores have five times lower emissions than the conventional versions. A further advantage of refillable deodorants is that not only the final product, but also the production of the refillable bottle and the contents are made in Hungary.