Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary
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World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) National Partner
On September 20 the Race to Zero Working Group also focused on biodiversity conservation and restoration and the implementation of climate neutrality, with a number of good corporate practices and novelties.
This time, Szentkirályi Magyarország provided both a venue and an exciting topic for the meeting. In his welcome speech, Dániel Buzási, Managing Director, emphasized the strong commitment to sustainability at the ownership level, and one of the priority areas is the implementation of a circular economy and approach, in which the company wants to become a role model by 2025.
He was followed by Nikolett van der Wildt, Sustainability and PR Manager, who talked about the biodiversity project in the area of the factory in kékkút, emphasising that they had been inspired and partnered in a previous working group meeting. Among the many elements of the long-term programme are an artificial pond, a swallow wall and an insect hotel. The water resources of the Káli basin will be protected by monitoring wells and groundwater regulation.
Afterwards, Dávid Kovács, Marketing Director of Zwack Unicum, spoke about the sustainability goals and areas, and we learned, among other things, that between 2016 and 2020, the company achieved a CO2 reduction of more than 200 elephants (about 1200 tons) at the company level. He also gave a detailed presentation of the geothermal conversion of their plant in Dunaharaszti, the process and challenges involved. The half a billion forint investment could not have been realised without the long-term commitment of the owners, and the development, which was handed over this year, is already showing good figures: gas consumption has been reduced by 20% in 6 months.
Half a year ago, Daniella Huszár, HuGBC’s sustainability coordinator, spoke about the Advancing Net Zero initiative in the framework of the working group, and now she talked about the results and programmes of the period since then. It is very important to underline that the built environment has a huge role to play in reaching the 1.5 degrees target and halving carbon emissions by 2030. To help decarbonise buildings, a Zero Carbon Recommendation has been published under the programme.
Finally, Andrea Nagy, BCSDH’s project manager, closed the working group with the presentation of two new publications. ” Nature-Based Solutions and Voluntary Carbon Markets – Corporate Buyer’s Guide “, edited by the Central Bank of Hungary, was prepared together with WWF and other member companies as a result of the joint work of the Nature-based Climate Solutions Working Group. This publication is the first public, tangible product of the Working Group and is intended to help companies and anyone interested in the topic to find their way around the market in a clear and accessible way.
A “CEO Guide” has also been produced, which contains the main findings of the long publication, with an active link to the original document. This will also help managers to get a quick overview of the topic, and they can read the details in the Corporate Buyer’s Guide.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Race to Zero program in 2023:
Several new collaboration opportunities were identified at the latest meeting of the Net Zero Advisory Board on September 20th, aiming to harness synergies for the swift achievement of a climate-neutral economy. The event was moderated by Irén Márta, Director of BCSDH, who played a significant role in the establishment of the Advisory Board.
In his opening speech, Paul Fox, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Hungary, emphasized the importance of collaboration, as a lot of effort needs to be done to achieve climate goals. As part of the Green Deal, the EU Net Zero Industrial Partnership initiative can contribute to accelerating this, and he requested the support of the participants for this endeavor.
On the platform that brings together various stakeholders, Dr. Csaba Kandrács, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Hungary and the host of the event representing the regulatory side, highlighted that since the launch of the Green Program in 2019, their primary goal has been to promote environmental sustainability. As a novelty this year, they have extended their efforts beyond the financial system to address the entire corporate sector.
He emphasized the need for professional collaborations, such as the Nature-Based Climate Solutions working group initiated by the Central Bank of Hungary, which has prepared a specific outcome: the publication titled ‘Nature-based solutions and voluntary carbon markets – Corporate Buyer’s Guide’. This professional material, presented to the Advisory Board, was created with the professional support of BCSDH and WWF Hungary, and with the involvement of member companies. Additionally, BCSDH has prepared a CEO Guide for this occasion, which signifies that this collaboration and work will continue.
István Salgó, Honorary President of BCSDH, emphasized the importance of action, which is also the primary goal of the Business Council. It is crucial that alongside climate efforts, due attention is given to the conservation and restoration of biodiversity because these two business risks are closely interconnected.
In connection with this, Anikó Juhász, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, reported on the Hungarian situation and possibilities of regenerative agriculture. She emphasized the importance of education and the presentation of best practices, as well as the creation of an environment where farmers can learn from each other in order to implement soil renewal solutions. Collaboration is also necessary here to take a step forward.
Gábor Szarvas, the new President of the Hungary Green Building Council (HuGBC), participated in the event for the first time and introduced their Advancing Net Zero initiative, which can significantly promote the transition to climate-neutral operations in the built environment. As part of this, they have also prepared a Zero Carbon Recommendation this year.
The series of presentations was concluded by Andrea Nagy, the project manager of BCSDH, who outlined BCSDH’s annual activities in the field of biodiversity and provided a preliminary presentation of the professional recommendations proposed for the business sector.
At the event, Kárpáti András, the new President of the Future Mobility Alliance, introduced himself.
Participants agreed that the current collaboration can be further strengthened, with numerous related areas and synergies to explore. The next board meeting will focus on logistics as one of its key topics.
Participants of the Board Meeting:
- Zsombor Barta – Parlamentary Senior Counselor – Referee for International Relations, National Council for Sustainable Development
- Paul Fox – Ambassador of the UK to Hungary, British Embassy
- Anikó Juhász – Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture
- Dr. Csaba Kandrács – Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Hungary
- András Kárpáti – President, Future Mobility Association
- Kriszti Kocsis – Senior Policy Officer /Attache, Climate & Energy, Emerging Technologies, British Embassy
- Marcell Kovács – Managing Director (Masped) representing MLBKT – Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management
- Irén Márta – Managing Director, Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH)
- Andrea Nagy – Project Leader, Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH)
- István Salgó – Honorary President, Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH)
- Gábor Szarvas – President, Hungary Green Building Council (HuGBC)
Please click here to see the photos.
The Net Zero Advisory Board, a comprehensive body representing multiple stakeholders across sectors, consists of representatives from the Hungarian industry and business leaders, government and associations. The Advisory Board was established in January 2021 as an initiative of the British Embassy and BCSDH.
Can net-zero targets be met without employee attitude formation and commitment? How do we reach different groups of workers? These were the main topics of our communication working group meeting on June 13, 2023, with a large number of participants hosted by Sió-Eckes.
Emese Szász-Bognár, Communications and Media Manager, presented Sió’s sustainability activities, highlighting the 6 pillars on which the actions are based. It was interesting to see their programme to protect bees and promote beekeepers, which is also about raising public awareness. Along the lines of the net zero targets set, important actions are being taken in the areas of water and energy saving, circular economy and recyclable packaging solutions.
The company plays an important role in raising public awareness. A Sustainability Education Day for employees offers an awareness-raising joint programme for physical and mental workers.
It was here that it became clear that reaching different groups of workers is not an equal challenge. Different tools for awareness-raising need to be used with these groups. Successful employee awareness raising is the key to getting all parts of the company on track to achieve net zero targets.
Csilla Dudás, Senior Communications Manager of Unicredit Bank, presented the bank’s overall sustainability strategy, highlighting their awareness raising programmes, which include many new tools.
Because of the multiplier effect of banks here, employee awareness raising can have a much wider impact on processes. An important finding was that companies can expect their partners and value chain to take steps that they have already taken themselves, so they can only be credible.
A thought-provoking and inspiring discussion followed the presentations.
The Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation (KBKA) will be organizing the PLANET Budapest 2023 sustainability expo from September 25th to October 1st, 2023.
The venue will be Pavilion A of Hungexpo, where, in addition to professional and experiential programs, 150 domestic companies will exhibit their sustainability innovations from the agricultural and food industry ecosystems.
For the first time this year, the BCSDH will also have an installation, similar to many of our member companies.
In addition to the exhibition, from September 27th to 29th, interested individuals can attend several specialized conferences for free, in the following topics, with the participation of several member companies:
- Green financing
- Renewable energies
- Nature-based agriculture
- Water management
- Sustainable packaging
Participation in the professional programs is free but requires registration.
The significance of the events is further emphasized by the fact that before the professional programs on all three days, János Áder, the chairman of the KBKA board, will engage in discussions on sustainability issues with political and economic key figures. Conversation partners are as follows:
- Wednesday: Zsolt Hernádi, CEO of MOL Nyrt.
- Thursday: István Nagy, Minister of Agriculture, and Balázs Győrffy, President of the Chamber of Agriculture
- Friday: Csaba Lantos, Minister responsible for energy affairs and the circular transition
Our member company IFUA Horváth is the professional partner of PLANET Budapest 2023.
Planet 2023 is the only exhibition where representatives of not just a specific industry but a complex and highly significant business value network and ecosystem present themselves. This year, the focus is on agriculture, as well as the food industry and trade, as these sectors are crucial not only for our self-sufficiency but also for the sustainability of our economy and the health of Hungarian society. However, we aim to showcase not only sustainable solutions for these sectors but also the leading solutions of related supplier and service industries.
Date: September 27-29, 2023
Location: Budapest, HUNGEXPO
For further details: https://planetbudapest.hu/
It is important for BCSDH that all of its operations, including events, are carbon-conscious. In collaboration with GreenDependent Institute, we plant 40-50 native fruit trees annually in school gardens to offset the CO2 emissions that we cannot avoid, thus supporting sustainability on multiple levels. Recently, on behalf of the BCSDH Executive Board, BCSDH employees planted six fruit trees at the Göllner Mária Regional Waldorf High School in Budapest.
The TreeDependent program focuses on planting native fruit trees in educational and social institution gardens, which:
- Provide educational and communal gardening opportunities for students and residents of the institutions
- Offer the owners delicious fruit and contribute to local food production.
- Contribute to the preservation of biological diversity and local varieties. The trees are sourced from the “Tündérkert” (Fairy Garden) in Pórszombat, Zala County, which serves as a gene preservation site
BCSDH aims to draw the attention of its members to the importance of carbon-conscious event organization. Learn more about organizing carbon-conscious events.