Collaboration and meaningful action are the keys to successful and timely climate adaptation - the Net Zero Advisory Board convened

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.