The Business Council has been taking sustainability seriously for 10 years

The Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary celebrated its 10^th Anniversary at the General Meeting which took place at the new headquarters of E.ON Hungária. Currently, BCSDH has 79 members, representing a community of value-creating business leaders of companies that contribute 30% of Hungary’s GDP.

During the past 10 years, 200 professional events, 200 active business leaders, 100 gifted participants of the ‘Future Leaders’ Talent Program, and more than 130 experts from NGOs, scientific, academic and business sectors have been involved in the Action 2020 Hungary program. Due to these efforts more than 500 business solutions have been introduced that provide real answers to sustainability challenges, and which demonstrate BCSDH’s strong commitment to sustainability.

Zsolt Jamniczky, Member of the Board of Directors of E.ON Hungária and Executive Board Member of BCSDH pointed out in his welcome speech that the organisation has now reached the optimal size which was defined as a strategy goal a few years ago.

 ’10 years ago, 15 companies and one private person thought that Hungarian businesses should take action for sustainability. Now, in 2017, BCSDH has 79 members who engage 400 thousand employees and produce 30% of Hungary’s GDP. Through the community of value-creating business leaders of these companies, BCSDH has achieved remarkable results in the field of sustainability. Nowadays, more and more leaders are recognising that operating sustainably generates competitive advantages for businesses, and are taking real steps by contributing to Hungary’s sustainability goals.’ – said Attila Chikán Jr., summarising the organisation’s development over the past 10 years.

BCSDH has been at the forefront of laying the foundation of this transformation since 2012 when ‘The Complex Interpretation of Corporate Sustainability Recommendations for Business Leaders’ were formulated.

‘At the moment, the most important task is to facilitate the practical implementation of these basic principles. BCSDH members are taking the lead in this process: 55 pre-existing business solutions have been identified which offer real answers to sustainability challenges.’ – added Irén Márta, Managing Director of BCSDH.

Nearly 80 business leaders and delegates attended the special Assembly of Members. To commemorate the jubilee, the founding members of BCSDH (Accor-Pannonia Hotels, ING Bank, Magyar Lapterjesztő, Szentkirályi-Kékkúti Ásványvíz, MOL Group, OTP Alapkezelő, Shell and two private individuals, Sándor Lakatos and Kinga Scodnik) were honored with a certificate.

Furthermore, 10 new members (4iG, Daikin, Duna Aszfalt, Graphisoft Park, Greenpro, Iberdrola, K&H Group, MVÜK, PPD Hungária, and Szerencsejáték Zrt.) were introduced in front of the large group of participants.

Furthermore, a collaborative project between two partner organisations was introduced in relation to BCSDH’s announcement of the need to transform recommendations into practice, and combat climate change. Gábor Décsi, founder of LEO, introduced the organisation and talked about benchmarking research relating to facility maintenance. Éva Beleznay, Vice-President of HuGBC, described the association’s work in depth.

Pictures from the event can be viewed by clicking here.