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09:30–11:30 || Roundtable || Room: 4.1

ESG and beyond – a debate with business leaders

Context: The reporting of activities related to corporate sustainability is inevitably becoming an obligation for an increasing number of companies in Europe due to the CSRD and CSDD directives at the European level, or national laws such as the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act. However, there is common scepticism, especially among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that meeting these obligations is a burden for companies.

Is it possible to reconcile the companies’ social or environmental obligations with their competitiveness? Is it possible to turn sustainable development a business opportunity for companies? This panel will raise these questions in a dialogue between business and public sector representatives and a senior expert in corporate sustainability, Professor Rob van Tulder from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Corporate participants:

Kinga Baran

Product Manager, WithSecure

Katarzyna Kosel

Member of the Board, MAKRO Cash & Carry Poland

Jakub Paduch

Attorney & Sustainability Expert, Wielkopolska Development Fund

Krzysztof Panek

CEO, Browar Fortuna

Maja Rutkowska

Group Human Resources Director, Amica Group

Agata Stańda

Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, SOLARIS Bus & Coach

Expert discussant: prof. Rob van Tulder

Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University Rotterdam

Facilitator: PUEB Prof. Piotr Trąpczyński

Poznań University of Economics and Business

Planned scenario of the Roundtable:

  1. The Roundtable Participants first address some general questions (45 min)
    • Does your company regard ESG as a costly obligation or as a strategic opportunity?
    • In which areas of corporate sustainability do you see the biggest synergy with your business?
    • What are the biggest challenges that your company has faced when implementing corporate sustainability?
  2. The Expert Discussant comments on this round of exchanges, by picking up on the most striking aspects raised in the first round, and providing own expert insights on the conditions and success factors of making sustainability really work in practice and creating shared value (15 min)
  3. The corporate panelists then further comment on these recommendations and reflect upon their feasibility in their own contexts. At the end of this part, the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions (30 min)