The staff of the Southwest Hungarian Engineering Cluster participated in a training course for ESG experts. During the training they were introduced to the basics of ESG approach, its regulatory background and practical applications.
Recently, an increasing number of our cluster members supplying to export markets have indicated that international customers are no longer only demanding principles but also concrete metrics in the context of sustainability, such as the precise calculation of a product’s carbon footprint or proof that the principles are being put into practice. To do this, we used the SUAVE funding, which could be used for sustainability training. For the training grant, we chose the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Corporate ESG Expert training.
The training provided answers to the most important questions our cluster members have: how to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of a company? How to prepare for ESG reporting and what are the requirements for corporate documentation? How do we prepare our sustainability strategy? The speakers also discussed international regulations and banks’ sustainability requirements in their financing practices, as well as the green financial environment in their home countries. And carbon reduction strategies are also useful for all our cluster members in terms of energy reduction.
An important part of the training was the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which is a core element of the ESG framework. It stresses that companies and organisations should consider not only their economic interests but also their social and environmental impacts. The management organisation of our cluster, the Pécs-Baranya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PBKIK) and our cluster members are actively engaged in these areas. As part of the sustainability awareness campaign of the Design Pécs programme and the CURIOST project, PBKIK organised the screening of the unique documentary “Beyond Zero”, which shows how a company can give back to the environment beyond achieving zero emissions. Our cluster member companies typically support local communities through volunteering in addition to donations, such as painting and renovation, tree planting and blood donations. The training has confirmed that our sustainability efforts are the right ones and that we need to be more conscious of shaping our activities at management and cluster level around an ESG strategy.
Thanks to our host Krisztina Kottmayer for the great organisation, to Bálint Kovács, lead speaker and moderator, and to Emese Kovács, Hanna Wágner, Dr. András Balásfalvi-Kiss, Éva Kerekes, Róbert Bolyán and Levente Tóth for the useful knowledge.
VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE HOWEVER THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) ONLY AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION OR EISMEA. NEITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION NOR THE GRANTING AUTHORITY CAN BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM.
2 December 2024