Editorial Note

This issue of Contact Magazine Online – as has been the case in each of the past four years – follows on from the UN’s annual climate change conference. This year, COP29 held in Baku on 11-22 November, set out mankind’s priorities for tackling climate change, focusing specifically on how to finance the transformation to a net-zero economy. The conference aimed to find a balance between the developed nations that generate the most emissions, and countries of the developing world that all too often suffers the consequences of climate change – floods, droughts and wildfires.

What does this all mean in the context of doing business in Poland?

Above all – it’s the ‘E’ in ‘ESG’. The EU’s Green Deal means taking seriously our continent’s ambition striving to be carbon neutral by 2050. The regulatory tools used to do this include the compulsory reporting of European businesses’ impact on the environment and on society – CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the EU’s Taxonomy, which aims to counter greenwashing.

In this issue, we present two interviews and 23 articles that taken together present an overview of where we stand today on the road to green transformation, from our fossil-fuel-powered past to a more sustainable future. The articles are spread across sectors and subject matter. We look at finance, construction and real estate, HR and PR issues, and then dive deeply into the technicalities of CSRD reporting which will be increasingly important.

The interviews:
Tomasz Barańczyk from PwC considers to what extent ESG is harming the competitiveness of EU businesses – and to what extent is it giving them a competitive advantage, and says that the key to CSRD reporting is a root-and-branch transformation of the business mode.

Tomasz Piasecki from Forvis Mazars Poland, talks about the challenges facing businesses of all sizes as they adapt to the reporting the ESG impact of their activities, setting out the deadlines and the thresholds as they’ll affect firms large, medium and small.

Finance and green transformation
Financing Poland’s green transition from the country with the EU’s highest share of solid fossil fuels in the energy mix to one where 88% of its energy is to come from low-emission sources will be extremely costly. Dieter Lobnig from Bank Pekao S.A. sets out where the money’s coming from.

Patrycja Węcławowicz from Staniek & Partners lists the key sources of grants and loans available to business to finance their green transformation.

Dariusz Stolarek from Dentons, looks at the incentives from the Polish government’s decision to support green energy, and the tax planning required to make a successful investment.

Tomasz Karol Wiśniewski from PZU says extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common – and costly. In Poland, direct losses from such events totalled 115 billion zlotys over the past 20 years. It’s crucial to invest now in climate adaptation measures, he says.

Construction and real estate
The construction sector, responsible for some 38% of all CO2 emissions, is taking its obligations to move towards net zero seriously, as can be seen in the articles below.

Kamil Feret from Cundall looks at turning waste heat into useful energy with new applications to wring the last kilowatt out of data centres, metro systems, factories, utilities and office buildings.

Fiona Cousins from Arup reimagines how our buildings should perform in way that allows us to achieve true sustainability during their construction and use.

Mateusz Siara from Bilfinger focuses on sustainable manufacturing, listing the mechanisms coming from COP29 intended to make industry greener – and how to finance them.

Bartosz Michalski from SEGRO Poland argues that property owners and managers must take a holistic approach to minimising emissions and maximising energy efficiency throughout all phases of construction and operation.

Piotr Jakóbczak from Tremco CPG Poland considers the role of building materials in the greening of the construction sector – from foundations to ceilings and roofs, from external walls, windows, doors and façades to internal partition walls – all help cut energy waste.

Once built, the offices, factories, warehouses, shops and housing seek buyers and tenants to put them to use. How do buildings’ environmental performance affect their chances on the market?

Jarosław Witek from CBRE takes a look at green leases, which are becoming increasingly popular in Poland across all types of commercial property. How are they defined, what do they mean for landlord, tenant and facility manager, and what are their financial benefits?

Katarzyna Wenerska from Knight Frank asks what impact are ESG factors having on the values of real estate – do green-rated buildings achieve higher prices on the market? If so – how much higher? Does the cost-benefit analysis point to green being better? And are ‘brown’ buildings harder to let?

PR and HR
Another crucial aspect of business’s effort to combat climate change concentrates on informing the public at every possible touchpoint.

Dorota Kwiatkowska from Grayling Poland looks at corporate communication of ESG policies; how to craft complex messaging to stakeholders – including consumers – in an accessible, engaging, yet credible, way.

Krzysztof Jaszczuk from Sysco Polska explains how educationalists need to make ESG an integral part of Poland’s vocational training curriculum; teaching teachers how to teach ‘green’ is essential, he argues, setting out strategies that will increase students’ green skills as they enter the job market.

Grzegorz Floriański from Grupa Oryx considers the essential role of transparency and ethical behaviour in the reporting of ESG outcomes. Organisational cultures based on openness and honesty will win in the long term, he says.

Karolina Lis from Hays Poland observes that the ESG boom is driving demand for sustainability experts, with demand exceeding supply. She also ponders over the right place for ESG expertise within corporate structures.

Everything you need to know about CSRD reporting
From the corporate point of view, ESG is no longer a nice-to-have. The introduction of the CSRD means that data concerning firms’ impact on the environment and on society must be collected and reported, in a structured and systematic way. The main chunk of this issue of Contact Magazine Online focuses on various aspects of CSRD reporting.

Dr Łukasz Młynarkiewicz and Aleksandra Pinkas from Kochański & Partners look at a how the EU’s Taxonomy will be used to penalise activities that contribute to deforestation or forest degradation. This will have an impact on supply chains, in particular those from Asia and Latin America.

Milena Kowalik-Szeruga from Crowe Poland says that the bulk of Polish firms are unprepared for CSRD reporting, with over a third unable to say when they’ll have to start. She sets out a step-by-step roadmap for all companies that have yet to set off on their CSRD reporting journey.

Magdalena Krzemińska and Joanna Ryś-Bednarczyk from MDDP, explain the assurance requirements needed for CSRD reports. Assurance, they say, must come from certified auditors who have passed an exam in sustainability reporting, and are registered in a special register.

Marek Chlebicki from PwC Poland considers the practicalities of gathering the data needed for CSRD reports from across your company – and your suppliers – and the tools available to help with that task, as well as then analysing and making sense of that data.

Dr Marcin Krzemień and Marta Tarkowska-Losik from CMS tackle the tricky problem of CSRD reporting across a business’s entire supply chain – everything that contributes to its products or services but which lie outside its own operations.

Sandra Sekuła-Barańska from Bird & Bird considers the legal and ethical obligations in due diligence in ESG compliance in the new regulatory compliance, which she says means making a thorough, holistic examination of the company, its business model, governance, policies and ESG goals.

Mirosław Metych from Hoogells notes that regulations concerning ESG and sustainability are increasingly affecting M&A transactions. He looks at how ESG affects a target’s valuations, transaction documentation, and other aspects of financing deals in the age of CSRD.

Michalina Lewandowska-Alama and Magdalena Pawełczyk from PCS Littler say that ESG-focused employers are gaining a competitive edge in the labour market, due to the fact that young people are increasingly considering a company’s sustainability efforts when choosing an employer.