BPCC members from across the south and south-east of Poland met in Katowice on 21 November 2023, at the offices of TDJ Estate. The substantive part of the event focused on ESG – what it means for the real estate & construction sector, and how the non-financial reporting of ESG outcomes by companies will affect business processes.

Guests were welcomed by the BPCC’s Urszula Kwaśniewska, Jarosław Hein, partner at Rödl & Partner, and the host of the evening’s event, Kamil Krępa, leasing & asset director, TDJ Estate.

Marta Jełowicka-Gabor, senior property & asset manager at TDJ Estate, gave a presentation outlining key ESG trends as they affected the real-estate & construction sector, in particular the need for BREEAM or LEED certification, and the rapidly growing demand for WELL-certified office space.

Maciej Ogórek, attorney-at-law at Rödl & Partner, presented the challenges facing businesses with the implementation of the CSRD Directive, explaining how the new requirements could be seen as an onerous duty for firms or an essential scorecard for measuring a business’s ESG impact.

Michael Dembinski, the BPCC’s chief advisor, put ESG into a wider macro-economic, geopolitical and environmental context, explaining that demands on business leaders were likely to grow as the global economy is likely to continue moving in turbulent waters.

After the formal part of the evening, guests had the opportunity to network and swap business cards over canapés and wine, and be taken on a tour of the 30th floor of the second KTW tower, from which stunning panoramas of Katowice visually demonstrated the economic potential of the Silesian region.

The BPCC would like to thank Rödl & Partner and TDJ Estate for making the event possible.