3rd ESG Summit FFA “ESG Challenges for the Czech Financial Market in the Era of Deglobalization” held on June 20, 2025

On Friday, June 20, 2025, the Institute for Sustainable Finance (ISF) organized the 3rd annual ESG Summit of the Faculty of Finance and Accounting, Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE), under the theme “ESG Challenges for the Czech Financial Market in the Era of Deglobalization.”

This year’s summit focused on three key areas: ESG in central and commercial banking, ESG in insurance, especially in the context of climate and global risks, The future of ESG reporting for both financial and non-financial institutions.

Keynote speakers included:

  1. Prof. Jan Frait, Ph.D., Vice-Governor of the Czech National Bank
    ESG Challenges for Czech Banking from the CNB’s Perspective

  2. Tomáš Nidetzký, CEO and Chairman of the Board, National Development Bank
    ESG Challenges from a State Bank Perspective

  3. Prof. Petr Teplý, Ph.D., Executive Director, ISF
    ESG Challenges for the Czech Republic from an Academic Perspective

  4. Daniel Houska, Ph.D., Head of Sustainable Finance, Ministry of Finance
    Sustainability Challenges for the Czech Financial Market

  5. Jiří Střelický, Ph.D., CEO and Chairman of the Board, ČSOB Insurance
    ESG Challenges for the Financial Sector from an Insurance Perspective

  6. David Slánský, Ph.D., LL.M., MBA, Partner, KPMG Czech Republic
    ESG in Supply Chains

Selected quotes from the Summit:

“The Czech National Bank sees the appropriation of a climate transition mandate by central banks as a potential threat to the independence of monetary policy and supervision,” said Jan Frait, Vice-Governor of the CNB.

“Risks are interconnected, non-linear, complex, and hard to predict, with the potential for cascading effects and market failures,” emphasized Tomáš Nidetzký, CEO of the National Development Bank.

“Today’s ESG trilemma represents a tension between three objectives: sustainability, efficiency, and ideology. Striking a balance among these pillars is a fundamental challenge when implementing ESG principles – both at the firm level and in public policy,” stressed Petr Teplý, Executive Director of IUF.

“Key ESG indicators for insurance companies include, for example, the share of assets aligned with the EU Taxonomy, the emissions of insured firms, and the portion of non-life insurance related to climate adaptation under the EU Taxonomy,” noted Jiří Střelický, CEO of ČSOB Insurance.

“Companies that actively monitor ESG risks in their supply chains face lower reputational and operational risks and often enjoy better access to capital and contracts,” pointed out David Slánský, Partner at KPMG.

“As a result of the Omnibus I package, we may see a drop of up to 90% in the number of reporting companies in the Czech Republic – along with a significant loss of key ESG data for banks, investors, and regulators,” warned Daniel Houska, Ministry of Finance.

The summit brought together around 40 financial sector managers, ESG experts, government representatives, and academics.
The main partner of the event was KPMG Czech Republic.