ESG Summit 2024

On Friday, June 21, 2024, the Institute of Sustainable Finance (ISF) organized the 2nd annual ESG Summit of the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at VŠE, titled “ESG Challenges for the Czech Financial Market.” The opening remarks were delivered by the Dean of the Faculty of Finance and Accounting, Prof. Ing. Petr Musílek, Ph.D. This year, we discussed two key areas of the financial market: banking and insurance. The main speakers included:

  1. Prof. Ing. Jan Frait, Ph.D., Vice Governor of the Czech National Bank (topic: Challenges of ESG for Czech Banking from the Regulatory Authority’s Perspective)
  2. Ing. Jan Juchelka, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Komerční banka, President of the Czech Banking Association (Challenges of ESG from a Banker’s Perspective)
  3. Prof. PhDr. Petr Teplý, Ph.D., Executive Director of IUF (Challenges of ESG for Czech Banking from an Academic Perspective)
  4. Mgr. Jan Škrabka, M.A., M.Sc., Advisor to the Minister of Finance (Challenges of ESG for the Czech Financial Market from the Ministry of Finance’s Perspective)
  5. Mgr. Jiří Střelický, MA., Ph.D., CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ČSOB Pojišťovna (Challenges of ESG from an Insurance Company’s Perspective)
  6. Ing. David Slánský, Ph.D., LL.M., MBA, Partner at KPMG Czech Republic (Financial Institutions as Drivers of Sustainability)

Key points discussed during the event included:

  • “The Czech National Bank monitors the risks to which the financial sector is exposed due to climate change and activities aimed at mitigating its adverse effects. The CNB implements appropriate measures to ensure these risks are adequately managed and that the resilience of the financial system is not weakened,” said Deputy Governor of the CNB, Jan Frait.
  • “Banks are a crucial and irreplaceable link in the distribution of financial resources from European funds and a source of financing for the green transition,” mentioned Jan Juchelka, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Komerční banka.
  • “Currently, there is a fundamental shift in the understanding of sustainability and ESG principles. While in the past, sustainability was promoted at the micro-level (bottom-up approach), today it is promoted at the macro-level through higher regulation, additional transparency requirements, and ESG reporting (top-down approach),” stated Petr Teplý, Executive Director of ISF.
  • “The main ESG challenge is to adapt insurance activities to climate change,” emphasized Jiří Střelický, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ČSOB Pojišťovna.
  • “The transformation of ESG data creates opportunities for financial institutions to prepare new business opportunities. There is room for the development of new products and solutions for clients that add value and support the growth of both institutions and their clients,” highlighted David Slánský, Partner at KPMG.

The summit was attended by approximately 50 managers from the financial sector, ESG experts, government representatives, and academics. The main partner of the event was KPMG.