According to the study “Is Polish business sustainable?” made by IBRiS on behalf of the consulting company EY, 79% of Polish enterprises are aware that activities related to environmental protection will be gaining importance in their industry within 3-5 years, and 66% of them consider realizing those activities strategic for their sector. However, 18% of the organizations do not plan to take any steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

EY notes that in terms of sustainability, there is a noticeable difference between declarations and real actions.

90% of companies claim that their mission includes ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) aspects, and 67% declare that they implement them in everyday activities.

48% of companies translated the assumptions of the sustainable development strategy into individual areas of business operation, and the main motivating factors are the expectations of consumers (71%) and business partners (59%).

At the same time, only 17% of the surveyed companies publish reports on ESG. However, the pressure on this aspect will increase, as already 57% of organizations claim that it is important if the contractor selected by them meets the sustainable development criteria.

“Polish enterprises equate sustainable development with environmental or pro-social activities. By engaging in these areas, regardless of whether as a result of legal changes or consumer pressure, they become convinced that they operate in accordance with the ESG principles. Unfortunately, they forget about aspects related to corporate governance”, claims Jarosław Wajer, representative of EY Polska.

In his opinion, the consequence may be a negative verification by international business partners operating on the basis of broader standards or a less favorable approach of investors when willing to obtain external financing. “When thinking about sustainable development, it is worth treating the topic comprehensively and internally”, adds Wajer.

Adrian Andrzejewski order