FM newsroom – net zero, energy efficiency. Sustainability has long been a topic of conversation, but are we doing anything about it?
According to a survey presented in Budapest at the end of January by the BCSDH (Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary), most companies in Hungary would reduce the emission of harmful substances by improving energy efficiency, using renewable energy or circular solutions to a lesser extent, as fmbusiness.hu learned.
As mentioned in the announcement issued by BCSDH, energy efficiency may increase in value in the coming years, as a sustainable and secure energy supply will be necessary even amid global challenges, but let’s face it: the industry has been talking about this for years.
The Council emphasized that competitiveness cannot overshadow sustainability.
Supply chains, industrial ecosystem
There are many opportunities in the transformation of supply chains and the industrial ecosystem that can help in the green transition. However, more serious commitments must be made than before because reducing emissions alone is not enough to reduce the average temperature; the amount of harmful substances entering the atmosphere must also be reduced.
Representing the corporate side, Tímea Pesti, CEO of Ayvens fleet management, believes, based on the survey data, that company managers also consider sustainability expectations to be increasingly important. According to her experience, this does not only apply to foreigners; many Hungarian companies take environmental aspects even more seriously.
Sustainability and corporate attitude
The corporate attitude is also essential because customers highly appreciate green efforts. Still, for real change, it is not enough to have a few electric cars in the company’s fleet, Pesti pointed out.
According to the director of BCSDH, a company’s significance is shown not only by economic value creation but also by its environmental and social impacts. According to Irén Márta, it is a mistake to say that a business has no environmental impact without production activity since even maintaining an office involves emissions.
At the same time, it can be concluded from the surveys that companies operating in Hungary are increasingly realistic about what sustainability goals they should set for themselves, she said.
The green transition has begun
The manager of the Deloitte sustainability and climate change consulting team, which provided professional support for the survey, concluded from the feedback that corporate interest has increased since while 63 responded to their previous survey, 76 responded to the latest one. Flóra Borek added that the green transition has begun worldwide, and there are committed and active global players supporting sustainability goals.
The survey published on the BCSDH website shows, among other things, that 91 percent of the participants in the climate survey are feeling the effects of climate change.
66 percent of respondents have formulated an emission reduction target, a significant part of them are preparing for the transition with scientifically based data. The data collection period of the research ended at the end of 2024; the questionnaire was sent to almost 150 member companies of the BCSDH – writes fmbusiness.hu, citing mti.
