In order to achieve socially responsible and sustainable business practices, all large companies, and from 2024 all small companies, are required to publish non-financial reports, which will be a key prerequisite for financing projects. Three factors of sustainable financing, or ESG reporting – environmental, social, and governance – which are taken into account when making investment decisions were the cornerstone of Lider’s Sustainable Finance Conference.
Considering social factors, Renata Brkić, founder and partner at Feelsgood Capital Partners explained the goals of the fund, which was established in Croatia last year with the support of the European Investment Fund. The fund has 30 million euros available for venture investments aimed at companies in early stages of development, potent for positive social impact.
– Social impact is not about servicing vulnerable groups but about the impact of someone’s business on people. We are waiting for the world’s first unicorn, a company valued at one billion dollars, which positively affects a billion human lives – emphasized Brkić.
She also added that currently there are 150 methods for measuring social impact in the world, but that the criteria first start from the entrepreneurs themselves who must decide which criteria to establish, how to measure them, and report on them. Currently, in Croatia, says Brkić, there are at least 200 projects in various stages of development, which have a positive impact on society and the environment.
She mentioned some examples in which Feelsgood has invested its capital, such as Beona, a company that helps citizens unblock their accounts, or the startup BiteMe which produces energy bars from organic raw materials from local agriculture.
– Every project can have a positive impact if you want it to. No one can impose that on you, but there must be a will to do it, advocate for it, and report on it – concluded Brkić.
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At the round table on social criteria, representatives of large companies Antonija Lončar from Erissson Nikola Tesla, Moira Homan from Podravka and Jasminka Belačić from Končar discussed. These are companies that have long been submitting non-financial reports and whose responsible business practices are already woven into tradition, so they presented their view of corporate social responsibility through concrete examples of support to local communities, which is not based solely on donations and sponsorships but also on the entire chain of cooperation and support for local suppliers.
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Care for the environment
On the other hand, the governance ‘G’ factor of ESG is established from the top, and the greatest responsibility lies with the management, concluded Lucie Ana Tomić, director of the Human Resources and Regulatory Affairs Sector at Wiener Insurance VIG.
– Although it is the least described in regulations, without ‘G’ there is no ‘E’ and ‘S’ – said Tomić, adding that the management’s obligations also include education, developing a long-term strategy and communicating it, changing values and the company’s culture.
