On Tuesday, the 13th of February, EAST CCI of Norway organized a hybrid breakfast seminar focusing on the important role of rules and regulations in the Europe’s green transition moving forward.
The green transition poses significant opportunities, and at the same time requiring organizations to identify and address operational risks in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) domains. Leveraging these capabilities not only strengthens market position but also facilitates access to affordable “green” financing.
Mr. Gunnar Tinjar, the project leader for the Green Transition Network at EAST CCI Norway, opened the event as the moderator, emphasizing the advantages of early adoption of new regulations when venturing into emerging markets. Highlighting opportunities in rapidly aligning markets such as Türkiye and Ukraine, he illustrated how success in these regions can translate into advantages domestically as Norwegian regulations evolve. Specific opportunities in the Baltics, Ukraine, and Türkiye were outlined.
Following Mr. Tinjar’s insights, Mr. Ulf Bojö from NEFCO, established by the Nordic governments in 1990 to promote green initiatives, shared NEFCO’s focus on Ukraine. Since 2017 the bank has a global mandate, however, in EAST CCI sphere of interest almost all activities of NEFCO centre around Ukraine. As the war broke out 73 projects were ongoing, and Norway has contributed to three different programs.
Ulf presented a list of current and planned engagements and Mr. Bojö encouraged Norwegian suppliers to participate in such upcoming tenders, leveraging NEFCO’s local network and expertise in combating corruption.
NEFCO’s local network in Ukraine and experience countering corruption is a huge asset for all partners and was highlighted by Ulf.
Mr. Tinjar emphasized that EAST CCI of Norway and the Green Transition Network are always committed to supporting members and partners, facilitating connections with local entities for on-the-ground projects. He expressed eagerness to deepen the collaboration with NEFCO further, recognizing the mutual benefits it brings to advancing sustainable initiatives.
The seminar concluded with a presentation by Mrs. Emma Coulthard from DLA Piper, who discussed the evolution of ESG topics from “new” to “mainstream” and advocated for a pragmatic approach. I.e. to turn a positive and “down to earth” (DtE) approach to the issue. DtE means realising which issues are material to the company situation, where is the ESG risk and can this be handled in a better way. Emma therefore elaborated on a couple of recent key processes, namely surrounding the CSDD directive and the CSR Directive and why these are significant and important to understand. Her message was that most companies will meet and sense the impact in some way and that daily context will be through the financing in green bonds as they become an ever more important part of direct and indirect corporate funding. Corporate social responsibility is quickly becoming a standard part of the loan agreements.
In summary, the seminar underlined the importance of platforms like the Green Transition Network in providing clarity on requirements, enhancing risk analysis methods, and serving as a catalyst for growth. Interested parties are invited to reach out via email to engage further on this vital topic.
