Guests enjoyed lunch while Annica Stranher, Senior Advisor at Année, guided the discussion with our panel of experts: Patrik Emanuelsson (CEO, Heba), Gustaf Påhlman (Head of Financial Strategy & ESG Advisory, SEB), and Malin Ljung Eiborn (Head of Sustainability, Rejlers). Their diverse perspectives sparked an engaging discussion and offered several practical takeaways.

The key topics explored were:

» What will investors expect from companies?
» How to build long-term processes that remain strong even as regulations change
» Communicating sustainability in a way that enhances your competitiveness in the capital market
» What will sustainability reporting look like in five years?

Some of the key insights shared included:

» ESG has become an integrated part of the lending process, and for banks, it is all about safeguarding their balance sheets for the future. Green financing comes with better terms – although Patrik Emanuelsson called for bigger differences – meaning there are profits to be made in that area.

» To create economic value, your sustainability communication must be understandable for the capital and stock market.

» Some companies consider almost all topics in the ESRS standard to be material, as they don’t dare to narrow it down, which makes prioritization difficult. Dare to prioritize and focus on what truly matters. “Make the material material,” Annica summarizes.

» You benefit from narrowing your focus, selecting truly relevant KPIs, and measuring them against quantitative targets.

» Maintaining a close dialogue with your auditors – and daring to challenge them – was also a point raised by the panel.

» The panel agreed on that building long-term processes that remain strong even as regulations change is significant. The relief measures that may be introduced mean that CSRD will not apply as broadly as initially planned – and Heba will therefore fall out of scope. However, they keep up the pace anyway and sees CSRD as a guideline rather than an obligation. Rejlers also continues on the same path despite Omnibus, only using quick fix temporary, on a few disclosure requirements. No matter the changes today, the requirements will return in some form, and by then they will be prepared.

We at Année thank all our guests for contributing to a great networking session, and a special thanks to the panel for generously sharing your experiences and advice.