Adamed Pharma as the Main Partner of the 3rd ESG Congress “Europe – Leaders of Sustainable Development”

The 3rd ESG Congress is a dialogue platform for European leaders in sustainable development – government officials, business leaders, NGOs, academics, experts and the media. This year’s edition was held under the theme “Europe – Leaders of Sustainable Development”. From the perspective of Adamed Pharma representing the pharmaceutical industry, we spoke with experts, policymakers and stakeholders about sustainable development and the resulting economic challenges, including the drug security of Poles in times of crises.

The 3rd ESG Congress, held on 31 January 2024, featured many interesting and substantive discussions. Katarzyna Dubno, Director for External Relations, ESG and Health Economics, took part in the panel discussion “ESG Challenges”. Participants in the discussion on sustainability challenges addressed the topics of the green industrial revolution and its impact on environmental issues, meeting society’s needs, including drug security in times of crises, as well as explained in detail the letters “E”,“S” and “G” in the acronym.

The experts stressed that it is impossible to implement solutions to stop climate change if we do not address social issues, and that crises can have positive effects if only we manage to learn from them and adapt accordingly, and that the strength lies in domestic production and logistics capacities. The latter was clearly visible e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry, which was confronted during the pandemic with disrupted supply chains.

“ESG – we prepare reports and are learning to communicate our activities in this area. But ESG is first and foremost about changing the way we think – about how a company operates, about responsibility and concern for the welfare of our society and the environment. As far as Adamed Pharma is concerned, the “S” factor has accompanied us from the very beginning of our business,” said Katarzyna Dubno. “What’s noteworthy is that for pharmaceutical companies, the responsibility for the human being is all about ensuring the availability of medicines. We mean modern medicines, but none of them will work if they are not produced, if they are not available in the pharmacy and, consequently, if the patient does not take them. And here a huge lesson for all of us was the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Closed borders and disrupted supply chains made the public realise that drug security is just as important as energy or military security. And in our case, the problem with the availability of medicines did not exist. Why? Because in Poland we have domestic drug manufacturers such as Adamed Pharma,” she added.

The invited speakers also focused on the interplay between the various components of the ESG concept. At first glance, it would seem that these are completely separate domains, requiring different goals and individual accountability within reports. However, the expert discussion showed that such a line of thinking is wrong. All of the areas that make up ESG are inextricably intertwined and require an organisation to analyse the totality of its processes and then prepare a holistic strategy that takes each letter into account, but places them on a single signpost defining the company’s future growth roadmap.

The following participants also took part in the discussion: Adam Niewiadomski, PhD, Professor at  the University of Warsaw, Department of Agricultural Law and Food Safety System, Prof. Piotr H. Skarżyński, World Hearing Center, WHO Expert, Przemysław Kulik, Director of CSR and Sustainability Reporting Office, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Aleksandra Robaszkiewicz, Head of Corporate Communications & CSR, Lidl Polska, Rafał Rudzki, ESG Director, Żabka Group, and Filip Osadczuk, Director of Investor Relations and ESG Department, PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.

During the event, results of the report “The Role of the Media in Building ESG Awareness” prepared by the research agency PSMM Monitoring & More were also presented. The document analyses the influence of mass media on shaping public awareness in the area of ESG. A variety of media content was delved into, including newspaper articles, online news, television programmes and social media, determining the dominant framework of discussion and the narrative. In particular, the report focuses on the role of traditional and digital media in educating the public about the essence of ESG.

How important proper communication is in the area of sustainability efforts is indicated by the fact that already 27 percent of companies consider environmental criteria in the supplier selection process. Within 2 years, there will be more than double the number of such brands. In addition, also small and medium-sized companies that cooperate with large entities will have to introduce environmentally friendly solutions in their organisations to maintain a competitive position in the European market. Large entities that will have to prepare ESG reports will begin to require their suppliers and subcontractors to provide certain data (e.g. on greenhouse gas emissions) to be included in their reports.

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The 3rd ESG Congress is an initiative by sustainability leaders for the ESG ecosystem in Europe. It is a forum for dialogue between government officials, business ESG leaders, NGOs, academics, experts and the media for advocating ESG reporting and implementing sustainable development principles. The main theme of the 3rd ESG Congress was the social changes taking place in Europe and the labour market.