On 22 November 2021, KPMG in Cyprus organized the event ''Actualizing the ESG proposition: The journey towards sustainability, resilience and purpose'' which took place at the Royal Hall, Nicosia, Cyprus. The objective of the event was to provide the audience with insights on how companies can leverage Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) practices.
Christos Vasiliou, Managing Director at KPMG in Cyprus, welcomed the attendees on behalf of the firm and outlined the challenges that humanity is currently facing. He also stressed the importance of incorporating ESG in businesses.
Natasa Pilidou, the Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, talked about the systemic transition to a green economic model and how the government of Cyprus supports businesses in implementing their sustainability initiatives.
Fernando Faria, Global Co-Head, KPMG IMPACT, presented KPMG’s reflections on the outcomes of COP26 conference on climate change that took place in November at Glasgow. Antonis Bargilly, Head of Management Consulting and KPMG IMPACT local champion at KPMG in Cyprus and Eleni Damianou, Senior Manager, Management Consulting and KPMG IMPACT at KPMG in Cyprus, outlined the Cyprus market landscape and the need to embrace ESG and sustainability. They also discussed about the readiness of KPMG globally and locally, to successfully address the upcoming challenges.
Stine Lise Hattestad, Partner at KPMG Pure Sustainability, KPMG in Norway, Anthony Cowell, Partner and Head of Asset Management at KPMG in the Cayman Islands and Arnaud van Dijk, Principal at KPMG IMPACT, provided their perspective on the ESG global trends and presented examples of best practices in ESG.
A panel discussion moderated by Christos Vasiliou, emerged in fruitful conversations on how companies across industries can benefit from ESG practices. Kyriakos Kokkinos, the Deputy Minister to the President for Research, Innovation and Digital policy discussed how technology can be leveraged to support ESG practices and the actions that the government should be taking to incorporate ESG in the national digital transformation plans. Andreas Neocleous, Chief Executive Officer at CYTA, raised a discussion around the connection of 5G with the ESG context and shared CYTA’s plans on the ESG front. Oliver Gatzke, Chief Executive Officer, Hellenic Bank, discussed how the EU regulatory landscape affects business operational models of companies in the financial industry. Tatiana Fafaliou, Chief Executive Officer at Folloe Capital Investors and Non-Executive Director at Olympia Group presented the role of governance practices for the successful implementation of ESG targets. Lastly, Eleni Kaloyirou, Chief Executive Officer at HERMES Airports raised a discussion on the dilemma that the travel industry is currently in, regarding the recovery from Covid-19 and the drive for sustainable development.
Christos Vasiliou concluded the event by stressing the importance to set concrete actions to achieve a sustainable future and the readiness of KPMG as a global and local firm to respond to the upcoming challenges.
A reception followed.
