Sustainability Index Magazine: The bilingual yearbook brings to the forefront sustainability leaders according to Romania CST Index ranking, as well as the latest trends and innovations in corporate sustainability from local and international experts

  • The Azores Sustainability & CSR Services agency launches the second edition of the Sustainability Index Magazine, a Romanian-English bilingual yearbook that aims to present the current status of corporate sustainability in Romania.
  • In the magazine, the readers will find the results of the only corporate sustainability index in the country, Romania CST Index, as well as interviews with national and international experts, sustainability profiles, and case studies.
  • The publication aims to promote corporate sustainability as a responsible business management practice, as well as to help companies develop a better performing strategy based on aggregated market information.

Thus, Sustainability Index Magazine follows in the footsteps of Community Index Magazine, the premium bilingual yearbook that contains the results of the only index of programs and projects carried out by companies in Romania to invest in their communities, launched in 2019.

The second issue of the magazine is 104 pages long and the online version is open-source to help raise the level of market know-how. It is offered in digital format, as a flipview, and can be viewed here:https://sustainabilityindex.ro/sustainability-index-magazine-2024-web/

What will you find inside Sustainability Index Magazine?

The second edition of Sustainability Index Magazine brings to the fore the sustainability profiles of companies that have published sustainability reports for their activity in Romania. The profiles are set up on several coordinates to have a real and clear picture of the companies’ objectives and investments in Romania: the audit of sustainability reports, achieved targets, and future targets.

The yearbook offers exclusive interviews with experts in the field of corporate sustainability, recognized globally and regionally, such as:

Michel Scholte, Impact Entrepreneur, Speaker & Co-Founder, Impact Institute; Instructor, CSRD Academy

Oghosa Erhahon, Independent Consultant, Hydrogen Policy Expert, TEDx Speaker and Co-Author of “Touching Hydrogen Future”

Harald Friedl, Circular Economist & LinkedIn Top Voice

 

It also features interviews with nationally recognized personalities with extensive experience in management and sustainability strategies, such as:

Marco Hößl, CEO Kaufland România și Republica Moldova

Fady Chreih, CEO Regina Maria

Valentin Truță, General Director Premier Restaurants România

Gemma Webb, CEO & President RetuRO

Raluca Dascălu, Communications Manager JYSK ROMÂNIA

Roxana Puia, Marketing Director ENVIRON Association

Luiza Dumitru, Communication & Marketing Director OSCAR Downstream

Corina Radu, CEO Solutions4Impact Consulting

Alina Liciu, Managing Partner The Azores Sustainability & CSR Services

 

 

What is Romania CST Index?

Romania CST Index (Corporate Sustainability & Transparency Index), launched in 2016, is the first ranking in our country dedicated to measuring corporate sustainability. The index identifies the companies with the highest degree of transparency and performance in Romania. For this purpose, it proposes a complex and transparent analysis, aligned with international standards, and constitutes the largest database on the sustainability indicators of companies in the country.

To carry out the analysis, the index uses public data of companies regarding environmental, social and governance aspects. The indicators assessed cover areas such as climate change, sustainable products, labor practices, investment in communities, risk management, responsible marketing or the supply chain, among others.

What are the main objectives of Romania CST Index?

A sustainability index is important because it is a tool for evaluating a company’s performance compared to other players in the industry and in the country.

Romania CST Index aims to contribute to increasing the level of transparency regarding sustainability indicators and to recognize the companies with the greatest progress in Romania in addressing the principles and requirements of international standards for corporate sustainability management and reporting.

Thus, Romania CST Index aims to promote corporate sustainability as a responsible business management practice. At the same time, the index can help companies better develop their strategy based on market information.

What are the results of the analysis?

2023 comes with many challenges, but also opportunities for the corporate environment in the EU and implicitly in Romania to integrate sustainability considerations into business decisions. The legislative changes at EU level set ambitious new targets for transparency and ESG performance, but also bring more clarity and coherence.

Romania CST Index analysis indicates a slight increase in the number of companies that publish sustainability reports. We are also seeing progress in setting targets for environmental, social and governance factors, and best practices from industry leaders that point to opportunities for improvement across the sector.

However, the number of companies that publish sustainability reports continues to be reduced, still below 10% in 2023 in Romania, out of the total of over 750 companies that have this obligation.

ESG is starting to be integrated in every department of organizations: finance, procurement, HR, or marketing. This change indicates a need to increase the number of trainings on sustainability principles so that all these professionals understand the importance of integrating these principles into their business strategy and practices.

Finally, an important aspect that emerges from the analysis is the need for a data collection and monitoring strategy and infrastructure. The sustainability strategy must include a high number of SMART indicators. Objectives must be measurable, clear and aligned to the industry and specifics of the organization. Analysts and investors need this information to compare various organizations in the same industry and assess who is performing best.

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About the Editor

The Azores Sustainability & CSR Services is a sustainability consulting agency, established in 2013, with the aim of supporting companies in Romania regarding the integration of corporate sustainability in their business strategy.

The agency has an approach focused on long-term results, the use of IT technology for a high level of accuracy of sustainability indicators and analysis/research to support decision-makers in companies in defining their corporate sustainability strategy.

The most important and complex project of the agency is Romania CST Index, previously called Romania CSR Index, a ranking launched in 2016 and the only one in Romania that evaluates the sustainability indicators of companies: information on sustainability management, as well as economic, environmental, and social impact. The index is launched every year during the Best Practices in Corporate Sustainability conference.

In 2019, the agency launched Community Index, the most comprehensive ranking of corporate investment projects in communities and a centralizer of the best CSR campaigns carried out every year by Romanian companies. The results of the ranking, together with case studies and interviews of national and international experts, are presented every year in Community Index Magazine, a bilingual premium yearbook dedicated to investments in communities carried out by Romanian companies.

For more information, please get in touch with us at connect@communityindex.ro