Launch of the bilingual Sustainability Index Magazine, 2nd edition: ESG profiles and new developments in sustainability

The Azores Sustainability & CSR Services Agency has launched the second edition of the Sustainability Index Magazine, a premium bilingual publication available in Romanian and English. This edition aims to present an up-to-date overview of corporate sustainability in Romania. Inside, readers will find the results of the only corporate sustainability index in the country, the Romania CST Index, along with interviews featuring national and international experts. The magazine also includes educational articles and case studies, providing valuable insights. Its primary goal is to promote corporate sustainability as a responsible business management practice and assist companies in developing more effective strategies based on aggregated market information.

Sustainability Index Magazine is following in the footsteps of Community Index Magazine, the bilingual yearbook containing the results of Community Index: a ranking of programs and projects run by Romanian companies to invest in communities, launched in 2019.

The publication can be particularly useful not only for professionals in the field, but also for local and multinational companies, investors, universities, PR agencies and authorities.

The second issue of the magazine has more than 100 pages and the online version is offered free of charge to contribute to the development of the field. The yearbook in digital format as a flipview can be viewed here: https://sustainabilityindex.ro/sustainability-index-magazine-2024-3/

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What’s in the Sustainability Index Magazine?

The second edition of the Sustainability Index Magazine brings to the forefront sustainability profiles of companies that have published sustainability reports for their operations in Romania. The profiles are organized along several dimensions in order to have a real and clear picture of companies’ objectives and investments in Romania: audit of sustainability reports, key figures, targets achieved and future goals.

The yearbook also features exclusive interviews with globally and regionally recognized corporate sustainability experts 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

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

• Marco Hößl, CEO Kaufland Romania and Republic of Moldova
• Fady Chreih, CEO Regina Maria
• Valentin Truță, General Director Premier Restaurants Romania
• 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 performance and transparency in the field of corporate sustainability/ESG. The index proposes a comprehensive and transparent analysis, aligned with international standards, and is the largest database on sustainability indicators of companies in the country.

To carry out the analysis, the index uses public company data on environmental, social, and governance issues. Indicators assessed cover areas such as climate change, sustainable products, labor practices, community investment, risk management, responsible marketing or supply chain, among others.

What are the main objectives of Romania CST Index?

A sustainability index is important because it is a tool to assess a company’s performance in comparison with other players in the industry and in the country. Romania CST Index aims to contribute to increasing the level of transparency on 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, the Romania CST Index aims to promote corporate sustainability as a responsible business management practice. The index can also help companies to better develop their strategy based on market intelligence.

What are the results of the analysis?

2024 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. Legislative changes at European bloc level set ambitious new targets for transparency and ESG performance, but also bring more clarity and consistency.

The Romania CST Index 2023 analysis shows a slight increase in the number of companies publishing sustainability reports. We are also seeing progress in setting smart targets on 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 publishing sustainability reports continues to be low, below 10% in 2023 in Romania, out of the more than 750 companies that have this obligation.

ESG is however starting to be integrated in several departments 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 emerging from the analysis is the need for a data collection and monitoring strategy and infrastructure. The sustainability strategy should include a high number of SMART indicators. Targets need to be measurable, clear and aligned to the industry and specificity of the organization. Analysts and investors need this information in order to compare different organizations in the same industry and assess who is performing best.