Harmonisation key to navigating current crises, Ferma delegates told

Political unity at EU level, greater harmonisation and more cooperation between the private and public sectors, are key to surviving the current crises, according to a roundtable at the Ferma Forum. The energy crisis is clearly at the front of people’s minds and Maroš Šefčovič, vice-president of the EC, said ensuring there is enough energy for the economy and industry during the next few years is a big priority. “This is the topic that requires most of our time and political energy. The lesson learned is diversification. We need more energy suppliers but also different products. Political unity and European response are critical in making sure that we prevail in this very difficult situation,” he told forum delegates. Emil Fannikke Kiær, EVP of political affairs at the Confederation of Danish Industry, said his organisation’s members are working on their energy supply, investing in facilities that, while not good for the green transition, will help maintain supply. But he stressed that longer term, companies need to make sure they keep track on the green transition. Marie-Claire Daveu, chief sustainability and institutional affairs officer at KERING, stressed the need for greater regulatory harmonisation to help companies through this tough period. “At the EU level, it is really important to push different member states to have the same regulation. In a global company, it is already complex to manage [regulation] all over the world. But at least we can ensure that in the EU we have the same regulation and the same ambitions,” she said. Šefčovič agreed that there is a need for better and more uniform application of EU rules. “This is our goal. It is not always 100% accomplished but the single market has brought a lot of benefits. And if it can be properly applied across the board with all member states, it will be much easier for investors and for producers, and therefore we have to work on this consolidation and tackle the areas where we are still diverging,” he said. Laura Kask, CEO of Proud Engineers, which helps governments and large corporations solve complicated challenges, said any shared legal framework cannot be based on past events, “because we never know what kind of crisis the next one may be”. “We are in this together. More than ever, on a national level, on an EU level, on a global level, we should work together. I believe that cooperation should give more than take,” she added. Daveu strongly believes that the business and public sectors need to cooperate more. “The public sector has to support research and development innovation because even if you are a big company, a big sector, you are not big enough to invest in order to find disruptive solutions and disruptive innovation,” she said. The roundtable was in agreement that ESG is a must for companies but noted that there is always a danger of greenwashing or socialwashing. “In Denmark, ESG is a licence to operate. You are not in the market if you don’t take ESG seriously,” said Kiær. But he warned there is a big risk that ESG is growing into a “bureaucratic monster”. “There are so many rules and this is very hard for companies to deal with, in terms of time spent on reporting and so on. We all have a responsibility to ensure that this is going to help companies be more sustainable and not just some bureaucratic process,” he said. The roundtable concluded that risk management is key to innovation. “Risk assessment should enable innovation. Whatever we do, we should consider the risks but also keep in mind that we need to move forward,” said Kask.

Harmonisation key to navigating current crises, Ferma delegates told

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Want to read this article?

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Dutch risk managers urged to embrace uncertainty and work collectively to seek solutions

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Product recalls in Europe hit 11-year high in Q1: Sedgwick

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