On 18 April 2024, the educational seminar”Sustainable Future III: Powering the Future of Energy, Supply Chain and Finance” was held at the National Hellenic Research Foundation. The event aimed to help the audience understand the current reality and existing challenges shaped by ESG drivers in the energy, supply chain, and finance sectors. In particular, it focused on the following topics: “Banking and ESG – Challenges, opportunities and future perspectives”“CSRD beyond compliance – The roadmap to a sustainable future”“Supply Chain and ESG – Understanding the footprint of our products” The event was graced by the presence of 12 eminent representatives from academia, institutions and the market, and was attended by an audience of 160 participants from a diverse scientific background. Below is a summary of the main points of the presentations of the speeches of the event: Opening Remarks The Opening Remarks started with Mr. Panagiotis Chabesis, Head of the Sustainability Unit at the Hellenic Banking Association (HBA). His speech began by noting that climate change is a risk multiplier that affects economic activities. Banking institutions, having two roles, as corporate entities and financers of the economy, are at the center of the effort to address climate change as they are accountable not only for their activities and results but also for the activities of the companies, they are financing. Continuing his presentation, Mr. Chabesis acknowledged the need for synergy of the Public and Banking sectors in financing the necessary investments for achieving net zero. He also stressed the high regulatory demands that the financial system is subject to, recognizing that this has contributed to keeping the banking institutions “healthy”.Concluding his speech, Mr. Chabesis presented the important work of the Hellenic Bank Association on climate change and green transition, such as the publishing of an informational prospectus for companies to better understand the ESG framework, the participation of HBA in the National Council for Circular Economy, the organization of a conference with the topic of Sustainable Financing held in June 2023 and the provision of educational programs for banking executives. The Opening Remarks were concluded by Mrs. Phoebe Koundouri, Professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business & Technical University of Denmark, President EAERE, Chair of UN SDSN Global Climate Hub, and Director at AE4RIA. In her address, she focused on the transition to sustainability for societal well-being, while also presenting the theoretical framework for the green transition. Specifically, for achieving green and sustainable transformation she highlighted the need to quantify their processes, noting that if we are unable to measure it we cannot manage it. She stressed the need to measure the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ESG performance- to set specific targets and to find the necessary technological and financial political pathways to achieve them.Continuing with her address, Mrs. Koundouri highlighted the importance of an interdisciplinary framework of communication and cooperation for Sustainable Development, the interaction of science with institutions and business to educate and guide them on the most appropriate way to implement proposed solutions. Moreover, Mrs. Koundouri presented that the investing portfolios that take into account SDGs and ESG parameters have become the most profitable in the market, but still, she stressed the exclusion of social capital considerations on investments and development strategies. In conclusion, Mr. Koundouri deemed it necessary that education and the acquisition of new skills are crucial to accomplish a sustainable transition. Keynote Speeches The keynote speeches started with Mr. Francesco Cometa, Principal in Banking at the European Central Bank (ECB). He began his speech by emphasizing the need to address the impacts of climate change, even though it is not a statutory objective of the ECB, as they could significantly impact the financial stability of the Eurozone. Mr. Cometa noted that the ECB’s primary objective remains price stability while acknowledging the direct relationship between the banking sector on the environment. He characterized climate risk as a new parameter, that has been integrated into the banking landscape, in addition to the “traditional” risk sources, and delved into its economic impact on the macroeconomic level.He stressed the need to strengthen supervision and foster regulation to prevent and address potential disruptions that are related to climate change and could affect the financial stability of the Monetary Union. He also communicated that banking supervision will continue to utilize all of its tools to guarantee that banking institutions will align with the supervisory requirements. In addition, Mr. Cometa described how individual climate risks can combine and accumulate within the banking system, creating systemic risks and threatening the stability of the financial system. Therefore, he emphasized the importance of managing climate risks as a strategic priority to safeguard financial institutions and the broader economy. He also recognized the ECB’s role in supporting the green transition and fostering actions to address climate-related challenges and presented the evolving ECB climate strategy from 2015 to 2025. Finally, Mr. Cometa recognized the challenges in the European legislative framework, the need for supervisors for actions that are based on analytical data, and the need for banking institutions to follow the timeframes that have been set to address climate risks. He underlined the need for the improvement of climate-related stress testing, particularly in enhancing the governance structure, data availability, and modeling techniques. Regarding the youth, he encouraged them to remain active and to search for opportunities that are occurring in the sustainability landscape. During her speech, Ms. Katerina Paisiou, Sustainable Finance expert at the Bank of Greece (BoG), highlighted that the Bank of Greece was the first among the Central Banks that took action in 2009, to address climate change. With the creation of the Climate Change Impacts Study Committee in 2009, the Bank of Greece began researching the economic, social, and environmental impacts of climate change in Greece and also conducts systematic research on a broad range of sectors. Ms. Paisiou presented the BoG’s sustainability journey, noting key milestones such as its pledge to contribute to achieving the Paris Agreement objectives and the development of the Climate Change and Sustainability Center in 2021. Ms.
