XEnergy organized a round table entitled “The main business risks in 2024 – enterprise risk management
strategies in Croatian companies”, where the views of various industries and sectors on the business risks that await us in the coming year were presented. Changes in national and international macroeconomic, regulatory, political and climate environment bring new risks and the need for their strategic management. The discussion focused on the risks of the ESG spectrum, in particular the risks of the green transition, which is rapidly changing the business conditions of energy companies and all other businesses.
The roundtable brought together respectable keynote speakers and panelists. On behalf of the Ministry of Finance, Ana Zorić, Director of the Economic and Financial System Administration of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Croatia, Ante Žigman, President of the Board of Directors of HANFA, and Magdalena Šoljakova, Head of the IFC Office for Croatia, Slovenia and North Macedonia, as well as Danijela Miloš Sprčić from the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb gave an introduction to the panel discussion, which she moderated. The discussion was attended by top managers of leading Croatian companies from strategic sectors that are particularly exposed to the risks of the green transition. The following people took part in the panel discussion: Gordan Kolak, President of the Management Board of Končar Group, Martina Dalić, President of the Management Board of Podravka, Marko Ćosić, President of the Management Board of Đuro Đaković Group, Sabina Škrtić, Member of the Management Board of ENNA Group, Vedrana Jelušić Kašić, Member of the Management Board of PBZ, Mario Klarić, President of the Management Board of Professio Energia and Marko Čižmek, Member of the Management Board of Valamar Riviera.
As we have heard, the year 2024 will also pose a challenge in all areas. Climate change is alreadym impacting the corporate sector, the new ESG regulations will soon change the way most companies operate if they want to be competitive, and the fear of high energy prices is encouraging the corporate sector to invest in its own solar power plants. Corporate risk management is becoming increasingly important to help the economy cope with the increasing changes.
The financial sector has recognized the importance of financing green projects and is offering new financial products that promote renewable energy and a low-carbon economy. Although the green transition and its associated challenges are perhaps the most obvious segment of ESG risks, this does not diminish the importance of social and governance issues. One of these is a higher proportion of women in management boards. Their share on the boards of listed companies must reach 40% by June 2026. One of the goals of the. XEnergy association is precisely to increase the participation of women at all levels of decision making, and through their activities they promote the role and visibility of women in all sectors, especially those related to the energy transition. Therefore, also at this event, successful women together with their male colleagues demonstrated that running successful businesses requires a synergy of knowledge, management skills and social entrepreneurship.
