Neven Marinović, Director of Smart Kolektiv, was one of the panelists at the Fifth Regional Conference on the Risks of the New Era held on June 6 in Belgrade.
Participants at this year’s conference addressed globally recognized risks that are seen as the most threatening in the upcoming period, the potential losses they could cause, available prevention measures, and solutions that businesses can contribute to risk reduction, as well as insurance coverage options. Nearly 200 guests from Serbia and abroad attended the regional conference.
One of the panel discussions at the conference focused on ESG factors as a prerequisite for business survival. Besides Neven Marinović, the discussion included Nebojša Lukač, manager and lawyer specializing in ESG services in collaboration with PwC Serbia, and Zoran Blagojević, Chairman of the Executive Board at Wiener Städtische Insurance.
Panelists addressed the future of companies that do not develop ESG strategies, upcoming new regulations, and how the new greenwashing directive affects domestic firms. They also discussed the direction of ESG reporting standardization, the collaboration between domestic and foreign companies in the ESG context, the ability of local companies to meet new certification requirements, and ways in which the financial sector can help. Neven Marinović emphasized the significance of ESG reporting, stating that it should become part of management, a tool for diagnostics, planning, and strategy. Although ESG has become a popular topic, he reminded that it is neither new nor invincible. Despite the increasing need for reporting, it will bring many advantages, such as favorable financial instruments and easier access to foreign, especially EU, markets. He also stressed the importance of helping the domestic economy quickly align with international standards, advising not to wait until it becomes mandatory.
During the conference, key topics on the risks of the new era were discussed. Whether artificial intelligence is a risk or hope, threats from cyber-attacks, how to achieve sustainable development and sustainable business, how to protect finances, what ESG is, how climate change affects the economy, and how stress impacts employees were just some of the issues discussed.
Among the participants were representatives from the Government of the Republic of Serbia, GIZ, the Institute of Mental Health, UN Women, and SMART Kolektiv, companies such as Saga, PwC, Comtrade System Integration, Atlantic Group, Galenika, the Association of Serbian Banks, ERSTE Bank, insurance companies Generali, Wiener Städtische, UNIQA, DDOR Novi Sad, and Merkur, Marsh McLennan, investor Vladimir Đukanović, climate change expert Prof. Dr. Vladimir Đurđević, investment expert Rade Rakočević, British multinational HR company AMS, and others.
The “Risks of the New Era” conference is held annually, organized by the Be Risk Protected platform founded by the portals Sveonovcu and Sveoosiguranju with the intention of drawing public attention to the risks of the new era and informing a wide audience about the magnitude of these risks, available prevention measures, and compensation options if they occur.
