Is your company ready for ESG?

The results of the survey ‘ESG in practice - CCIFP Barometer’ are in!

Read the full report (in Polish)

The French-Polish Chamber of Commerce (CCIFP) has published the results of the ninth edition of its flagship survey ‘ESG in practice - CCIFP Barometer’. The report provides a comprehensive picture of how companies operating in the Polish market approach environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Legal requirements are now the most important factor motivating companies to implement ESG measures, although there is still a significant proportion of companies engaging for image reasons. The main barrier to development is the lack of financial resources, which particularly affects companies in the SME sector.

Regulation effectively motivates action

For the first time, regulation became the most important reason for companies to engage in the ESG area (up from 4% in 2019 to 66% in 2024). In second place were image issues, which are more important for SME companies (67%) than for large companies (57%). Expectations and pressures from customers, employees, communities have also become an important factor over the past few years (57% of indications in 2024 versus 16% in 2019). ‘If anyone does not yet believe in the power of regulation, this year's barometer data shows a clear trend. ESG has become part of the European legal order and is no longer seen as a fad, becoming a standard. The increase from 4% in 2019 to 66% in 2024 is spectacular.’ - comments Kamil Wyszkowski, Representative, Executive Director UN Global Compact Network Poland.

More professionalisation of activities, but with limited budgets

A strategic approach to ESG is still not common, as 49% of companies do not have a strategy in this area. However, those companies that do have one very often include it in their business strategy (85% of indications). This means that companies take environmental and social challenges into account when planning their development by adapting their business model to them. Responsibility for ESG activities in large companies is becoming increasingly professionalised. Almost half of them already have a separate department dedicated to this area. SME companies either manage ESG from the Board or Directorate level or the area remains undeveloped (43% of indications in both cases). Insufficient human resources are not the only challenge for companies, especially those in the SME sector. The biggest problem is the lack of financial resources (63% of indications). Nearly 40% of small and medium-sized companies do not have any budget for conducting ESG activities, and only large entities have funds exceeding PLN 100,000 per year. However, the number of companies reporting on their activities is increasing, although this mainly concerns large companies. 9 out of 10 of them conduct or plan to initiate reporting, while in the case of SMEs, such activities are undertaken by only one in two entrepreneurs. 

ESG benefits difficult to quantify

Companies still find it difficult to quantify the results of their sustainability efforts. Only large organisations with human, financial and content resources are able to identify measurable benefits (17% of respondents from large companies and not a single SME company), while 31% of all companies report outcomes other than financial, most often related to improved image, employee engagement or stakeholder relations. SME companies most often do not measure results (35%) or find it difficult to define them (37%). The absence of any benefit from ESG activities is declared by one in ten large companies and one in seven SMEs. 

Most active for the community and the environment

Companies are most active in the area concerning the community (76% of companies) and the environment (72%). The least activity is undertaken in the area of corporate governance. This may be due to a lack of knowledge of what is meant by this term, especially among SMEs. As many as 20% of them could not answer whether they have any activities in this area, says Mariusz Kielich, Communications Manager at the CCIFP. Actions for the benefit of the community refer first of all to employees (ensuring development, occupational health and safety, additional social benefits, dialogue or work-life balance solutions), then to customers (personal data protection, communication, satisfaction surveys), and finally to local communities (mainly by providing financial or material support). In terms of the environment, companies most often reduce the consumption of raw materials, improve energy efficiency or carry out educational activities. Only large organisations with significant financial resources engage in projects such as the introduction of green products or services, closed-loop economy solutions or infrastructure investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Corporate governance is mainly policies related to ethics, anti-corruption or cooperation with business partners.

ESG requirements also affect smaller companies

Large companies feel responsible for their partners and suppliers by engaging them in ESG activities. Nearly a third of large companies are conducting educational activities for them, and another third want to start doing so in the next 2 years. What is worrying, however, is the rather low percentage of companies participating in such educational activities, which is less than 25% of suppliers for more than half of the companies. The number of companies that require their suppliers to provide ESG data is gradually increasing. Last year, it was 16%, and this year it is already 25%. Another 30% declare that they will start this kind of action within the next 2 years. In two years' time, nearly two-thirds of companies will be paying attention to sustainability activities when selecting a supplier, so those companies that are not obliged to report ESG, will be implementing pro-environmental solutions.Those who fail to do so will become less competitive on the Polish and European markets. - said Mariusz Kielich.

ABOUT CCIFP

The French-Polish Chamber of Commerce (CCIFP) brings together nearly 400 companies with French and Polish capital and is one of the most active chambers of commerce in Poland. The main objective of the Chamber's activities is to co-create the best possible conditions for investment and economic development in Poland. CCIFP's activities in contacts with state administration bodies and employers' organizations, foster cooperation and exchange of business experience between entrepreneurs from France and Poland. The Chamber also promotes best practices and business solutions that ensure

economic and social development. The French-Polish Chamber of Commerce was established in April 1994 on the initiative of French entrepreneurs and is a member of the Association of French Chambers of Industry and Commerce (CCIFI), which brings together 119 French Chambers of Commerce worldwide. For more information visit: www.ccifp.pl.