ESG & sustainability | In Principle

Whistleblowing became a buzzword in Poland in 2024 following the delayed implementation of the EU’s Whistleblower Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law) (WBD). By September 2024, most private companies in Poland were required to comply with national legislation mandating internal policies for reporting and follow-up actions. At the time, many organisations scrambled to meet these statutory requirements—some were fine-tuning existing speak-up channels to align with the new law, while others were building a framework from scratch. The business press was flooded with discussions on compliance, and webinars and seminars on the topic were everywhere. However, much of the focus was on setting up reporting channels and policies, often overlooking the broader significance and long-term impact of these changes.

The first proposal of Polish regulations implementing the EU’s Women on Boards Directive, aimed at more balanced representation of women and men on the bodies of large listed companies, has now been published. This is to be achieved by setting requirements for the selection process of candidates for these positions and introducing a minimum level of participation of the underrepresented sex. The proposal comes as no surprise. Work on the directive took a decade, but it nevertheless elicited many comments in public consultations. The member states have to implement the directive by 28 December 2024.

A bill to implement the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in Poland was published on 19 April 2024. The main implementation measure is the proposed new chapter 6c of the Accounting Act, entitled “Sustainability Reporting.”

Nearly two years after publication of the European Commission’s proposal, the Greenwashing Directive came into force on 26 March 2024. The main objective of the changes is to protect consumers from deceptive commercial practices.

The number of Korean ventures in Poland is growing. It is worth taking a look at Korean culture, including its most famous element at the moment—K-pop, a global musical phenomenon. This industry is also notable for its largely-voluntary ESG initiatives.

In recent years, ESG has been mainly about “E”—environmental aspects, which were most often subject to regulation. Now there is increasing emphasis on social (S) and corporate governance (G). A noteworthy measure in governance is the EU’s Gender Balance Directive, which came into force at the end of 2022. The directive is intended to ensure more balanced representation of women and men among directors of listed companies.

In the face of the climate crisis, the interest in sustainability issues is growing. This increasingly brings the issue of greenwashing to the fore. “Greenwashing” refers to creation of a false impression among the public regarding the supposedly green practices applied by a business or the environmental benefits of its goods and services. Typically greenwashing is used to raise the attractiveness of goods or services in the eyes of prospective buyers, and thus to increase sales and attract customers. But sometimes the spread of misleading ecological messages is simply due to ignorance.

The end of last year abounded in new regulations in Poland governing the electricity market. There was also a lot of talk about the need to amend questionable regulations. But the changes are so numerous it is hard to predict their ultimate impact on the market and specific market participants. This is particularly evident in the case of generators of power from renewable energy sources benefiting from the auction support system.

In November 2022, the leaves were falling from the trees to the rhythm of ESG. First, the European Parliament and then the Council of the European Union approved the draft Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Then the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group submitted the first set of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards to the European Commission.

10 December 2022 marked forty years since the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which culminated years of negotiations within the United Nations, was opened for signature. With rapidly changing geopolitical conditions, the development of technologies enabling the extraction of minerals from the seabed, the climate crisis, and the disappearance of biodiversity, the convention must meet the demands of the next decades of the 21st century.

An end to the mass discarding of packaging and waste. Instead, recycling, refillable packaging, a deposit on plastic bottles and limits on disposable bags. Such changes are proposed in a new draft regulation of the European Commission. The changes are to be implemented gradually.

The proposed Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is now on the EU legislative agenda. It would amend the existing reporting rules established by the Non-Financial Reporting Directive, which are a weakness of the current system. Ultimately, the new directive is intended to contribute to a fully sustainable European market.