On 20 December 2023, at the headquarters of the European Economic and Social Committee, we took part in the final debate of the ‘ESG Compass’ series. Our delegation, led by Joanna Makowiecka-Gatza, Chairwoman of the Council of Employers of Poland, and Janusz Pietkiewicz, Executive Advisor on International Affairs to the Management Board of the Employers of Poland, participated in an interesting debate linking several topics that will become key to EU policy in the coming years.

Sven Gentner from the European Commission was the guest of the first part of the meeting. He presented the status of the work at the European Commission on the ESG economic transition. He announced a new round of consultations for small and medium-sized enterprises in the first half of 2024. These will be organised by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG).

The second part of the meeting was devoted to the so-called Blue Deal – the EU Water Strategy. This is an EESC initiative aimed at mobilising the European Commission to develop an EU-level strategy for managing dwindling water resources. The project was presented by Pietro De Lotto, President of the EESC's Consultative Commission on Industrial Change. The Blue Deal is an important topic for Poland, which has some of the lowest water resources in the EU.

The last part of the event featured a discussion on not only ESG and water strategy, but also the future of the EU single market. Joanna Makowiecka-Gatza and Janusz Pietkiewicz took the floor in the debate, as well as representatives of Polish companies present at the event, including Orlen and PZU.