5th edition of the Carbon Footprint Summit in Krakow
The 5th edition of the Carbon Footprint Summit under the honorary patronage of the South Poland Cleantech Cluster and the Consulates of Denmark, Finland and Iceland is behind us.
On October 7, 2024, SPCleantech participated as a patron and co-organizer at the ICE Krakow Congress Center in the all-day Carbon Footprint Summit event dedicated to the challenges related to decarbonization. The conference is organized annually by a member of the cluster, the Carbon Footprint Foundation, which is a leader in issues related to calculating the carbon footprint on the market. This year’s anniversary edition was organized in cooperation with the strategic partner Columbus Energy and in substantive partnership with the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Economy of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow.
Today, we are not only talking about carbon footprint and climate change. Today we are talking about a precise strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is not only an expression of concern for the environment, climate and people, but also of interest in the needs of business, which uses opportunities to grow in a sustainable way, taking into account the interests of beneficiaries: customers, partners, employees and investors.
Carbon footprint analysis is not enough to successfully decarbonize, but it is absolutely necessary to successfully start this process. The decarbonization process and its understanding is an important step in building the strategy of area E in ESG. Disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and a plan for their reduction is one of the most important indicators of sustainable development reporting. This is probably the first area that every player in any business ecosystem will be asked about – because every entity is a link in the value chain. Business does not operate in a vacuum, and its basic function of generating profit can be a source of innovation and ambitious solutions that the modern world needs.
The event began with a press conference, during which Agnieszka Rozwadowska, President of the Foundation, spoke. In her speech “From saving chrysanthemums to a full decarbonization strategy” she cited the beginnings of the organization’s activities and defined the scope of activities in the following years. She pointed out that this year we are significantly focusing on educating young generations and presenting their innovative solutions. A special space, the GEN Z (changes) zone, was made available for young people in dialogue with professors, experts and business leaders.
Participants had the opportunity to listen to an interesting panel discussion “Decarbonization, why you, why now” summarizing the latest trends in this area with the participation of partners such as Żabka Polska, Columbus Energy, FAKRO, moderated by a journalist from Polsat News.
An interesting panel discussing the current role of women in shaping civic attitudes in the context of climate and counteracting the exclusion of certain social groups from joint actions for the environment was the panel “Women for the Climate” with the participation of representatives of Santander Bank Polska, Radio Kraków and the Kraków City Hall, moderated by a representative of the Women Inspire Foundation and BCC.
The day ended with the ceremonial Carbon Footprint Challenge Awards Gala, which honored leaders in various areas working for the environment, climate education and sustainable development. Presenters: Karolina Kowalska RMF FM and Mikołaj Florczak CFF. The entire conference was accompanied by an interesting gallery of engaged posters “PLAKATON” organized by Admind Agency in cooperation with ASP Kraków and AMS Outdoor.