MK Group presented its ESG report for 2022, entitled “The driving force of responsibility”, as well as the ESG strategy and goals it has adopted until 2026. Through support to local communities, green transition and improvement of corporate practices, the Company continues its path of sustainable development, which has been its trademark for four decades. In the year in which it marks 40 years of business, MK Group has shown its determination to integrate the highest ESG standards into all business processes.
„We started the jubilee year by announcing a new investment cycle of 1.6 billion euros in renewable energy sources, agriculture, tourism and real estate. And we end it today with the presentation of the ESG report and further strategic goals when it comes to environmental protection, social impact and corporate governance. We can really be content with the progress in all three areas that we achieved last year”, said Mihailo Janković, Director General of MK Group, at the meeting which gathered around a hundred representatives of the business community and the Company’s business partners at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia.
The report shows that direct greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 65,000 tons of CO2 compared to 2020, and the Company has undertaken to reduce direct and indirect emissions by 25% by 2026, with the ultimate goal of achieving carbon neutrality. As a leader in the production of green energy, MK Group will implement projects of renewable sources with a total capacity of 1GW, worth around 900 million euros in the next three years. In this way, they will make a great contribution to the green transition of Serbia, as they will be responsible for a quarter of the total clean energy produced. The Company continuously takes care of the land and leads through sustainable agricultural practices, and almost 99% of the waste generated by the members of the Group is biodegradable.
„In the coming period, we will especially deal with the improvement of sustainability within our value chains. We are focused on improving the working environment and developing human resources, as evidenced by the high engagement index in our employee satisfaction surveys. About half of the permanent employees are women, and over 40% of them are in management positions, with the goal of increasing this percentage to 50% by 2026. We will continue to contribute to the quality of life in the communities where we operate, and in the next five years we will allocate five million euros for socially responsible activities”, concluded Mihailo Janković.
The President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Čadež, congratulated MK Group, emphasizing how important it is for companies in Serbia to adhere to ESG practices. “I congratulate MK Group on this great operation. They have shown that they are not only one of the most successful business systems in Serbia and the entire region, but, above all, they are a responsible company that bases its business on innovation and everything that is important for the growth and development of business in these modern times. What is important to us, MK Group annually pays around 60 million euros in taxes to the State of Serbia and more than 80% of everything it acquires – it acquires on the domestic market. If we don’t learn to work as MK Group does, it could very easily happen that we can’t enter the European Union market, and that could be a big problem. That is why it is important that MK Group transfers its knowledge in this area to its suppliers,” Čadež pointed out.
On the occasion of the presentation of MK Group’s ESG report, a panel discussion on these topics was organized at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, in which, in addition to MK Group’s Director General, the following participated: Miljan Ždrale, EBRD Regional Director for Agribusiness, Dušan Tomić, Partner and Head of the Business Department of EY Consulting in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, Mihailo Vesović, Director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Dragan Lončar, Professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade.
Miljan Ždrale, EBRD Regional Director for Agribusiness, stated that as far as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is concerned, it is certain that the Green Agenda after the signing of the Paris Agreement is one of the key issues, and that all projects and technical assistance are oriented towards improving energy efficiency, competitiveness of agriculture and reducing emissions of harmful gases. “In this way, we support companies like MK Group, but also the legislation in the Republic of Serbia through the promotion of renewable energy sources and the sustainable development, above all, of agriculture, as one of the biggest contributors to CO2 emissions,” said Ždrale.
Partner and Head of the Business Department of EY Consulting in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, Dušan Tomić, spoke about the extent to which companies actually adhere to ESG principles. “The ESG topic is an indispensable requirement in a modern business environment. Examples such as MK Group show that it is possible to reconcile traditional corporate goals and the financial interests of shareholders, with a much wider range of goals arising from the ESG concept. However, the corporate world alone cannot solve the mounting climate and environmental problems we face. We are moving very slowly towards the ambitious goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, especially Europe. Many more concrete actions and coordination between international institutions, states, financial institutions, businessmen, and scientific institutions are needed in order to bring the risks under control. “After 10 years of intensive ESG talk, the share of fossil energy in the world is almost unchanged, over two thirds, and the absolute consumption is much higher,” Tomić said.
Dragan Lončar, Professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, stated that as far as environmental protection is concerned, Serbia creates 62 million tons of CO2 annually. “According to that indicator, Serbia is above the world average per capita. That is why it is important that companies like MK Group introduce the best practices in the field of ecology,” Lončar said.
The results and ambitions to date show that MK Group has successfully integrated the ESG structure and management of material issues into corporate governance processes, providing a decisive contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With care for the community and employees, it represents a strong support for the Serbian economy. The Company will regularly monitor and analyze progress in achieving set goals, initiate positive changes in society, in order to be a champion of sustainability.
The full report is available at the following link: https://mkgroup.rs/nasa-odgovornost/.
