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Plzeňský Prazdroj has the best CSR report in Central Europe

The award of the best corporate sustainability report in the Central European region goes to the Czech Republic. For the very first time, a Czech company took first place, namely Plzeňský Prazdroj. The runners-up were the Polish Bank Zachodni and the Croatian oil company INA – Industrija nafte. In the 15th annual Deloitte Green Frog Award, the international jury evaluated a total of 76 corporate reports from seven Central European countries.

An independent jury has selected Plzeňský Prazdroj’s Sustainable Development Report 2015 as the best report on CSR activities in Central Europe. 

“It is evident from the report that the company has set a clear strategy in the area of sustainable development. It is easy to understand and above all, it presents a high level of CSR activities and sustainability. The jury appreciated the way Plzeňský Prazdroj presents its impact on the environment, including interesting graphics,” said Irena Pichola, Deloitte Partner in Sustainability Consulting Central Europe. 

“We really appreciate the award, because thorough internal reporting in the area of sustainability and transparent communication of its results is a standard we have promoted for a long time. Plzeňský Prazdroj has issued sustainable development reports since 2006 and the quality of corporate non-financial reporting has rapidly increased since then. Therefore, it makes us all even more delighted that we succeeded in an international comparison,” said Drahomíra Mandíková, Plzeňský Prazdoj’s director of corporate relations and communication and member of the Board of Directors. 

Other award-winning companies from the Central European region included the Polish Bank Zachodni, the Croatian oil company INA – Industrija nafte, Slovenian Petrol or Ursus Breweries from Romania. 

Green Frog Award as preparation for new legislation 

CSR reports have become a tradition with increasing importance in Central and Eastern Europe; more than 50 out of 109 large companies have published a non-financial report in some form. The majority of the companies were based in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Poland where almost 300 such reports already exist and around 40 new reports are added every year. 

This trend is corroborated by the increasing number of companies applying for the Green Frog Award, despite the fact that non-financial reporting has not yet been obligatory in Europe. This, however, will change as soon as next year when the respective EU directive will come into force, obliging companies to also publish non-financial information related to their activities. The Green Frog Award can thus help companies prepare for this new legislation. 

About Green Frog Award 

Deloitte has awarded the Green Frog Award for the best non-financial report on sustainable development to companies operating in Central Europe since 2000. Czech companies or firms active in the Czech Republic can apply, irrespective of their industry and size. The basic condition is publishing a report on sustainability, environmental policy or CSR in English (either separately or as part of the company’s annual report). Publishing non-financial reports has so far been voluntary, but from 2017, it will be obligatory pursuant to an EU directive. According to a 2015 survey by Deloitte, 63% of CSR managers expect that this directive will have a positive impact on the quality of non-financial reports in their country. 

The members of the jury included experts from organisations such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSD), the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and the Croatian Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection. 

More information on the Green Frog Award can is available here