Ursus Breweries Receives Green Frog Award 2015 Distinction in the CEE competition

Czech-based Plzeňský Prazdroj won the competition while four companies received distinctions: Ursus Breweries SA (Romania), Bank Zachodni WBK S.A. (Poland), INA - Industrija nafte d.d. (Croatia), and Petrol, Slovenska energetska družba, d.d. (Slovenia).

“I am delighted that Ursus Breweries was distinguished both on national level and at the Central European level as it places Romania among the countries where sustainability is of growing importance ,” said Andrei Ionescu, Partner Deloitte Romania. “I would like to thank Ursus Breweries for its strong commitment to social responsibility and for setting an example for other companies. The social and environmental activities are fundamental for a stable and mature economy and balancing financial success with social development is beneficial for all stakeholders, not just one.” 

According to the jury, the report presented by Ursus was recognised as “a very creative well-structured report, which presents excellent materiality and is based on the dialogue with the stakeholders and answers their expectations.” The jury concluded that all important issues were brought up in a systemic and scientific approach, highlighting local priorities.

Deloitte Green Frog Award aims to identify and reward excellence in corporate non-financial reporting in the region, honouring the content, materiality, structure and creativity in communication, as well as sustainability performance and strategic commitments of the reports. The competition consists of a national and regional level. The reports rewarded at the national level are automatically nominated in the Central European competition.

Seven countries took part in the latest edition of the GFA: Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. In all, there were 76 reports submitted to local contests, out of which 16 made it to regional level, 8 competing for the best report award. Ursus Breweries won the national competition together with KMG International.

Companies provide non-financial information voluntarily but the situation is set to change by 2017 when an EU directive will come into effect requiring the largest organisations to disclose non-financial information and information related diversity.

In Central and Eastern Europe a group of strong leaders in non-financial reporting has already been established. According Deloitte Top 500 Central Europe published in the fall of 2015, one fifth of the largest CE companies have already had some form of non-financial reporting in place or will report non-financial data for 2015.

The evaluation criteria for Green Frog Award 2015 have been established by Deloitte’s Sustainability Consulting Central Europe and are based on: sustainability performance & strategic commitments, materiality, content, structure and creativity in communication (getting the message across). Read more on the evaluation criteria.

The winner of the Green Frog Award 2015:

Plzeňský Prazdroj, a. s. – The company’s Sustainable Development Report 2015 was chosen as best sustainability report. The judges have recognized this document as a very strong report that is strategy-led, clear, easy to comprehend, and above all presents a high level of materiality and understanding of CSR and sustainability. They have also highly appreciated the well-designed graphics.

The following companies received distinctions in the Green Frog Award 2015:

Ursus Breweries SA – Romania - The 2013/2014 Ursus Breweries Sustainable Development Report is a very creative well-structured document which presents excellent materiality, and is based on dialogue with the stakeholders and answers their expectations. The juries appreciated the fun and storytelling-side of the document. All important issues are brought up in a systemic and scientific approach, highlighting local priorities.

Bank Zachodni WBK SA – The Bank’s 2014 CSR Report presents very well the facts and figures and the impact of the business. It shows a high level of transparency, materiality and clarity in content presentation. The juries believe it is a great source of knowledge for investors and employees. The report shows that CSR is aligned with the bank’s strategy. It includes a third-party view on the bank’s actions and presents data about women on the boards.

INA - Industrija nafte d.d. - INA’s Annual Report 2014. Economic, Social and Environmental Performance is an integrated report, which shows a bottom-up approach and an easy way to understand the nature of the company’s business. The jury panel has highly appreciated the fact that INA managed to develop its own approach in order to create this report, where CSR is presented as internally and organically grown. The report is provided with strong data and is a mark of a process led organization.

Petrol, Slovenska energetska družba, d.d. – Petrol’s Sustainability Report of Petrol Group 2014 integrates non-financial and financial aspects well. The report shows a good understanding of sustainability and focus on value creation in the oil and gas sector. The document is educational and presents a good mix of facts and numbers, but at the same time highlights that CSR is about people.