CEE Sustainable Finance Summit

NAVIGATING THE ROAD
TO EUROPEAN COMPETITIVENESS

2025

The 2025 Summit will bring together some of the individuals drafting EU and national policies, and we will focus on the following themes:

  • streamlining and simplification of EU regulation,

  • removing obstacles to business growth and competitiveness and to investment flows,

  • the EU "omnibus" regulation, its main focus areas and its implications,

  • EU sustainable finance framework implementation case studies and best practices,

  • transition planning and transition finance,

  • financing of projects and investments in boosting competitiveness

Competitiveness, finance &
regulatory simplification

NOMINATIONS OPEN

2025 CEE Sustainability
Leadership Award

CLIMATE WEEK PRAGUE 2025

The CEE Sustainable Finance Summit is the flagship event of Climate Week Prague 2025

Agenda

19 MAY
Monday

SUSTAINABILITY IN FINANCE

  • 09:00 - 09:10 | Welcome remarks

    09:10 - 09:35 | Fireside conversation

  • 09:35 – 10:20 | Conversation with the audience: European Green Deal and competitiveness: will the regulatory rethink and the EU “omnibus” deliver what we need? 

    This session will dive deeper into the new European Commission strategic priorities and the efforts to simplify and streamline reporting and compliance, and what the competitiveness and simplification agenda means for businesses and finance in the CEE region. We will explore the unique needs of the region when it comes to investment and enabling policies for business growth. 

    10:20 – 11:00 | Networking break

    11:00 – 11:30 | Conversation with the audience: The death of ESG and is “greed still the king?

    A session discussing whether the golden age of ESG and impact investing is over, or whether we are witnessing new, unexpected developments in the investment and finance world 

    11:30 – 11:55 | TED-style talk

    11:55 – 12:30 | TED-style talk: A special presentation with analysis of the risk management for certain countries (Germany, Czechia, Poland) and sectors (automotive, energy, etc.) to improve and manage competitiveness in regional and global markets. 

  • 13:30 – 13:50 | TED-style talk: ESG and the original sin

    13:50 – 14:20 | TED style presentation & conversation with the audience: Making sense of Chaos: A better economics for a better world

    14:20 – 15:00 | Discussion with the audience: Sustainable investing vs European security and defence needs. 

    This session will look closer at whether sustainable or ESG investing is bad for European military industrial complex. What impact will joint efforts to improve Europe’s defence capacities have for business and finance? 

    15:00 – 15:40 | Coffee Break

  • 15:40– 16:00 | TED-style talk: Impact, AI, and sustainability 

    15:00– 15:40 | Coffee break

    15:40 – 16:00 | TED-style talk: Impact, AI, and sustainability

    16:00 – 16:25 | Conversation with the audience: Nature positive finance and biodiversity - are we ready for biodiversity disclosures and the measurement of natural capital?

  • 16:25 - 17:00 | Closing session and reflections of the day

  • The evening event will be a three course gala dinner with prominent guests that will also launch the Climate Week Prague.

20 MAY
Tuesday

SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS 

  • 09:00 - 09:10 | Welcome remarks

    09:10 - 09:25 | First opening keynote speech

    09:25 - 09:40 | Second opening keynote speech

  • 09:40 – 10:20 | Conversation with the audience: Is and will CSRD reporting bring changes to financing for business? 

    The session will look at what changes are underway or are already being implemented that are affecting the financing of businesses. 

    10:20 – 11:00 | Coffee Break

  • 11:00 – 11:20 | On-Stage interview

    11:20– 11:40| On-stage live interview: Real estate – competitiveness and transformation

    11:40 – 12:30 | Conversation with the audience: The built environment and the financing of real estate development and redevelopment. Business as usual or expect watershed change?

    How to navigate banking KPIs and how to finance sustainable projects that incorporate E and S .

    12:30– 13:30 | Lunch break

  • 13:30 – 13:40 | Inspirational keynote speech  

    13:40 – 14:00 | TED-style talk: case study focused on business transformation 

    14:00 – 14:20 | On-stage live interview: Transition story

    14:20 – 15:00 | Conversation with the audience: European Industrial Policy: pathways to increased competitiveness or an inevitable decline? 

    A spotlight on heavy industry and the automotive sector in Europe. The discussion will focus on CEE business and its potential for competitive advantages, including improved innovation and digitalisation.  

    15:00 – 15:40 | Coffee Break

  • 15:40 – 15:50 | Inspirational keynote speech

    15:50 – 16:10 | Short interview-style discussion: Infrastructure & investment  

    16:10 – 16:30 | Conversation with the audience: The business needs for resilience and competitiveness in uncertain times: data, innovation, HR and change management 

    16:30 - 16:50 | Conversation with the audience: Real estate, finance, and insurance  

  • The evening event is the CEE Leadership Award Ceremony and networking dinner

21 MAY
Wednesday

  • 09:00 - 09:10 | Opening remarks

    09:10 - 09:25 | First keynote speech

    09:25 - 09:40 | Second keynote speech

  • 09:40 – 10:20 | Conversation with the audience: The key insights from the first years of work on climate risk management and sustainability lens integration in banking  

    10:20 – 11:00 | Coffee Break

  • 11:00– 11:20 | TED-style talk: Quantification of Climate Impacts on a Bank

    11:25 - 11:40 | TED-style presenation

    11:40 – 12:30 | Conversation with the audience: Central banking in focus

    12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch break

  • 13:30 – 13:45 | Keynote speech

    13:45 – 14:00 | TED-style presentation: Real Estate

    14:00 – 14:15 | Presentation: Managing decarbonisation and greening in lending, fixed income, and mortgages. Interest rates, new products, and competitiveness in the banking sector 

    14:15 – 15:00 | Conversation with the audience: Financing real estate decarbonisation 

    15:00 – 15:40 | Coffee Break

  • 15:40 – 15:55 | Keynote speech  

    15:55 – 16:15 | TED-Style presentation  

    16:15 – 17:00 | Conversation with the audience: The future of banking: new models for financing our future  

SUSTAINABILITY IN BANKING 

CLOSED DOOR ROUNDTABLES

MONDAY 19 MAY

Sustainability in Finance

TUESDAY 20 MAY

Sustainability in Business

WEDNESDAY 21 MAY

Sustainability in Banking

Partners

Main partners

Supporting Partners

Media partners

Organisers

Contacts

Auspices

The event is held under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík , Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic

Check out the Agenda and Speakers from the previous years:

Previous editions & resources

Download the CEE Sustainable Finance Summit Reports from the previous years: