SDSN Bulgaria Held its Second Annual Conference

The National Network for Sustainable Development Solutions – SDSN Bulgaria, coordinated by the UNWE, held its annual international conference. The second edition of the event – Agenda 2030: The Challenges of Corporate Sustainability – was dedicated to the challenges faced by the corporate sector in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as the best practices and solutions. More than 80 participants, including representatives from the academia, government institutions, business organizations and companies as well as from the SDSN Black Sea, SDSN Romania, SDSN Bulgaria, and SDSN Bulgaria Youth, discussed the issues related to the topic, seeking answers to actual problems and challenges facing the businesses, governments and society on their path to sustainable development.

Chief Assist. Dr. Atanas Dimitrov, Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Assoc. Prof. D.Sc. Michael Musov, Dr. Any Arutyunyan, Chief Assist. Dr. Gabriela Naskova

The Conference was opened by Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Rector of the University of National and World Economy and Co-Chairman of SDSN Bulgaria as well as member of the SDSN Networks Strategy Council. In his statement the Rector emphasized the importance of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the role of the universities in achieving them. Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov also addressed the students in the hall encouraging them not to hesitate to seek solutions to global problems, pointing out the climate changes and their impact on life on our planet as an example.

Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Rector of UNWE and Co-Chairman of SDSN Bulgaria

The Regional Governor of Vidin Dr. Any Arutyunyan, UNWE graduate, welcomed the participants and attendees outlining the challenges and achievements of the Northwestern region in achieving the sustainable development.

Greetings were also extended by Assoc. Prof. D.Sc. Michael Musov, Co-Chairman of SDSN Bulgaria and member of the SDSN Networks Strategy Council, who was also the moderator of the opening session.

The Conference was organized in two panels. In the first panel took part representatives from the academic community and in the second one - from the corporate sector.

Prof. D.Sc./Econ./ Bistra Boeva, Professor Emeritus of UNWE, presented the role of artificial intelligence in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, outlining the main challenges, issues and potential solutions in this regard, and urged the students to be active participants in the process of achieving the 17 Goals especially within the Goal 13 - Climate Action.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elena Preda, manager of SDSN Romania and lecturer at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, discussed the role of the University in building capacity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and emphasized the role of students in this regard, not only as learners but also as participants in the process of seeking and implementing solutions.

The President of ASECU Prof. Grigoris Zarotiadis, member of the Leadership Council of SDSN Black Sea, delivered a report on Pursuing Sustainability in the Black Sea: the Role of Cross-National Institutions and Networks. He highlighted ASECU's activities within the framework of implementing the UN Goals and the opportunities for students such as summer and winter schools focused on the sustainable development.

The risks of transition to corporate sustainability were discussed by Prof. D.Sc./Econ./ Virginia Zhelyazkova, Head of the International Economics Section at the Institute for Economic Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and a lecturer at the University of Insurance and Finance – Sofia. She emphasized the importance of building a financial architecture ready for climate changes, including the creation of a stable system that integrates the climate risk management, facilitates investments in climate adaptation and effectively mobilizes financing for sustainability and green development.

Prof. D.Sc./Econ./ Virginia Zhelyazkova, Head of the International Economics Section at Institute for Economic Research of BAS

Prof. Dr. Hristina Nikolova, Head of the UNWE Economics of Transport and Energy Department and Editor-in-Chief of the UNWE journal Economic Alternatives, spoke about the hidden costs associated with the transport management in the implementation of the corporate sustainability strategies.

Prof. Dr. Hristina Nikolova, Head of the UNWE Economics of Transport and Energy Department

The second panel of the Conference was engaged for the representatives of the business community.

Silvia Todorova, Director of the Entrepreneurship Center at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, focused attention on achieving sustainability as part of the strategic development of the organization, highlighting the importance of corporate social responsibility and voluntary initiatives.

Silviya Todorova, Director of the Entrepreneurship Center at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mihail Musov and Chief Assistant Dr. Gabriela Naskova /from the left to the right/

Roberto Santorelli from the Italian Industrial Association in Bulgaria, President of Confindustria Bulgaria, presented the role of associations in promoting the ESG strategies in companies, emphasizing their importance from both an economic and social perspective. He pointed out some of the main challenges the companies face today in implementing the key components of the ESG framework – environment, social issues and governance. He also highlighted the achievements of Confindustria in this regard at both national and regional levels.

Roberto Santorelli, President of Confindustria Bulgaria

Dr. Kremena Georgieva, Head of Corporate Communications at Kaufland Bulgaria, emphasized in her presentation the best practices for achieving sustainability, gaving as example the company she represents and the established partnership with the University of National and World Economy in preparing professionals with the necessary knowledge and mindset for the modern business environment and sustainable policies.

Dr. Kremena Georgieva, Manager of Corporate Communications at Kaufland Bulgaria

Nikoleta Angelova, Legal Counsel at Konica Minolta, emphasized the significance of achieving sustainability, pointing out the main differences between the visible and measurable efforts and results and merely following the sustainable policies "on paper".

The Conference ended with an open discussion.