From April 24th to 26th, the ESG Adria Summit was held in Tivat for the second consecutive year, organized by Sustineri Partners and Porto Montenegro, in partnership with the Government of Montenegro and the President of Montenegro. This regionally renowned event brings together business leaders, high-ranking government officials, representatives of international organizations, civil society representatives, and sustainability experts from the Western Balkans region and beyond. This year’s summit slogan was “Act Now for a Sustainable Tomorrow,” aimed at identifying and discussing new solutions, initiatives, and investments that can help accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future and advance the ESG agenda in the Adriatic region and beyond. Through panels and workshops, the focus was on real regional issues and practical solutions to empower companies to set and achieve their ESG objectives and regulatory compliance requirements.
Biljana Braithwaite, Executive Director of Sustineri Partners and founder of the ESG Adria Summit, stated at the event’s opening that this year marks not only a milestone for the ESG Adria Summit due to its expansion to the Adriatic region but also a strategic expansion and even greater focus on key topics such as sustainable finance, green transition, significant regional investments, as well as expanding interest in the growing areas of artificial intelligence and startup development.
Among the highest state officials of Montenegro, the summit was attended by and addressed by Jakov Milatović, the President of Montenegro, and Aleksa Bečić, the Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro. Additionally, one of the panelists at the summit was Tamara Srzentić, former Minister of Public Administration, Digital Society, and Media in the Government of Montenegro.
The ESG Adria Summit was attended by the Rector of the College of Europe and former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Federica Mogherini, former Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović, and Tim Reid, Executive Director of UK Export Finance, the UK’s export finance agency, marking the first visit of a representative of that institution to the Western Balkans region.
This year, a framework for cooperation was signed at the ESG Adria Summit between Sustineri Partners, the organizer of the ESG Adria Summit, and the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF), as a joint initiative of chambers of commerce from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia. This cooperation framework is dedicated to supporting companies in the region in aligning their business strategies with the ESG agenda.
This event brought together over 600 participants and undoubtedly became a platform for building partnerships and fostering regional initiatives, especially in the areas of green transition and sustainable finance, significant for Montenegro and all countries in the region.