The role of ESG evaluation in business development
Prague, Czechia
Agenda
The May 2024 session of the PRINCEPS Executive Club focused on the evolving role of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) evaluation in the development and strategic growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Club formed part of the Institute’s ongoing efforts to develop a comprehensive ESG assessment methodology enriched with risk intelligence tools. The meeting brought together compliance professionals, sustainability experts, and business leaders to reflect on how meaningful ESG evaluation can strengthen business strategy and mitigate long-term risks.
Keynote speeches were delivered by Lucie Andreisová, Assistant Professor of International Business Law at the Prague University of Economics and Business and former CE Head of Compliance and Ethics at Tesco, and Samuel Štric, ESG Specialist at J&T Finance Group. Both speakers drew on their extensive professional experience to provide practical insights into the challenges and opportunities surrounding ESG implementation, particularly in the context of regulatory obligations and business ethics.
Discussion
Lucie Andreisová emphasised the role of corporate compliance in translating ESG goals into accountable governance systems. Samuel Štric highlighted recent developments in sustainability legislation and explained how SMEs can adapt their internal processes to comply with evolving frameworks such as CSRD and ESRS. Their contributions were complemented by a discussion moderated by Nevena Peeva-Todorova, focusing on how businesses can integrate ESG not only to meet obligations but to create long-term value and resilience.
The panel and audience discussion underlined the need for tailored ESG methodologies that reflect the complexity of smaller organisations while maintaining rigour in evaluation. Participants agreed that one-size-fits-all approaches fail to capture the unique risks and opportunities facing SMEs. Instead, they called for scalable frameworks that can inform both compliance and strategy, enabling companies to link sustainability indicators directly to business practices.
Featured speakers
Lucie Andreisová is a governance, risk, and compliance professional with extensive experience across the corporate and academic sectors. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of International Business Law at the Prague University of Economics and Business. Alongside her academic role, she spent over six years at Tesco Stores Czech, leading compliance teams across multiple countries and contributing to business integrity, privacy, and competition law. Prior to this, she held senior positions in information security at Tesco and worked as a Compliance Manager at Vodafone Group Services in London.
Lucie Andreisová
CE Head of Compliance and Ethics, Tesco & Assistant Professor of International Business Law, VŠE
Samuel Štric is an ESG specialist at J&T Finance Group.Before joining J&T, he worked on ESG projects as a consultant at CIRA Advisory and contributed to the Czech Republic’s green bond proposal during his time at the Ministry of Finance. Samuel also held the position of Country Manager at Cyrkl and previously worked in the Netherlands at the sustainability consultancy Metabolic. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Amsterdam.
Samuel Štric
ESG Specialist, JT Finance Group