Meeting of Certified Supervisors 2023

14 December 2023

On Thursday, 14 December, the traditional Meeting of Certified Supervisors took place with the award ceremony of the Certificates of the Slovenian Directors' Association (ZNS) to the new recipients in 2023. The ZNS Certificate is a professional qualification, which proves that an individual has acquired the appropriate professional skills to perform the functions of a member of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board by passing an examination (applied knowledge test). The Certificate is awarded by ZNS together with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia and the Slovenian Sovereign Holding.

The theme of this year's meeting focused on one of the most pressing global challenges - climate change and achieving a green transition. Since corporate management and supervisory bodies bear a great deal of responsibility in this regard, we looked into their key role in managing and adapting to climate change. Simply reducing companies' vulnerability to climate risks is no longer enough, with climate action also creating opportunities to foster innovation and sustainability that can lead to increased competitive advantage.

At the meeting, we presented Chapter Zero Slovenia, which was established earlier this year by ZNS, the British-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Deloitte Slovenia. The initiative follows a clear mission - to strengthen the knowledge and competences of board members on why and how to make the green transition a top priority for companies through free events and educational content.

Mojca Markizeti, a member of the Working Group of Chapter Zero Slovenia, said in her introduction that the consequences of climate change are already here: "The floods in Slovenia in August were 51 % worse than they would have been without climate change. Our buildings cannot withstand it, the materials and construction methods are no longer suitable. Geographically, we are located in a region where the biggest shifts in temperature have already occurred and will continue to occur, and "without adapting to climate change, we will not be able to mitigate it. We need to become climate literate."

This was followed by a discussion between Mojca Markizeti and Professor Dr Lučka Kajfež Bogataj, Slovenian climatologist, full professor at the Faculty of Biotechnics, University of Ljubljana, and Chapter Zero Slovenia Ambassador. "The economic system will have to change, otherwise it will not be able to sustain further economic growth. If we don't act now, the price of action will be even higher in the future." emphasised Professor Dr Lučka Kajfež Bogataj.