Tivat, 11 May 2023 (MIA) - Companies recognize that green agenda is important to them. The conclusion is that they have to integrate it in their work, Biljana Braithwaite, organizer of the Western Balkans ESG Summit held in Tivat, Montenegro, told MIA in an interview.

Braithwaite believes that all Western Balkans governments need to have strategic plans for investments in the environment, and money is available from EU funds and banks.

Regarding the installation of photovoltaic panels and solar energy production, which has become a trend in the Balkans as an investment, Braithwaite notes that investors should be careful where they install them, since they require infrastructure and good electrical transmission systems.

As an expert on human rights and anti-corruption, she said that the challenges in the fight against corruption also affect foreign investors.

Below is the full interview along with the video material:

Ms. Braithwaite, you brought together over 400 participants and 150 companies from the Western Balkan countries. What are the main conclusions you can draw from the panel discussions? Are there any good practices in the area of environmental protection?

Thank you for joining us at the summit. From the very beginning we wanted this to be a true regional summit, and we succeeded with your help, because you will convey our messages to your audience. The summit, as you said, brought together many companies, ministers, decision-makers from the region, non-governmental sector representatives and the conclusion is that this the first thing that the region seriously needs, because investment and regulatory pressures, as well as pressures of our communities are that companies must incorporate this agenda in their work. Are there any good examples? Yes, and we heard experiences from some companies, financial institutions, which have already integrated this agenda. However, the road is still ahead of us. I believe that we have chosen a good moment, and the interest in the Summit, is a testament to that. Companies recognize the importance of this agenda. We are very thankful for the support from one company from North Macedonia, the Tikvesh winery, which has done a lot of work in this field. 

All Western Balkan countries need to meet the environmental standards before joining the European Union. But, they all face similar problems, and that is lack of waste water treatment to have clean rivers and lakes. We neither have modern waste disposal systems. How could Western Balkan countries resolve this issue? We have some donations, EU funds, but it does not seem enough. Could the business sector be brought into this story?

I would first see if we have enough system solutions, and good enough projects offered to EU and other investors such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank which are prepared to invest in such projects. What is seen in all the countries in the region is that there are more resources assigned to our region, than we have been using. That is because we do not offer good projects. Companies that handle recycling will say "We would gladly build facilities in Serbia or Montenegro, but the system does not guarantee us a continual delivery of waste that needs to be recycled." Our municipalities are not organized in a way that would engage the private sector. We need to offer systematic solutions, a legislation, and then we can collaborate with some international financial institutions and the private sector. Though, I believe, for such investments, the Government should make the first step and have strategic plans.

Does that mean that the citizens and population of the Western Balkans should be educated on waste separation? Such examples are rare and exist in certain towns.

Absolutely. And it is something that today, in 2023, cannot be left to the conscience of every citizen. We do not need to invent new solutions, we just need to look at how, for example, it is solved in Western Europe. Those who live in the West will explain how and what penalties there are, for example Switzerland, for incorrectly sorting the waste or if you do it on the wrong day. It is a matter of habit. We are very committed to and focused on renewable energy, which is very good, but we don't focus on energy efficiency. We start with energy saving, and then everything else is an upgrade, such as making good thermal insulation, and taking care to not waste energy. That is something we have to integrate and insert into our daily behavior and develop habits, that way each of us can make a contribution. So, definitely education.

In Western Balkan countries, and especially North Macedonia, installing solar power plants on fertile agricultural land has become a hit, which calls into question whether we need food or solar energy production. Is it necessary to unify the standards and criteria for installing photovoltaic in the region?

We heard a little about that at the panel, and certainly aspects and regulation vary from country to country and are lacking. Installation is not a solution by itself, infrastructure is also needed, as well as to look at the possibilities that such energy can bring. This is something that many counties in the region struggle with, we do not have electricity transmission systems that can monitor those new capacities and investors that appear and want to invest in such energy sources.

You are an expert on human rights and anti-corruption. This topic is current in the Western Balkans, we have corruption seeping from every pore. To what extent are human rights respected, and can we fight corruption in our systems?

I can make a connection between these two topics, because the topic of ESG is closely associated with the green agenda. That is one aspect, others are those social components - respecting human and workers' rights, the rights of those living in the community and finally corporate and responsible management that includes transparency of the work of management boards and tenders. Our challenges with corruption affect our potential to attract foreign investors, as serious foreign investors, the likes of those we want to see in the region, who will work not only for their own interests, but also in the interests of the community and future generations, will demand to see the rule of law, to reduce the risk of corruption, since these are some of the risks found in Western Europe, as well as globally, and they cannot accept them in the way they work. We have a lot of work to do on this topic and I will not give up on human rights and the fight against corruption, but I wanted to say that these two agendas are actually closely related. We cannot expect economic prosperity until we have good rule of law and fight corruption.

How much do Western Balkan countries use the money from the EU funds, specifically for the environment?

All countries use the funds, I think all countries have EU funds that they use more or less. You saw the green plan for the Western Balkans, some of the first projects that were approved, I believe it was a project from Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia, but not from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, not because nobody liked their projects, but because the projects were not satisfactory at the time. So, I will revert to the point that we do use the funds, but there are many more of them, we heard that today from the EBRD. Our absorptive, technical capacities to withdraw those funds are not at task level. ssh/nn/

Viktorija Dimitrova-Jovanova

Translated by Simona Shurbanovska

Photo: Jovanka Jankoska