Buddies - Zuzana Dzurillova

Zuzana Dzurillova

Founder and Director - Tamotsu Institute

MAIN SKILLS

Governance

TCFD (Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures)

Sustainability Roadmaps

Singapore

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Zuzana's introduction

Zuzana is experienced risk management consultant, project manager and trainer. She is Director at Tamotsu Institute, a sustainability consulting firm, and Programme Lead for corporate trainings at The Matcha Initiative. She views sustainability from the risk management perspective, making companies aware of the financial risks and opportunities involved.

She has studied Sustainability Leadership at the Imperial College of London and is certified in Sustainability and Climate Risk by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) and in Recommendations of the Task force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure by the TCFD.

Top 3 pieces of advice to The Matcha Initiative (TMI) users ?

Climate-and nature-related risks are also financial risks, not only reputational ones. Even company leaders who think that their company has nothing to do with climate change or biodiversity loss should consider the impact of changing policies and disruptive technologies and business models on their company. The least they can do is to make sure their business remains resilient in the warming world.
Climate change is a phenomenon called the “Tragedy of the Horizon”. That’s because it poses long term risks that extend beyond the typical business planning cycle. If we act now, we can address it via a gradual transition to a low-carbon economy. If we don't take action now, however, we will face the consequences of more frequent and intense extreme weather with an abrupt transition on top.
I believe that every little step in the right direction counts. There is no silver bullet and although many solutions exist, not all are ideal nor fit for every organization. Majority of companies are just getting involved now and the best practices are being developed as we speak. Therefore company leaders should be prepared that this is an iterative process: take the first steps, evaluate what works and what should change, and take the next steps accordingly.

How could you help TMI users ?

I can explain the TCFD and TNFD recommendations and the reasons why even SMEs should pay attention and consider climate- and nature-related risks and opportunities, especially if they partner with larger companies or require financing from banks.

I am happy to discuss how a company can adjust their governance to take these risks and opportunities into account, to review their current state, identify gaps, and advise on what policies and processes should be put in place to ensure that sustainability-related issues are integrated in the company's risk management framework and how the information should flow to inform strategic decisions.

Furthermore, I could also share my expertise in the net zero concept and consult companies that want to set science-based targets and develop transition plans.

Expertise

What brought you to sustainability?

I was brought up with values that naturally drew me to sustainability as the logical way forward.

However, as a risk management practitioner, I was genuinely surprised when I saw climate risk entering risk management at financial institutions a few years back. Then nature-related risks came by.

And I felt that these were the areas where I could combine my experience and passion, and therefore I decided to shift my focus, deepen my knowledge in Sustainability and Climate Risk, and I got involved in various initiatives that deal with this topic, including The Matcha Initiative.

Which sustainable actions are you in charge of or have you implemented in your organisation?

I helped an organisation define a sustainability framework based on their emerging sustainability strategy. Followed by further consultation, I designed a sustainability roadmap, where I proposed:

to measure and reduce the environmental footprint,
to address the organizational culture through cooperation with a non-profit organization and strive for a green flag status, and
to operationalize the sustainability strategy by gamifying sustainability.

Apart from that, I spread awareness about sustainability and climate risk among financial institutions, SMEs, other sustainability professionals and public.

Which challenges did you meet and how did you overcome them?

Since I got involved, I saw there was a big movement and on the first sight it seemed like everyone was on board, with all the companies, cities and countries setting net zero targets, promoting low-carbon products, electrification and so on.

But during my lectures I sometimes received questions that showed that this topic was still very new to many people, that they were just starting to grasp it and had many doubts. In such cases I tried to explain the facts, and make a clear business case so that the people got a good understanding and were able to spread the information in their organizations and achieve positive change.

What are you most proud of?

I am proud of the positive impact and the quality of the work I do, when I see my clients appreciate the outcome or integrate my suggestions in their strategy.

I am also very proud to cooperate with The Matcha Initiative and spread awareness about sustainability as much as we can. I love to see new people getting interested in the topic and wanting to learn more.