The Matcha Initiative
Join us
Zuzana is an experienced consultant specialized in enterprise-wide sustainability management and climate risk. With a strong foundation in risk management, she has worked with companies defining their sustainability strategies, implementing international frameworks and standards (e.g. TCFD/IFRS, GRI), and submitting their ESG assessments, such as EcoVadis.
She is Director at Tamotsu Institute, works as Sustainability Partner at Sustainao and volunteers as Programme Lead for corporate trainings at The Matcha Initiative.
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 Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure by the TCFD.
1- 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.
2- Cooperation is key.
No one knows everything but everyone knows something. Getting together people who know the problem from different perspectives helps us create amazing solutions. The Matcha Initiative is one of such incubators.
3- We can make a business case for sustainability as soon as we consider the triple bottom line (people-planet-profit) to drive value creation.
Not just do less harm but, where possible, have a positive or regenerative impact that will drive business prosperity.
I can drive transformation of established companies towards sustainability by applying the latest international frameworks to company strategy. I have a strong general understanding of the demands within the ESG topics to allow for a holistic approach, while based on my background in risk management I also specialize in climate risks and opportunities.
I have helped our clients conduct materiality assessments, carbon footprint calculation, and climate risk and opportunity assessments, introduced new policies, measures and reporting practices. I have also assisted clients in their ESG assessments and ratings, such as EcoVadis.
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 pivot my career and deepened my knowledge in Sustainability and Climate Risk.
I coordinate climate risk assessments and materiality assessments for our clients, help them define their sustainability strategy/framework that covers environmental, social and governance topics and facilitate its implementation, including carbon footprint calculation.
I have a strong general understanding of the whole spectrum of topics. Apart from that, I spread awareness about sustainability and climate risk among financial institutions, SMEs, other sustainability professionals and public.
I still come across people who to whom sustainability is limited to waste recycling and they do not think much of it or have doubts. It surprises me how much awareness is still needed. Step by step, I am talking to people, making them aware. I explain the facts and make a clear business case so that the people get a good understanding. With that I hope more people are able to spread the knowledge and achieve positive change.
I am always proud, when a client implements a new initiative, whether it relates to the environmental, social or governance topics. And even more so, if by any chance they get externally recognized for doing the right thing. It energizes the company and inspires employees to do more.
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 joining forces. Collaboration is very important in this movement.